The Saigon (Shenton Food Hall)

The Shenton Food Hall is modestly sized. My meal had soft pieces of beef with sprouts and carrots. I think the rice option may be better suited instead of breed, though. Overall decent place to eat.

Not really totally into the vibes of Shenton Foodhall at Shenton House for the most part — have always found the look of the place a little too mashed up for our liking, but we can’t deny how we have been drawn to settle at the said food court for lunch of the late. Whilst we have been quite drawn to the Assorted Yong Tau Fu with Laksa and Chee Cheong Fun from the Zi Jia Yong Tau Foo 自家酿豆腐 stall here of the late (they also do have other outlets all around the island), The Saigon is also yet another stall that has caught our attention for quite a while now considering how we are big fans of Vietnamese cuisine here; the stall does serve up quite a good variety here, with the offerings ranging from items like the Vietnamese Mix Beef Noodle, to Vietnamese Char Grilled Pork Rice with Fried Egg and the Vietnamese French Loaf with Char Grilled Pork.

It was fairly easy to decide what we wanted to order here — the reason why we had opted for the Vietnamese Char Grilled Pork Rice Noodle with Vietnamese Fried Wraps was because of how they actually char grill the pork chops here with an open fire which can be seen through their display glass at the stall. For $8.20, the Vietnamese Char Grilled Pork Rice Noodle with Vietnamese Fried Wraps can be said as an item that is slightly more pricey than the average lunch affair, though their rendition of this dish is possibly the biggest-sized one that we have ever come across. It features mostly the items that one would expect in a typical Bun Cha — pickled vegetables, leafy greens, rice vermicelli etc., though most interesting here would be how they seem to have also included pork lard as part of the package as well. Beansprouts are also included in their rendition of the Bun Cha here, though the ones here are pretty much raw. Mixing the entire bowl up with the chili-infused fish sauce that one can help themselves to at the self-service “condiment bar” at the stall, this ticks off all the right boxes to a decent Bun Cha — the multitude of textures going on here; all of which brought together by the savoury notes of the fish sauce that gels all the elements together. That being said, the highlight is most definitely that slab of char grilled pork — not only was it glistening when it is served; we really liked the caramalised exterior that gave it so much flavour. Being char grilled with an open flame also meant that the slab of pork also carried smoky notes as well — all that whilst still being tender and easy to chew. The pork lard above was also fried with a crunch — really satisfying.

Had previously been a little skeptical about what The Saigon has to offer considering the various social media posts around it at one point of time. That being said, having tried what they have to offer, we are pretty convinced on the quality of the food that they serve here — the char grilled pork chop being something which we find pretty much irresistible. Definitely going to give the Vietnamese French Loaf with Char Grilled Pork a try the next time we return to Shenton Foodhall for lunch!

beef itself was q fatty and tough :-( broth was average bah but the meatballs were its saving grace. after 1-1 it’s $3.45 per bowl so i guess not bad price wise for vietnamese food but nah don’t think i’ll get again

$6.50

The pork chop was so nicely grilled! I love it

A standard bowl of pho - I liked that the soup was quite peppery, and the beef not overcooked. Serving size was average, and there was an appropriate amount of meat (a few slices of beef and two meatballs). While I wished there were more greens in this dish, my friend appreciated that they didn’t pile our bowl with leaves. Personal preference I guess. :P

Finding cheap food in the CBD area is a challenge, but we were delighted when we found a bunch of Burpple 1-for-1 deals in this food hall. It definitely made this bowl of pho extremely affordable, a rare find for the location!

Yes, we're pho real! This place serves up Vietnamese food at affordable price tags such as Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup ($6.50), Vietnamese Char Grilled Pork Rice with Fried Egg ($6.50) or take a bite into ther Banh M, a Vietnamese French Loaf sandwiched with Char Grilled Pork ($6).

*Eligible for takeaway till 30 June 2021.