Among other appetizers are marinated roast quail and a papaya salad with shrimp, barbecued pork with chopped basil, cilantro, dried onion and hot sauce. Soups are restrained, but flavorful. The classic crabmeat and asparagus soup shows off its French lineage. The menu is divided into noodles, chicken, beef, seafood, fried rice and vegetarian sections. There are some dishes that should not be missed.
Beef curry with lemongrass is also good, a big serving of charred beef and onions on top of noodles.
It's hard to go wrong. You'll find most of the stars of the Vietnamese repertoire at Saigon. The only dish I really miss is banh xeo, a delicious specialty of Vietnam. Asian cuisines aren't usually known for desserts, but there's a nice little selection here - most notably caramel custard, or flan, again showing the French occupation's influence on Vietnamese cooking. In Saigon's first years, the owners were occasionally dispirited by the conservative tastes of area diners, and for a time they even considered switching to a more familiar Chinese menu.