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Pho Saigon Quan, Springfield


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Since we're still snowed in at Maison Rice, and I'm bored with house chores, I'll write up another restaurant for DR.com. Remember the place in Backlick Plaza called Pho Super Bowl? Yeah, I'm sure that the NFL intellectual property attorneys got on them. Anyway, in that same location is now Saigon Quan Restaurant, or Pho Saigon Quan, depending if you read their menu (the former) or their sign outside (the latter). Barbara and I were in the neighborhood and noticed their grand opening sign, and stopped there the other day after finding the Yaksoku sushi counter closed.

The restaurant is attractive inside, in that particular way that many Vietnamese places are painted yellow and have a lot of plants and little statues. We spent quite a bit of time with the menu, trying to figure out what to get. We ended up getting the summer rolls and fried chicken wings. The rolls were OK, but a little dry around the edges. Barbara liked them though. The chicken wings were good, and were marinaded in something that wasn't your typical Chinese 5 spice marinade. These were fried golden and had a strong black pepper taste.

For entrees, Barbara got the special grilled plate with broken rice, which included lemongrass chicken, lemongrass pork, shrimp, and spring rolls. They all tasted good, with the pork being the tastiest and the chicken probably the weakest. This also came with a cup of the pho broth.

I had the pho with meatballs. The broth was well seasoned but a bit too salty. I think they may have used too much MSG in it. Otherwise, I'd rate it higher. The meatballs had a good texture. They served the pho with all of the usual condiments and side flavorings plus the long sawtooth leaf herb.

One thing that I didn't try was what they listed as "Vegetarian Pho". I've never heard of this, and wouldn't have high expectations, but would be curious to hear if anyone else tries it. They also have chicken pho and seafood pho.

In addition to the usual pho styles plus grilled meats on noodle or rice, they also have some house specials. I'll try one of them next time. And they still have something listed on the menu as Pho Super Bowl, a super large bowl of pho.

All in all, it was a good meal, and another decent place to eat in this shopping center. My favorite pho place, Pho Kim, is on the way there so I won't trek over here just to eat. It will be one of those places we go to keep from going to the store hungry.

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I head here every so often for pho and happened by Friday night to help try to stave off a cold I felt coming on. Had my usual bowl of pho ga and some vinegared onions. All quite good, though the cold still appeared.

But, the interesting thing is they have a rather giant menu now, announced by a banner on the outside. (This might have been true for a time now, been a bit since I've been here.) In fact, the pho is all at the end of the menu while before it are pages and pages of the standard non-pho Vietnamese fare. It may not be as long as Four Sisters' menu, but it's pretty extensive. Had I not been in need of pho, I might have explored the menu more.

Has anyone been here and tried the new menu items? Any recommendations? Or should I avoid it all?

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