Sushi Saigon  

By Mark Goldberg
Dining Critic, SUNPOST MIAMI

9-26-2003

Let's face it. We're in a dining rut. The gang gets together and someone says, “Let's go for Italian.” “No, we should do Chinese.” There's one guy who always wants a thick steak and a baked potato. The modern thinkers mention sushi. 

Well, how about Vietnamese? Yeah,Vietnamese. Since it's probably a food choice that has never crossed your mind, you've lost out on the intricacies, subtleties and cornucopia of flavors inherent in this country's cuisine. Maybe that's why there's only one Vietnamese restaurant on South Beach . Fortunately, it's beautiful, well-designed and serves award-winning dishes. 

Peppercorn had been around for years before chef/owner Rin Nedtranon realized no one knew what kind of restaurant it was. Hence the name change to Sushi Saigon and a design renovation that created a simple-yet-stunning room of straight lines in red, black and white, subtle lighting, walls of photographs and sparse use of bamboo and red parasols. The menu pretty much remained the same. It's broken into two sections, the back dealing with sushi and Japanese foods. The front focusing – as did we – on Vietnamese.

 We began with Saigon Summer Rolls ($7.50). Shrimp, basil leaves and rice vermicelli barely burst through their soft, translucent rice paper rolls. Alongside is a dish of nuoc tuong, a sweet yellow bean sauce enhanced with coconut milk, sugar, peanuts, garlic and lemongrass. A tall urn arrives at the table filled with fresh romaine, basil and mint. We are to place a bit of the roll in a romaine leaf, tear off pieces of mint and basil from their stalks, add a bit of the sauce, roll it up and enjoy. The addition of the herbs allows the mint to work directly and the basil aromatically. Steamed Rolled Ravioli ($7.95) arrives like a flat, pre-sliced Napoleon, with soft crepes sandwiching ground pork, chicken and mushrooms all topped with Vietnamese sausage slivers. The dish rests on a bed of steamed bean sprouts and the dipping sauce (nuoc cham) is a fish sauce made of chili, garlic and fish stock. The nuon cham is also served with Vietnamese Spring Rolls ($7.50), but these crispy, fried wraps were bursting with the various flavors of pork, crabmeat and mushrooms and the crunch of carrots, cellophane noodles and water chestnuts that we gobbled them up without sauce. Then there was a Green Papaya Salad that was such a blend of different exotic tastes that we had to order a second helping (an actual review first). Thin strips of white chicken combine with shrimp and papaya, along with mint and cashew nuts to offer crunch, sweet and tart in a dish you can eat on its own or as the perfect side for any other menu item.

A noodle dish – Grilled Pork on a Bed of Rice Vermicelli ($12.95) – seemed like a perfect entrée and we were surprised when Rin arrived at our table, poured nuoc cham over the plate and began mixing all the ingredients with her chopsticks. “It's a salad,” she explained. And it was phenomenal, with the pork shining through a mix of fresh herbs, veggies, crushed roasted peanuts and fine strands of rice-based pasta.

Vietnamese Chicken Curry ($13.95) steered clear of the heavy aromas of its Indian cousin. Rather the moist chicken breast had been marinated in a light mix of yellow curry, onions and lemongrass with a blending of fresh mango sauce and sliced mangoes. It's a perfect addition to south Florida 's collection of “mango gang” dishes. Rolled Lemongrass Beef ($13.95) takes thin slices of meat and tops them with lemongrass and fresh onions, then rolls them tight and oven bakes them. The beef is then sautéed along with fresh peppers, onions and garlic and topped with an oyster/soy combination. They look like little cigars and their taste is intense. Lemongrass Fish ($18) was a Fusion Special. By now you've noticed lemongrass plays a strong part in almost all these dishes (think of garlic in Italian food). The Vietnamese believe it to be very healthy and its tangy flavor adds an extra dimension to most of the dishes. The fish, a meaty, white snapper, was dressed in lemongrass and fresh garlic, with steamed peppers and rice noodles on a bed of quick-sautéed spinach. More peppers, lemongrass and garlic made up the sauce.

By the time we finished our desserts – Donut Classic ($3.25), the Asian version of a mini funnel cake, an incredible Apple Pie ($4.25) topped with a thick layer of candied walnuts and a Cappuccino Tartufo ($4.25) – there was still an entire menu left to explore, ranging from sushi and rolls to Wafu, Tempura, Udon and Teriyaki.

We've got to go back.

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Sushi Saigon

ADDRESS: 1131 Washington Ave, South Beach

PHONE: 305-604-0599

HOURS: Lunch Monday through Friday 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday till Noon; Dinner Monday to Thursday 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday till Midnight, Saturday and Sunday from Noon to Midnight

FOOD: Vietnamese and Japanese, from Sushi to Bo Xao

SERVICE: Extremely gracious and helpful

PRICES: Appetizers $6.95 to $12.95, entrees from $8.95 to$18

WINES: The list is limited, but there is a nice selection of sakes and international beers.

ATMOSPHERE: Striking in its subtle simplicity.

RESERVATIONS: Suggested for larger parties

CREDIT CARDS: All major cards