19 April 2016

Cheap eats - Saigon Fresh (Gungahlin)

| Alexandra Craig
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saigon fresh gungahlinYou know when you stumble across something, and you think about how awesome you are for finding something so great? That’s how I feel about Saigon Fresh in Gungahlin.

It’s a tiny little hole in the wall, tucked away in the Coles building in Gungahlin. The actual store is just next door to Best and Less. Blink and you’ll miss it.

saigon fresh

Their menu isn’t huge, it mainly consists of dishes like banh mi, rice paper rolls, and wraps. They also have a pretty cool drinks menu but more on that later.

I ordered a chicken banh mi. The other options were pork, meatball, or vegetarian. You could pick and choose from the standard fillings of homemade pate, mayonnaise, sweet and sour carrot (had never heard of this one before!), cucumber, red onion, coriander, chilli and soy sauce. I decided to get everything except coriander and a half serving of chilli because I’m not as tough as I’d like to be.

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I think I had only been waiting for about thirty seconds and my banh mi was ready to go – super quick service here.

It was delicious, however it could have had more of each filling (however, I took my partner back on the weekend and his was packed with fillings so that aspect might be a bit hit and miss). The bread was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside – I think they had been baked not long before I arrived. The fillings were just as fresh with crisp salads and perfectly cooked chicken. Although I had asked for a half serve of chillies, it still packed a huge punch so no shortage of flavour there.

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Onto the drink options. They had a few different types of bubble tea, but what I really was after was a ‘fruit shake’. You pick up to 5 different fruits, they blend them up with some ice and a spoonful of mysterious liquid which I assume was a sugar syrup or something similar. They put an awesome colourful plastic seal over the top (perfect for heading back to the office juggling multiple orders!) and give you a wide straw with a pointed end so when you’re ready to drink, you stab it through the plastic and off you go. I got strawberries, banana, lychees, passionfruit and apple in mine. Yum. It was really refreshing. I’m sure it would be very healthy if it weren’t for the sugar syrup. It was Friday, treats are allowed on Fridays!

The banh mi was $6, and the drink was also $6. However, if fruit shakes aren’t your thing they have a meal deal where you get a banh mi and a 375 ml can or bottle of water for a total of $8. Bargain!

There aren’t many seating options in store, just a bar and stools arrangement but it only had room for about three or four people so this is one to take back to the office or to enjoy down by the water at Yerrabi Pond.

Gungahlin is a bit far from my workplace to go there for lunch but it’s definitely a new weekend favourite for me. Fresh, delicious, cheap and quick – it’s a winner.

What: Saigon Fresh
Where: Gungahlin Village Shopping Centre (next to Best and Less)
Opening hours: 9.am-5pm (Mon-Thurs and Saturday), 9am-7pm (Friday), 10am-4pm (Sunday)

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Maya123 said :

How is it different to Subway?

You could find out for yourself by trying one from Saigon Foodies in Kingston next time you are down that way. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Alexandra Craig8:13 pm 22 Mar 15

Holden Caulfield said :

Rollersk8r said :

I’ve been here and the value was good – although I’m yet to be impressed with a Banh Mi roll. I like the idea, I like all the ingredients, I love chilli – but they’re never that good. Especially this quick-assembly style where the meat etc is processed and is in ribbon form…

The banh mis from Saigon Foodies in Kingston are pretty good.

YES! These are great too! I had one a few months ago and it was delicious. This will sound a bit silly but it actually had too much filling in it. It was overflowing so I had to pick lots of carrot and cucumber out of it.

Maya123 said :

How is it different to Subway?

The bread is a thousand times more delicious, Subway doesn’t have pate, the vegetables were of way better quality and freshness than what I’ve experienced at Subway before, and it’s also cheaper than Subway.

Maya123 said :

How is it different to Subway?

Doesn’t stink like Subway for a start!

What is that stuff they are cooking with? Turns my stomach when I walk past. Had to stay in a Hotel in Elizabeth Street Melbourne for a week. It had a Subway underneath. The smell went right up the elevator shaft. We tried to hold our breath all the way down and out the doors.

How is it different to Subway?

Holden Caulfield1:57 pm 20 Mar 15

Rollersk8r said :

I’ve been here and the value was good – although I’m yet to be impressed with a Banh Mi roll. I like the idea, I like all the ingredients, I love chilli – but they’re never that good. Especially this quick-assembly style where the meat etc is processed and is in ribbon form…

The banh mis from Saigon Foodies in Kingston are pretty good.

Used to be a great hole in the wall Banh Mi in George Street near the corner with Liverpool Street Sydney.

Unfortunately the landlords moved her on, to where I don’t know.

She had the best crispy french rolls and chinese pork meat balls drizzled with Vietnamese light chilli dressing, pickles and vegetables. And she was so cheap.

I would detour several blocks to go past and get one. Wish I had gone more often.

Sometimes the notion isn’t the reality when you seek out a match for something you love somewhere else. Had a shocker from a lunch truck in Washington D.C. Thought it was the healthy choice and the long queues meant it was good. Sadly not, mushy hot dog bun, enough salt to fill the Dead Sea and commercial dressing. But the truck owners thought very highly of their efforts!

Just had one, can still feel the chilli. Life is good

I’ve been here and the value was good – although I’m yet to be impressed with a Banh Mi roll. I like the idea, I like all the ingredients, I love chilli – but they’re never that good. Especially this quick-assembly style where the meat etc is processed and is in ribbon form…

Anyway my point is, what do you have to gain from this article? Will you enjoy Saigon Fresh more for telling other people about it? Do you want more people to enjoy their delicious rolls? Do you want to drum up business for Saigon Fresh?

Some things are great, and things change, but maybe for a little while they can be kept secrets 🙂

God damn it. I was there today and I thought ‘this place is getting popular’, and now I see this.
Some things in life are good, and they are special, and we show them to other people and they say ‘I don’t get it’, or they tell other people, but either

Yep, same people had the gone but not forgotten Hub Asian supermarket and they did these rolls there. The sweet and sour carrot is just the normal sweet pickles, made fresh and very addictive.

Cheap, fresh, great flavours and textures. Might wander over for one tomorrow.

Saigon Fresh is certainly a local favourite. I drive out there specifically for a roll at least every second week. Although for the best Saigon rolls in Australia, check out Hong Ha bakery in Mascot. https://www.google.com.au/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x6b12b106ececa5cf:0xeeb92588fad532a!2m5!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i100!3m1!7e1!4shttp://www.panoramio.com/photo/64711568!5shong+ha+bakery+mascot+-+Google+Search&sa=X&ei=TPQIVYObE4b5mAWXiYFY&ved=0CH8QoiowCw

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