Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Big Saigon- Rockville, MD (CLOSED)

Edit: 5/19/10- I drove by and it's not there anymore!! Maybe it was in a bad location (close to Ba Le, Pho 75 and Pho 95), but times are hard now, and unfortunate to see a business go under in less than a year.

Hey Everyone! This will be one of 3 posts that have been shot by my Iphone due to my doggie destroying my camera. My new camera came in the mail this week, so I can't wait to test it out!

The other week the bf and my younger cousin were craving Vietnamese food and decided to try out a new place called Big Saigon. It's located on Rockville Pike across the street from Wintergreen Plaza . The closest metro stop is Rockville on the Red line, and there are some free parking spaces around the restaurant.

It is actually really nice and new on the inside. I remember seeing a sign for their grand opening around December 2008. There are a good number of individual tables with linens and place mats which makes it look classier.

There are large plants scattered around and the mirrors on the wall makes the place appear larger. There weren't many people in there at the time so it was really quiet but I'm assuming its because no one knows this place is there.

I ALWAYS order a Vietnamese Iced Coffee with Condensed Milk when I eat pho. The caffeine helps counter act the food coma =) I got this drink for $2.50. Usually a coffee dripper is brought to you so you can pour it over the ice yourself, however this place does all of that for you before it reaches your table.

I was in the mood for pho, so I ordered a large bowl of #A9, which is slices of raw meat for $6.99. Unfortunately they only offer one size, which is large. I was really full afterwards, but I was able to finish it. It was good pho, clean tasting broth...maybe too clean for my taste. I like a lot of flavor.

One time I ate 1/2 my bowl of pho without putting in the basil and lime and it was definitely missing the right flavor. These are essential ingredients to make your pho taste good!

Boys will be boys and order a lot of food. On top of their large bowls of pho they ordered the '#24- Rice Vermicelli with Charcoal Lemon Chicken' for $7.99. The chicken was very juicy, tender and flavorful. A little greasy for my taste, but the boys loved it.

The restaurant was average to me. I almost wished we all ordered something different to get a full range of their menu. It's difficult for a Vietnamese restaurant that serves more than just pho to make it taste right because that isn't their only focus.
What is nice is they have a very large menu with around 100 items all priced under $12.95. Beat that! They also offer pre-fixed menus for large groups, and a weekly lunch special. They are also opened 2 hrs later than all of the pho places I know in Rockville, so its helpful late at night when you want something quick.
It's a new space, and the server was SUPER nice, helpful and friendly. That is rare to see at the Vietnamese restaurants because it's usually all about speed.
Even though the place wasn't crowded, there were a good number of people that came in for carry out orders. It's located 2 stores down from a well established Vietnamese restaurant called Ba Le, so competition might be rough. I hope they do well.

838 Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20850
301-251-0066

Open 7 days a week: 11am-10pm

Big Saigon on Urbanspoon

3 comments:

Jonathan said...

I thought the inside was rather crappy looking. I did give them a thumbs up on my Urban Spoon, but only because I liked (not loved) my vegetarian pho. Bale next door was slammed last week while Big was empty. I only went to Big because Bale doesn't have vegetarian soups (meat stock).

Marie said...

Hey Jonathan, thanks for stopping by my blog! I think your Urbanspoon page is really nice since you've reviewed a lot of places. I guess I was comparing the interior of Big Saigon to other Pho places, which I shouldn't have done since it's a restaurant with other items.
Bale was way packed when I walked passed it too that day.

Ravenous Couple said...

not bad at all from an iphone!! Let us know how the banh pate so goes..give us a shout on fb if you have any questions!! Hope your mom/family enjoys!