What Is It About Sharing That Makes You Order Too Much Food?

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Sisters discover their eyes are bigger than their bellies at Saigon Saigon

The familiar warm scent of wood and spice welcomed me as I entered Saigon Saigon to discover that my date (my sister) was running late. However, her tardiness gave me the perfect opportunity to study the menu in detail, I actually read it cover to cover which is something I’d never done before.

The restaurant was half full with a gentle hum of conversation and click-clicking of chopsticks: just right for a Tuesday evening. In order to ‘keep myself going’ (poor me, I hadn’t eaten since lunch) I ordered a bottle of the house red (Le Bosq, vin de pays du gard £12.95) and a basket of prawn crackers. I managed to polish off half of them before she arrived.

It went without saying that we would share all the dishes.

We ordered the crispy soft shell crab (£5.95) which was served with an abundance of garlic and chilli. If you are not a fan of garlic I suggest that you steer well clear of this one. Luckily I absolutely love it and couldn’t resist crunching the chunky garlic pieces. I’m glad it wasn’t a first date.

Our other starter was the intriguing char-grilled prawn meat wrapped on sugar cane served with rice paper and vegetables (£8.50). Basically it was a build-your-own, the same idea as duck and pancakes at a Chinese restaurant. The prawn meat was tender and sweet, moulded around the sugarcane like a healthy kebab. You roll that, along with the other ingredients, in the nearly-transparent pancake leaving you with a sticky, light parcel of deliciousness. Only a genius could have created this dish.

Our starters were a hard act to follow but again we picked well. We toyed with the idea of ordering the stewed belly pork with egg in coconut juice served with bean sprout pickle, but realised we weren’t brave enough. Instead, we went for stewed pork in spicy caramel sauce (£6.50) and sizzling grilled fish (£10.95) both of which were absolutely delicious though a little on the salty side. We ordered one portion of steamed rice which was more than enough for two girls.

I think we both felt a bit sad when we realised that our eyes had been bigger than our bellies. What is it about sharing that makes you order way too much food? With my tail between my legs I asked the waitress if we could have a doggy bag which I assume (and hope) happens everywhere since the credit crunch hit.

The bill including (the excellent) service came to £52.48 and was worth every penny. Being so familiar with the menu, I can say with confidence that on my next visit to Saigon Saigon I’d like to be a bit more adventurous and try the Steamboat. I will also absolutely make sure I save room for a Vietnamese pudding.

Katie Horswell

October 27, 2009