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| - Due to recommendations from friends and family, as well as faint memories of coming here in the past, Saigon was my #1 spot on my latest trip to Calgary. I actually ended up coming in 3 times in 2 days because people just KEPT WANTING to come back! And I have to say, I really didn't mind. The massive servings, which are really quite delicious, gave me enough Vietnamese food to eat for three straight days. Definitely okay with me.
The actual restaurant is relatively small and a little bit crowded, which can get a bit tiring when you're trying to have a conversation and keep getting drowned out by the hum of background noise, but that only happened to me on one occasion. But definitely beware of when you come because, as you may have inferred from the previous statement, it gets busy in here. Lunch and dinner are honestly kinda wild, and the workers are practically always running to keep up; luckily, going in during downtimes proves to be a relaxing experience and I've stayed for quite some time chatting before, and they just keep the tea flowing. I should note, though, that even when it's on the verge of frantic inside the restaurant, I never feel neglected and the food and service come very quickly. The family that owns it, and their other employees, are really friendly and always a pleasure to be served by. There are family photos around the restaurant as well, so being inside really feels like a close community experience. Besides the fam photos, the front entrance has super cool statuettes and other charming decor, but the place isn't OVERLY themed.
Now, for the behemoth-sized servings that are their food. I tried their #1, Deep Fried Pork Spring Rolls; #14, Deluxe Beef Noodle Soup; #20, Chicken Noodle Soup; and #71, Stir Fried Beef with Vegetables on Crispy Egg Noodles. I'll break them down one at a time here:
#1, Deep Fried Pork Spring Rolls. Classic spring rolls made extremely well. I don't have too much to say about them because nothing was really surprising, but I do have to say that it was hard to share them... I had to try pretty dang hard to not eat the other 2 when I finished mine!
#14, Deluxe Beef Noodle Soup. All four types of beef in the dish - cooked beef, brisket, beef ball, and tripe - are absolutely delicious. The broth is amazing and I consider this to be the best pho I've had to date. Plus, I couldn't even finish what I got in this bowl so I got to enjoy it again later that night. Warmed up at home, it, of course, wasn't AS good, but it still retained its wonderful flavour!
$20, Chicken Noodle Soup. The broth was good and the noodles and veggies were great but, sadly, I was pretty disappointed by the chicken. It came in nicely sliced pieces but it was quite dry and didn't really satisfy my palate that well; I found myself favouring everything else over it, unfortunately.
#71, Stir Fried Beef with Vegetables on Crispy Egg Noodles. Okay SO, I don't know if having a nest of egg noodles is a common dish or just something that Saigon Maxim does, but WOW was it ever cool!! The noodles at the top are crunchy and delicious and the ones at the bottom are covered in sauce and also SO TASTY. The stir-fry inside the nest was extremely well cooked, with the beef and vegetables having pretty much a perfect amount of crunch and warmth to them. The sauce that sat at the bottom of the dish was amazing and I found myself spooning it onto every bite, with a little bit of spice added. This dish was gigantic and I happily worked my way through it, until I got pretty close to the bottom and thought I was going to have to be rolled out of the restaurant. The flavour was wonderful, the presentation was spectacular and I think that this was my favourite of all 4 things that I tried this past Calgary trip.
Since Saigon Maxim is in my hometown neighbourhood, I can absolutely see myself coming back for AT LEAST one meal every time I'm home. Go Riverbend! Go Calgary!!
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