How the restaurant looks like from outside. It's one of the many shophouses along the street so it doesn't really stand out. Just look for the big red 13!
For starters, we had crab meat and asparagus soup. There weren't many bits of crab meat and neither were there a lot of asparagus but it was eggy and flavourful (:
Rice paper spring roll (or what GT will call "Vietnamese popiah"). Each roll contains white rice noodle, shrimps/ prawns and vegetables. There's this particular vegetable that we dislike because it kind of spoils the entire spring roll. It's overpowering and it spoils the otherwise perfect sidedish =( Sorry we can't pinpoint what the vegetable is, otherwise you can ask them to leave it out. Also, this dish isn't really called "rice paper spring roll", it has a fancier name which I can't remember for nuts so I guess you just have to read the dish descriptors and order whatever you like (:
I am pretty sure I ordered stir-fried french beans but this is what they gave us. I thought french beans were the ones that look like long beans? Thankfully, this vegetable dish was very well cooked so we'd no complaints.
Their variation of chicken rice which is actually plain rice with some chicken. I was hoping that they would serve the fragrant chicken rice that is served in Singapore but unfortunately we had to make do with plain rice.
Because we didn't feel like eating dessert at Restaurant 13, we made our way to Kem Bach Dang icecream shop, which is quite near Restaurant 13, for some icecream!
I tried their coconut icecream because it was recommended by a friend. I expected it to be mindblowingly good but it was only average. In fact, the coconut flavour was so subtle that I couldn't really detect it.
Jeffrey opted for chocolate icecream but somehow it came with chocolate sauce and the works, which he didn't really appreciate. I helped him finish his dessert because he didn't quite like it and the chocolate icecream was slightly below average. Perhaps we should have chosen an icecream combo or something else.
Alright, shall end off here (: Will contine with Saigon posts tomorrow.
Addresses:
Restaurant 13 - 15 Ngo Duc Ke
Kem Bach Dang - Nguyen Hue Street (opposite Saigon Centre).
Lol, this is going to sound wrong but your coconut ice-cream can be a phallic symbol! You didn't seem to have eaten a lot at Restaurant 13!
ReplyDeleteBoth are phallic symbols actually. Anyway, I bought snacks from the rundown provision shops near our hotel to eat so I was kept full!
ReplyDeleteNo wonder you didn't impress with their ice cream. This icecream shop "Kem Bach Dang" is not the same icecream shop that all others tourists recommended. The one that has been well-known and it still stands to its reputation for more than 30years is located on
ReplyDeleteLe Loi Street (26 and 28 Le Loi Street, District 1, HCM city).
Kem Bach Dang with Red Apple Logo is the true Kem Bach Dang.
I don't understand why this Kem Bach Dang could be named/copied after the other true KEM BACH DANG on Le Loi Street.
I think Vietnam should have Copyright Laws - Copyright Act. This ice cream Kem Bach Dang located on Nguyen Hue Street is just a copycat!!!
Next time, you have the chance, visit the true Kem Bach Dang on Le Loi Street to enjoy a true coconut ice cream.
Oh we did see another Kem Bach Dang just across the street from the one we ate at! We found it really strange that two disconnected shops have exactly the same name but since we didn't know better, we went to the one which we saw first.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for telling me the address of the REAL Kem Bach Dang! =) Will visit it if I've the chance to do so.