Cakes And Ale: Pho Saigon Village Noodle House: Vietnamese Cuisine in Vallejo

Above: Mi Toi, garlic chicken with noodles; below: Papaya Salad with Shrimp.

When I first encountered this cuisine it struck me how much colonial influences (Chinese and French) are represented in Vietnamese cooking. And yet, this Royal Cuisine has its own unmistakeable identity. If you are new to it, think in terms of a lot of fresh flavors, heavy use of herbs & seafood, and spice.

There were other outstanding Vietnamese restaurants in Vallejo when I moved here five years ago, but relative newcomer Pho Saigon Village (which opened at the end of 2016) has become our favorite, and one of the best restaurants in Vallejo. It's not surprising that it's a family-run business, but we were impressed that they seemed already very seasoned from the get-go. I've seen Pho Saigon Village with every table full and numerous to-go orders being picked up, but it never fazed them, you get the same consistent high quality every time.

Mi Toi, or Garlic Noodle with Chicken Thigh. We went and got this dish for the 3rd time in a week the other day. Fantastic. I like mine with their house roasted chiles in oil. They have recently stopped serving this on the bone, now it's grilled chicken cut up into pieces.

So perfectly cooked! Lots of garlic!

Tonight Robin got adventurous and tried Garlic Noodle with Cubed Beef. We thought it was really good.

I felt sorry for Robin, so I shared one of my Chicken Thighs in return for some Beef Cubes, which were pretty good. I also festooned my plate with about five whopping spoons of chile oil, perfect with the heavily garlicked noodles.

Slowly making our way through some of the new menu items, but here's one of our old favorites, Papaya Salad with Shrimp (9/7/2017). We get this and Mi Toi every time now.

Above & below: Vietnamese Mussels. This dish is worth trying, for sure.

Yellow Curry with fried fish (Swai) fillet. Great spicy flavor in the curry but not too hot. You can adjust the heat with the handy jar of roasted chiles in oil at your table.

We hadn't been to Pho Saigon Village in a few months, but when I heard they've added a bunch of new menu items, we had to check it out last night (8/23/17). Above and below is BBQ Quail, with a glaze that tastes like Anise/Five Spice.

Here's one I just hadn't tried yet, Beef with Lemongrass over steamed rice. The Beef & Vegetables were cooked perfectly, but it's all about the sauce, which is rich with lemongrass, garlic, chile, ginger and spices. Very satisfying Vietnamese fare.

And Robin got a Vietnamese coffee that smelled great!

Top left: Papaya Salad with Shrimp. It gets better every time we go there. Below, close up of the pork chop with eggroll, Chinese sausage and shrimp finger entree.

Beef Stew with Egg Noodle (Bo Kho).

New Vietnamese restaurant opened last week in Vallejo, and we were curious to see how they compare to the best around here.

Vietnamese crepe: egg with chicken, stuffed with bean sprouts. Best version I've had. Great way to get your greens. Nice texture. Definite French influence here.