Saturday, March 20, 2010

Square One at Park Hyagtt Saigon II (Saigon, Vietnam)

We started our meal at Square One at the Park Hyatt Saigon with their freshly baked bread and a very yummy tomato sauce spread. I have to warn you; this is not that non-sense...mostly air...fluffy...no taste...white bread that most restaurants serve.


No, no, at Square One, you know your meal will be great when they already start by serving you hearty, tasty, whole grain bread. It is so bloody good that I have to restrain myself of eating so much bread before the main courses arrive.


The first dish is one of my favourites...the Square One version of goi cuon (fresh Vietnamese Spring rolls). Instead of using rice paper as a wrapping, they use a particular leaf that has tons of flavour and of course more texture & colour. The filling was fresh herbs, vegetables, shrimp, pork and thin rice vermicelli. A great package of flavours and textures.


The next dish is also one of my favourites...the seafood platter. The amazingly fresh seafood consisted of huge crab, lobster, scallops and oysters. All tasted so good.


The next dish is our all time favourite and we cannot find this dish anywhere else. Baked oysters with lemon grass, a hint of lime and nuoc mam topped with a pinch of crushed peanuts and pepper. All I can say is...AMAZING!!! You will dream of this dish after.


The next dish was grilled sirloin steak. Perfect quality piece of meat, perfect cooking of medium-rare. The meat was tender and juicy, full of taste.


The next dish was grilled pork chop. Another fantastic quality piece of meat. Grilled to a dark pink. The meat was so tender that it cut like butter. Moist & juicy. Just lovely.


The different sauces to accompany the beef and pork dishes.


One of our favourite vegetables. Wok fried Ly flower tips. You seldom find these in restaurants and when you do...you must order it. They have a lovely mix of nutty, spinachy & bok-choiy flavours. The texture of this vegetable is also unique. A really nice dish to accompany all the meat dishes instead of potato.


The last dish was slowly grilled baby back ribs. You did not even need a knife to share this dish. We easily just ripped off a rib. The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender. The sauce was a combination of spicy, sour, tangy & sweet. Another great meat dish to have.

As you can see, I am a FAN of Square One. From the decor, design and ambiance to the very delicious food. We have very difficult people to please in our gang in terms of food. Square One is a place that we all can agree that everything we had was tremendously good.

On top of all that, the service is very friendly, discreet and professional.

Now here is the only downside...Square One is not cheap but it is not break the bank expensive either. For the quality you get, it is well worth it.

2 Lam Son Square, District 1, Saigon
(84 8) 3824 1234

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