Your must-visit restaurant this week
August 24th, 2008 by Cliff Bostock in Restaurants 
Vietnamese cuisine is my favorite. I could eat it every day and I’ve been in perpetual mourning since the closing of Bien Thuy, although I like Com very much too.
But Chateau de Saigon (4300 Buford Hwy., 404-929-0034), open only a week, sets a new standard for our city. I’ve eaten there twice already and I’ve barely dented its enormous menu. The chef here grew up with Chinese and Vietnamese parents, speaks both languages and cooks both cuisines. The staff here, including the owner, seems to mainly be American-born Vietnamese, so you’ll get a much more thorough explanation of the dishes here than you do at the usual Vietnamese cafe.
At one dinner, we started with two appetizers unique to this restaurant (top photo). One was strips of spicy pork and a pencil-thin, crispy roll wrapped in rice paper with mint, cucumber and lettuce. The other (foreground of the picture) was ground shrimp fried in a tofu wrapper.
One entree (above, right) was lemongrass beef wrapped in wild betal leaves. (The owner, Jimmy, told us repeatedly that this differed from Com’s dish in that the leaf is “wild, from the vine, rather than from a tree.”) We wrapped the stuffed leaves in rice paper along with vermicelli, herbs and — most wonderful –star fruit and plantains.
We also tried one of the Chinese dishes — flat rice noodles with shrimp, scallops and squid (above, left). The noodles, new to me, were even better than the seafood, although all of it was fresh and flavorful too. There are several pages of noodle dishes, including 17 bun dishes.
If you are going to only one restaurant this week, let this be it. The restaurant is located about a half-mile north of Buford Highway’s intersection with Dresden Drive. It’s in a new strip mall, with several other new Vietnamese cafes and a Latino night club.
I’ll have more to say in “Grazing” soon.
August 26th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Dumbed down “ethnic” food.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Go try the durian fruit smoothie and tell me it’s “dumbed-down,” Irving.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I tried it last night. It was all very authentic offering many dishes the vietnamese only have during special occasions. We had both appetizers mentioned above (the crispy piece in the nem nuong roll is unique and not normally found in summer rolls but adds a nice touch). We also had the grilled catfish that you wrap in rice paper at the table. HUGE fish for the price. Very good if you like catfish. The other dish that we wrapped with rice paper was the sampler with the beef and betel leaves, shrimp paste on sugar cane, grilled shrimp, and grilled pork. This is a must order dish if you want to sample a little of everything. Our last dish was lobster. We had it cooked two different ways…both good, a lot like Canton Cooks on Roswell but with a little more sauce. We will definitely eat here again. Price very reasonable for the amount of food.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:04 pm
We tried this Friday night @ 7pm for our first venture into Vietnamese food. Lovely place. Staff was a little overeager but at that time of night we were one of only 3 tables. Food was served fast as well. The food was great and we will definietely go back. We tried the rice noodle Chinese dish above and tapioca fied shrimp appetizer and the sampler (veggie and beef) fried rice. Very tasty. I think on our 2nd visit we will be willing to go out on a limb a little more with something different. I’d like to try th catfish clay pot!
October 8th, 2008 at 6:25 am
[...] Your must-visit restaurant this weekThe staff here, including the owner, seems to mainly be American-born Vietnamese, so you’ll get a much more thorough explanation of the dishes here than you do at the usual Vietnamese cafe. At one dinner, we started with two appetizers … [...]
November 4th, 2008 at 7:30 am
[...] Your must-visit restaurant this weekThe staff here, including the owner, seems to mainly be American-born Vietnamese, so you’ll get a much more thorough explanation of the dishes here than you do at the usual Vietnamese cafe. At one dinner, we started with two appetizers … [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 7:25 am
[...] Your must-visit restaurant this weekThe staff here, including the owner, seems to mainly be American-born Vietnamese, so you’ll get a much more thorough explanation of the dishes here than you do at the usual Vietnamese cafe. At one dinner, we started with two appetizers … [...]
November 12th, 2008 at 7:29 am
[...] Your must-visit restaurant this weekThe staff here, including the owner, seems to mainly be American-born Vietnamese, so you’ll get a much more thorough explanation of the dishes here than you do at the usual Vietnamese cafe. At one dinner, we started with two appetizers … [...]
November 14th, 2008 at 7:25 am
[...] Your must-visit restaurant this weekThe staff here, including the owner, seems to mainly be American-born Vietnamese, so you’ll get a much more thorough explanation of the dishes here than you do at the usual Vietnamese cafe. At one dinner, we started with two appetizers … [...]
November 27th, 2008 at 7:24 am
[...] Your must-visit restaurant this weekThe staff here, including the owner, seems to mainly be American-born Vietnamese, so you’ll get a much more thorough explanation of the dishes here than you do at the usual Vietnamese cafe. At one dinner, we started with two appetizers … [...]
November 29th, 2008 at 7:28 am
[...] Your must-visit restaurant this weekThe staff here, including the owner, seems to mainly be American-born Vietnamese, so you’ll get a much more thorough explanation of the dishes here than you do at the usual Vietnamese cafe. At one dinner, we started with two appetizers … [...]
November 30th, 2008 at 7:29 am
[...] Your must-visit restaurant this weekThe staff here, including the owner, seems to mainly be American-born Vietnamese, so you’ll get a much more thorough explanation of the dishes here than you do at the usual Vietnamese cafe. At one dinner, we started with two appetizers … [...]
December 4th, 2008 at 7:33 am
[...] Your must-visit restaurant this weekThe staff here, including the owner, seems to mainly be American-born Vietnamese, so you’ll get a much more thorough explanation of the dishes here than you do at the usual Vietnamese cafe. At one dinner, we started with two appetizers … [...]