Saigon Star

It was a hot summer day in Christchurch, 32 degrees outside. We wanted to have something light and refreshing for dinner, and decided to have Vietnamese.  We went to Saigon Star, situated in the Windmill centre, at the corner of Riccarton Road and Clarence Street.

There are several Vietnamese restaurants in Christchurch, but I've always had good meals at Saigon Star.  The food is always impressive and reasonably priced.




Saigon Star fresh spring rolls

 

To start with, we had the usual fresh spring rolls.  There were options of Saigon Star or prawn & pork fresh spring rolls.  I usually get the Saigon Star fresh spring rolls as the fillings are quite special.  These were $7.00 for 3.  Special parcels of thin rice paper wrapped around pork, eggs, fresh salad and herbs, with special dipping sauce.  The spring rolls were very refreshing with lots of flavours.  The dipping sauce came with chopped peanuts and was tasty with a citrus and sweet taste.  It complimented the spring rolls well.  A great dish for a hot summer day!



Sugarcane prawns



I got to tried the sugarcane prawns ($8.00 for 3, although we got given 4!)  with my rice vermicelli (see below) the last time I was here, and thought we would need more than 1 between the 3 of us!  These were minced prawns wrapped around sugarcane stick then deep fried and dipped with sweet chilli sauce.  The prawns were delicious and the sugarcane was sweet and nice to chew on while waiting for our mains to arrive.



Saigon Star rice vermicelli



A Bun or rice vermicelli is always great for summer and very refreshing.  The base of the dish was cooked rice vermicelli cooled and lots of salad and herbs, drizzled with a sweet citrus sauce.  There were a variety of toppings to choose from, including beef, chicken, pork.  I had the Saigon Star rice vermicelli ($9.00) during my last 2 visits.  It came with a sugarcane prawn, ham, and deep fried pork roll.  The toppings were different from what I usually get and were nice and crunchy.  Little treats after being so good eating salads!



Beef Salad



We also tried the beef salad.  It was $15 for a small, although I was impressed with the large portion.  It came with grilled beef, lots of shredded salad and herbs, with a sweet citrus and chilli sauce.  Spicy but very refreshing.



Squid with lemongrass and chilli


We also had the squid with lemongrass and chilli ($12.50 for small).  It had lots of flavours with the lemongrass, chilli, and garlic.  Again very spicy and tasty.  It didn't come with rice, so we ordered a bowl of rice to go with it.

Another good meal at Saigon Star.  Vietnamese meals are great for hot summer days.  I also come in winter, but would usually have the beef rice vermicelli soup, which comes with raw beef getting cooked while I eat.  Very tender! 

Saigon Star
184 Clarence Street,
Riccarton, Christchurch
(03) 348 8879