Americanish foods in Vietnam

I don't know about GOOD Mexican food.  I go to a hole in the wall in Thao Dien that has good but very different flavored tacos and burritos.  Definitely a different flair.  No rice or beans like you would expect them to have.  They don't have dinners, just a la carte items.  It's close to me so I go at least 2 times a week, sometimes 3.  It's my fix to get away from VN food.

There may be some away from D2 where I live.  Google maps show a group of them in D1 and D4 clustered together but when I read the reviews they seem similar to the one near me - mostly a la carte items.  I did see today one or two that I might like to try but they are 30 minutes away.

There are a few other Western style restaurants around - most in one of the new malls attached to housing developments.  The food is strictly OK and expensive by Vietnamese standards.

More and more pizza places, mostly Pizza Hut and Pizza Inn but in Thao Dien there are several brick oven artisan pizza places.  Haven't tried them yet.  Truly the only Western style restaurant that I go to with any regularity is Simple Place, my local Mexican above.

There's a place called The Wagon Wheel in District 1 that serves "American Comfort Cuisine". It's been open about a year. I can't say anything about it because I haven't been there.

For Mexican, there's Rico Taco, also in District 1. I ate there once and it was okay.

Tried a pulled pork sandwich at Soul Burger, also in District 1, last time I was there. It was okay.

In Vung Tau, the similarly named Rio Taco has been open a few months. I like their soft tacos and Cuban sandwich.

As Stein Nebraska mentions, most western food is still underwhelming and fairly pricey. Usually, the service and atmosphere are lacking as well. The best options for non-VNese food seem to be Japanese lunch sets, Indian and Italian.

I think if someone could open a deli with some normal sandwiches and burgers (the kind you can actually pick up with your hands) in a comfortable and well-managed setting, it could be quite successful.

johnross23 wrote:

I think if someone could open a deli with some normal sandwiches and burgers (the kind you can actually pick up with you hands) in a comfortable and well-managed setting, it could be quite successful.

DTwo Sports Pub in Thao Dien has a very extensive menu.  http://www.dtwo.vn/menu

All or at least mostly English speaking staff.  Owner is Australian.  He's there everytime I go.  Normal very comfortable pub style furniture.  All high top tables and booths.  You actually feel like you are in the US.  80's and 90's rock in the background and some sports on the TVs.

They do have a good burger.  Monday is Burger Night so cheeseburger, fries and lettuce salad is 129k.  They also have Meat Pies on Tuesday for 129k, Wednesday is Pizza, buy one get one. Thursday I'm pretty sure is curry night for 129k.  All of these are on the normal menu but the special nights are 40-50% off menu so we tend to go those nights.  They also have Sunday Roast with a rotating meal of roasted pork, lamb, beef and chicken dinners with all of the sides you would expect.  It's 200k.

Beer is higher than outside of Thao Dien but not bad for inside the neighborhood.  Pint draws are 50,000 from 2-8 M-F  I've spent 150,000 on a craft beer at another bar in Thao Dien.  Once.  That's US pricing.  It's not that I can't afford it, but it's the principle of the thing when everyone else is half that.

You would think they would be doing better based on everything above but I've never seen more than 10-12 people in there when we go and we tend to go at least once every two weeks.  It might pick up later in the evening.  We tend to go at 6-7 to eat.  Definitely the only family we have seen save one this past Monday.

[img][link under review]

Tried to go back to add a photo and got the dreaded "link under review".

Monday's burger visit.  Sorry for the "mid bite" photo!  She hates when I take pictures without the "magic camera" app that all the kids use so I have to sneak take them.

Ah, just seeing that photo it did remind me of one thing.  That Coke is 45,000 and my wife's bottle of water was 40,000.  That's the only thing that is out of line that I have seen there.

The burger buns are really good artisan-style bread.  The burger is on a bed of fried onion straws.  It's a good burger and good size patty as well.

It would be fun for everyone to post a little review of your favorite Western style restaurant.  This thread made me think about the fact that I'm sure all of us yearn for a taste of home, no matter how much we like VN food.

If you found a gem that you like I would assume others would as well.  So, please post yours!

I like Italian food. Mexican food. And of course I'm from the southeastern United States I love pinto beans with ham I love meatloaf mashed potatoes corn and green beans. Great hot dogs and Brats. Chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes gravy and a good vegetable usually it would be great beans or corn or maybe even peas. Chicken and dumplings!

When I was living in Saigon I worked in district 7. I enjoyed the tavern which was British food but it was close enough 2 American foods that that fulfilled my craving. Bangers and mash great meat pies fantastic fish and chips. I would frequent there also went to the Elephant Bar which had a partnership with the tavern you could order food from the tavern and they would bring it to the Elephant Bar

District Federal on xuan thuy in Thao Dien not bad for Mexican food.

SteinNebraska wrote:

The burger buns are really good artisan-style bread.  The burger is on a bed of fried onion straws.  It's a good burger and good size patty as well.

I'm sure those burgers taste good and don't mean to knock them, but it's the opposite of what I meant by "normal burgers" that you can pick up and bite without them falling apart.

Anyway, this "monster burger" style is widely available, often with a bamboo skewer holding them together. Usually, people have to eat them with a fork and knife.

The best (most authentic) burgers I've ever had in Asia were cooked on an open grill by Marines for a 4th of July celebration at the US Embassy in Bangkok pre-9-11.

Also, the old Woodstock Bar & Grill at Nana Plaza was legendary.

Anyway, enjoy your burgers! We're lucky we can eat what we get here in VN.

Tippy's Mexican Food (two locations, 45th St in Q4 is the original one and Bui Vien is the new one) sells taco seasoning, refried pinto beans, flour tortilla, taco meat, chorizo, etc. and what they call taco packs for people who want to cook at home.  Everything is homemade including the tortilla. 

The owner is an American who also has (had?) a Mexican restaurant in either CA or AZ so he knows Mexican food (I haven't tried but two of my husband's friends have and they recommended it).

Luca in Vung Tau is the closest to authentic Italian food I can find so far -- not quite 100% Italian taste but still pretty good when taking into consideration the limited ingredients available in VN.  The owner is Italian, and an Italian chef from Italy came over twice a year before Covid to train/retrain the chef here.

OTOH, Good Morning Vietnam (also in VT) should've never advertised itself as an Italian restaurant.  Two thumbs down, and if I could do the same with my toes, I would.

Following...

Waiting for someone to announce that there's an In-N-Out Burger in Vietnam

 

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

Waiting for someone to announce that there's an In-N-Out Burger in Vietnam

 

In-N-Out doesn't franchise.  Moreover, as they do not use frozen patties, all locations must be within 300 miles of their 3 patty making facilities in Baldwin Park, Stockton, and Dallas.   

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

Following...

Waiting for someone to announce that there's an In-N-Out Burger in Vietnam

 

Umm what's one of those??

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Umm what's one of those??

In-N-Out is the best and healthiest burger in America.  No franchise so every store is owned and operated by the same family since their beginning 72 years ago.  No freezer, no microwave, no heat lamp.  Everything is fresh daily.  Due to those reasons, they keep their locations in 6 states instead of expanding across the country.

Not the same as McDonald's then 😉

You know that I will very seldom criticize people for being off topic, glass houses and all that.  However don't all the posts on this thread seem to be the exact opposite of the title?     They are mostly examples of what Western food do you miss and where can you find it.

Just the other day, we had friends over and one asked me it I ever got tired of eating Vietnamese food.   Quite frankly, I had never given it much thought.  Sorry to brag but my wife is a quite good cook with a bit of range as she was raised in the Mekong Delta but her mother is a Northerner.  Since moving to the US she has actually increased her repertoire of items by watching YouTube videos.   Fortunately almost any imaginable Asian vegetable is available year round  in Honolulu's Chinatown district.  That can be a problem in Minnesota.

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Not the same as McDonald's then 😉

No, far from it.  Although McD's fries (chips) are still the best among all fast food chains.

THIGV wrote:

However don't all the posts on this thread seem to be the exact opposite of the title?     They are mostly examples of what Western food do you miss and where can you find it.

Because the title doesn't reflect the true intention being expressed in the original post.  The OP misses living in VN but asks "I am told that there is a good Mexican food now in Saigon. I couldn't find anything like that when I was there. What other americanish foods are in Saigon?"

SteinNebraska reiterated the OP's question and expounded it a bit further: "It would be fun for everyone to post a little review of your favorite Western style restaurant.  This thread made me think about the fact that I'm sure all of us yearn for a taste of home, no matter how much we like VN food."

Perhaps I should have phrased that "Going all the way back to the OP, all the posts on this thread.............."  I am sure you know that I am all for letting conversation go wherever the participants want to take it.  You can be sure that my post was more of an observation, than a call for changes.

THIGV wrote:

Perhaps I should have phrased that "Going all the way back to the OP, all the posts on this thread.............."  I am sure you know that I am all for letting conversation go wherever the participants want to take it.  You can be sure that my post was more of an observation, than a call for changes.

I know that your post was just an observation.  My reply was also along the same observation line.  I wasn't defending all the replies at all because I think everyone here knows that I'm very much for off topic posts, the reason I never interfere with them even when other members complain.  I don't believe in staying within the lines when it comes to conversation, and all posts on the forum are conversations IMO. 

The OP chose a wrong headline so it's good that the direction of the thread reflects his actual wish better than the headline has intended.

Ciambella wrote:

In-N-Out doesn't franchise.  Moreover, as they do not use frozen patties, all locations must be within 300 miles of their 3 patty making facilities in Baldwin Park, Stockton, and Dallas.   

Is there any topic on which you aren't fully versed?  Why haven't we seen you winning huge sums of money on Jeopardy?  Your knowledge knows no bounds.

Don't know Baldwin park but there are plenty of tough old dairy cows available to grind up around Stockton.  That's the land where a 1000 cow dairy is a small family farm.

SteinNebraska wrote:

Is there any topic on which you aren't fully versed?  Why haven't we seen you winning huge sums of money on Jeopardy?  Your knowledge knows no bounds.

Thank you for the compliment.  I'm a bookworm, and aside from books, I read everything else.  Literally everything, even wrapping papers and merchandise tags.  If there's a sentence on it, I read it.  My children are exactly the same way. 

I don't do well under pressure though unless I'm among people whom I know well.  Family game night is good; pub quiz night is not.

THIGV wrote:

Don't know Baldwin park but there are plenty of tough old dairy cows available to grind up around Stockton.  That's the land where a 1000 cow dairy is a small family farm.

Baldwin Park is in San Gabriel Valley ("The Valley" as it's known locally as well as in pop culture) in LA County where the first In-N-Out was (still is) located, not far from their first patty making facility.  Then they expanded to Northern CA and opened another facility a few miles outside of Stockton.  The grandparents said they would never allow the business to go farther than Texas because they wanted to oversee every location personally.  Years after everyone died, the granddaughter (last of the Snyder's line) opened locations in DFW, they had to build a patty making facility in Dallas to adhere to the grandparents' wishes and philosophy. 

SteinNebraska:  I know In-N-Out history very well because their HQ is in Irvine (Orange County, Southern CA), just a few blocks from my home where I raised my children and was involved in the community.

Ciambella wrote:

SteinNebraska:  I know In-N-Out history very well because their HQ is in Irvine (Orange County, Southern CA), just a few blocks from my home where I raised my children and was involved in the community.

OK I'll give you that one but the obscurity of the specific question isn't unique based on some of the questions you have answered here in the past.

I've requested that Admin change the title of this thread, consistent with the OP

Ciambella wrote:

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Umm what's one of those??

In-N-Out is the best and healthiest burger in America.  No franchise so every store is owned and operated by the same family since their beginning 72 years ago.  No freezer, no microwave, no heat lamp.  Everything is fresh daily.  Due to those reasons, they keep their locations in 6 states instead of expanding across the country.

https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Peo … 743676.php

FYI
Rick

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

I've requested that Admin change the title of this thread, consistent with the OP

Why?   Everyone else seems perfectly comfortable with things as they are.

THIGV wrote:

Don't all the posts on this thread seem to be the exact opposite of the title? They are mostly examples of what Western food do you miss and where can you find it.

THIGV wrote:

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

I've requested that Admin change the title of this thread, consistent with the OP

Why?   Everyone else seems perfectly comfortable with things as they are.

Except you aren't comfortable with it at all, are you?

But since you are the spokesperson for "Everyone", I've alerted Admin to disregard my request.

Coincidentally this was posted on Fox News today.

In-N-Out just opened in Colorado.  The wait in line was 14 hours. 

https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/mass … ger-joints

SteinNebraska wrote:

Coincidentally this was posted on Fox News today.

In-N-Out just opened in Colorado.  The wait in line was 14 hours. 

https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/mass … ger-joints

Stupidity at it's finest!

I never understand why people do such bizarre things.

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

Except you aren't comfortable with it at all, are you?

I think that I was abundantly clear by my second post that I didn't really object at all.

THIGV wrote:

I am sure you know that I am all for letting conversation go wherever the participants want to take it.  You can be sure that my post was more of an observation, than a call for changes.

You also failed to notice my use in the firsst post of this  which says it means "joking."  I think it would be more accurate to say that I was amused than uncomfortable.

colinoscapee wrote:

SteinNebraska wrote:

Coincidentally this was posted on Fox News today.

In-N-Out just opened in Colorado.  The wait in line was 14 hours. 

https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/mass … ger-joints

Stupidity at it's finest!

I never understand why people do such bizarre things.

You should have seen the line when the first Starbucks opened in the New World Hotel, HCMC.   I witnessed it only because we had come into town for some other long forgotten reason, but I had a good chuckle and certainly did not forget seeing that line.  The line went out the door, around the corner, and down Phạm Hồng Thái street for the block then turned around the other side of the hotel on Lê Lai,.  And all those people got a cup of coffee that was decidedly inferior to what they could get at the little coffee shop in their own Hẻm.    Such stupidity is not confined to one nation or people but seems to be a universal trait.

colinoscapee wrote:

I never understand why people do such bizarre things.

Because it gives them a chance to say, "Guess what I had for lunch today?  In-N-Out!"

Because the other person would say, "Really? How long did you wait?  I don't have the patience, but yeah, I wish I've had In-N-Out."

Because that makes them look cool:  being among the first in the city to have something, and being in awed for having the patience to be smack dab at the scene of an exiting moment.

BTW, that's not an imagined conversation, but one that has happened over and over every time somebody told somebody else about being there when Apple or Nike launched a new product; or the opening day of In-N-Out; or a third-wave coffee shop; or a pop-up store; or the first hour of Black Friday; or the premier of a new Star Wars movie; or drop days at Supreme; or Yayoi Kusama exhibit, etc.

Wanting to be envied is a strong motivation.

SteinNebraska wrote:

It would be fun for everyone to post a little review of your favorite Western style restaurant.

Boomerang at Crescent Lake D7 is my favorite all-around American food restaurant. Australian name but I don't see roast kangaroo or anything else particular to that continent. Burgers, fish and chips, steak, seafood, pasta, salads.

Hard Rock Cafe D1 has a similar general American food menu. And my favorite burger. The bun isn't great, but the meat tastes just right, and a little greasy. Medium well. Plus lots of tacky stuff on the walls to look at.

Sounds like I am missing out by not going to Thao Dien more often.

Ciambella wrote:

... Baldwin Park is in San Gabriel Valley ("The Valley" as it's known locally as well as in pop culture) in LA County ...

When someone mentions "The Valley" on a Los Angeles TV station, or Jimmy Kimmel, old movie, or you hear about 'Valley girls', they are talking about the San Fernando Valley, over the Hollywood hills from West LA. Places like Burbank, Encino, Tarzana, Toluca Lake. I lived in Sepulveda, Sylmar, Canoga Park. I hated that place.

My parents also lived in Arcadia in the San Gabriel Valley, and I went to college in Whittier. We only thought there was one "Valley", it wasn't the San Gabriel. But I guess everyone can have their own reference valley, river, mountain. Learning about the world is seeing it from multiple perspectives.

Ciambella wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

I never understand why people do such bizarre things.

Because it gives them a chance to say, "Guess what I had for lunch today?  In-N-Out!"

Because the other person would say, "Really? How long did you wait?  I don't have the patience, but yeah, I wish I've had In-N-Out."

Because that makes them look cool:  being among the first in the city to have something, and being in awed for having the patience to be smack dab at the scene of an exiting moment.

BTW, that's not an imagined conversation, but one that has happened over and over every time somebody told somebody else about being there when Apple or Nike launched a new product; or the opening day of In-N-Out; or a third-wave coffee shop; or a pop-up store; or the first hour of Black Friday; or the premier of a new Star Wars; or drop days at Supreme; or Yayoi Kusama exhibit, etc.

Wanting to be envied is a strong motivation.

I suppose I am not one of those type of people.

Lining up to buy the latest Iphone always reinstills my line of thinking that people are just ridiculous.

colinoscapee wrote:

Ciambella wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

I never understand why people do such bizarre things.

Because it gives them a chance to say, "Guess what I had for lunch today?  In-N-Out!"

Because the other person would say, "Really? How long did you wait?  I don't have the patience, but yeah, I wish I've had In-N-Out."

Because that makes them look cool:  being among the first in the city to have something, and being in awed for having the patience to be smack dab at the scene of an exiting moment.

BTW, that's not an imagined conversation, but one that has happened over and over every time somebody told somebody else about being there when Apple or Nike launched a new product; or the opening day of In-N-Out; or a third-wave coffee shop; or a pop-up store; or the first hour of Black Friday; or the premier of a new Star Wars; or drop days at Supreme; or Yayoi Kusama exhibit, etc.

Wanting to be envied is a strong motivation.

I suppose I am not one of those type of people.

Lining up to buy the latest Iphone always reinstilled my line of thinking that people are just ridiculous.

You mean Guinee pigs?

gobot wrote:

Sounds like I am missing out by not going to Thao Dien more often.

C'mon down!  I'd be happy to meet up for a beer and whatever to eat.