A Saigon Cafe - Wailuku

This spot pretty much got Maui on it's Vietnamese cuisine rampage. Plain and simply put, the food is super tasty. ATMOSPHERE: The place got a major renovation done in 2013, and much needed it was. Gone are the ripped duck taped booth seats, as well as that open air private dining room. Everything inside is brand new, along with outdoor seating, and a cool bar that serves both environments. Unfortunately, the menus have seen better days. FOOD: Green Beans Super crunchy and sautéed in a brown sauce with mushrooms, onions, and carrots. Really good side dish to any meal. Bok Choy Blanched then drizzled in a mild sweet/salty sauce. Vietnamese Steak Chunks of savory broiled steak over a bed of lettuce with tomatoes and cucumber slices. Green Papaya Salad The papaya is cut into paper thin strips and tossed in a slightly sweet and tangy sauce with a strong basil flavor. Comes topped with either tofu crumbles or shrimp. Very refreshing starter. Sautéed Shrimp If you love shrimp, you have to try this. Deep fried and battered shrimp with an onion based stir fry on top. Get it with the shell on or off, I like the latter, and your choice of spice. The flavor is mild but the batter mixed with the toppings has an excellent marriage of flavor. Clay Pot with Chicken This has been my favorite dish since the beginning. Jasmine rice, frozen peas, chicken, carrots, fresh white shiitake mushrooms, steamed in a sweet salty sauce in a searing hot clay pot. The rice at the bottom of the pot is super crispy, so mix the contents as soon as the dish comes to you. Beef with Garlic Egg Chunks of super tender steak and onions are sautéed in a tasty brown sauce, topped with sliced hard boiled eggs and an onion/garlic stir fry mixture. Delish! Steamed Fish It's a whole steamed fish (head and all with a mixture of veggies done in a soy based sauce and poured on top. This is a big portion so it's great for family style dining. Crispy Egg Noodle The traditional deep fried egg noodles topped with mounds of veggies sautéed in a dark brown gravy, and meat of your choice (we got chicken. Loads of flavor and big enough for four to share. Saigon Egg Noodle Soup Highly recommended dish for the ramen fan. It's not strong in sodium like your usual ramen and has a nice, lighter, savory flavor with thin noodles, fresh chicken strips, and green onions. Pork Chops Wow! I've found my new favorite entree. Chunks of super tender pork done in a dry rub that is so tasty and flavorful, you'll wish you could mimic this at home. Highly recommended! Vietnamese Beef Burrito Dried and super thin shells made of rice, I believe, are brought to your table which you dip into a bowl of hot water to soften them. You then add the already cooked beef, bean sprouts, and lettuce. Similar to a spring roll. The dipping sauce is a tangy concoction. Chicken Vegetable Chicken strips sautéed in a savory brown gravy with broccoli, onions, mushrooms, and green beans. Good but no wow factor. Noodle Soup Special This is a Vietnamese ramen. The broth is clear, lightly salted with a minuscule hint of sweet, but not in a gross way. You have the option of rice or flour (the one I chose noodles. Toppings are fresh shredded chicken, green onions, dehydrated onions, 2 fresh shrimp, and rubbery calamari strips which I picked out because I hate them in soups. Thankfully there was zero cilantro in this dish. Highly recommended for the ramen fan! SERVICE: The servers are all friendly and quick. There's one infamous gentlemen in particular who comes off as a pushy salesman but he really means well. If you don't want something he's trying to up sell you, just say so; you won

We’ve been looking for good Pho for a while now and finally decided to try this spot. The Pho, the fried chicken the customer service did NOT disappoint. My husband is more of a Pho person than I am, I am very particular on the flavor of the broth it was exactly how I like it. The meat to noodles ratio was perfect!!! My husband finally found his Pho spot!

Inside the restaurant, the tables and chairs were a bit old and torn, but that didn't stop us from trying its dishes. We ordered a few dishes, in general every dish was sweet, we had to add fish sauce to get the typical traditional Vietnamese flavor. Braised ginger chicken is not Vietnamese-style braised ginger chicken, they use pre-boiled chicken breast, then sauté with a little ginger and onion for flavor, but it is also very sweet compared to the Vietnamese taste, rather for Americans. Sour fish soup tastes sweeter than sour, we have to squeeze more lemon to get more sour taste. The catfish in claypot was alright but not that great. In general, the dishes at this restaurant tend to be more American. If you want a salty Vietnamese taste, remember to ask for pure fish sauce.

We ate here twice on our trip to Maui. The food was outstanding with great vegan options, and very fast food service. Also a great ambiance and reasonable prices for Maui.

I love this place. The food is so authentic and delicious. Such wonderful service. The waiter is so welcoming and always has me laughing.