A healthy Vietnamese dinner with my 'BFF' Geordelle at the newest resto in town ~ Saigon Cafe ♥

I've been to  Saigon  (now renamed Ho Chi Minh), Vietnam  last year
 when we celebrated my Tito Albert's birthday there 
and boy, the trip was really one gastronomic delight!

We  (my uncle, hubby, and I)  all fell in love with Vietnamese cuisine. ♥

So you can imagine how excited I was when I learned there was this new Viet resto in town ~ Saigon Cafe. ☺

(Actually my second time at this new resto ~ the first time was with family last week.

Got busy and wasn't able to post about it, though.)

Well, I liked the food so much 
(it's  "almost 100% authentic"  ~ well,  "almost"!  heheh),

I just had to invite my 'bff' Geordelle to try it.

Saigon Cafe - Garden Resto

Photo taken with our friend Sylvia Gerangue 
(or "Tata" ~ as what family and friends call her).

She co-owns  Saigon Cafe  and trained in Vietnam for several months.

She is actually the one cooking the food and goes out of her way to engage customers in conversation, making sure they enjoy their meal. ☺

That's my 'bff' ~ Geordelle Espino-Bernardino.
She's not only my classmate and friend,
 she's also my praying partner and sister-in-Christ. ♥

Geordelle  and her family own the popular  Pandanon Valley Resort.
 If you guys haven't been there, I suggest you go!

 Pandanon  is a nature resort 30-45 minutes' drive away from Bacolod.
It has beautiful mountain scenery and a clear spring to swim in.
 The resort also has a swimming pool, function hall, day cottages (where you can also cook your own barbeque!), and facilities for overnight accomodation.

Pandanon Valley Resort
(For inquiries/reservations: 434-94-63)

And now, back to my post (LOL)...

Fridays and Saturdays are "Pho Bo nights" at  Saigon Cafe

  so naturally, we ordered  Pho! ☺

Pho Bo
Pho is noodle soup served with various cuts of beef and onions.
It is often eaten with basil, mint, lime, and bean sprouts.

I love  Pho!
I can eat it everyday! (LOL)
When we were in  Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)  last year,
 I tell you,
 we ate this every single day! hehehe ☺
Even hubby took a liking to it and I was glad 
~ especially because he was eating a lot of vegetables  and herbs that came along with it,
 which was very healthy indeed. ☺

http://sallylyngestrella.blogspot.com/2012/08/enjoying-pho-vietnamese-beef-noodle.html

http://sallylyngestrella.blogspot.com/2012/08/pho-2000-for-president-noodle-soup.html

http://sallylyngestrella.blogspot.com/2012/08/farewell-to-you-my-dear-ho-chi.html

Cha Ca Hanoi

(Pan Fried fish platter)

Loved this dish ~ fish was a bit crispy outside yet soft and tender on the inside.

(Guys, the fish in the pic is actually Cream Dory.) ☺

That's Tina,
 one of the staff,
 helping us wrap the  Cha Ca Hanoi  ingredients
 (fish and veggies) in Vietnamese rice paper
 or what the Vietnamese folks call "Banh trang".

Voila!

This was 'bff' Geordelle's pretty "obra maestra" (LOL) with the  Cha Ca Hanoi

after putting sauce on the ingredients

 and wrapping it all inside the Vietnamese rice paper ("Banh trang").

(Hmm, looks like  Guo Con [soft vermicelli summer roll]  to me ~ and as the Vietnamese would say in their 'Vietnamese English': "same, same".) ☺

For drinks, we had their  Pineapple-Lychee Cooler 

~ so refreshing! ☺

So why don't you try this new resto, friends?!

Not only is this the first Vietnamese resto in town, the food is also something to like.

The price, very affordable and the servings, generous.

Best of all, you can never go wrong ~ Vietnamese food is considered one of the healthiest cuisines in the world! ☺

Saigon Cafe - Garden Resto

Address: Prk.Marapara 1, Zone 2, Bacolod City 6100

Phone: (034) 708-90-36