My friend Phil said he knew a good place for dinner. Earlier yesterday, I asked for suggestions from my Twitter friends and @yengreyes mentioned Cuc Gach Quan then tweeted me its address. I didn’t realize Phil was referring to this place. I have concluded Saigon has a lot of secrets I’d find out if I only asked.
We were lucky Ja, Malou and Cindy went to the restaurant earlier and managed to get a table. Otherwise we’d have starved before we could get a space. You really have to book before going to this place or you are going to queue up for an hour or two.
As soon as the cab stopped, we had recognized its facade- who wouldn’t? It was in photos just a couple of months ago-when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt came to Saigon with Pax Tien, their Vietnamese son and the other siblings. From the outside, you wouldn’t know how special the place is. It’s a real maze before we got to the attic- the perfect place for such an intimate meeting with our Filipino friends!
I really think it’s the best place to go if you’re looking for authentic Vietnamese food, music and ambiance. Our visitors Ate Alice and Ate Marissa enjoyed checking out the antique stuff and took pictures of them. They are into cooking as well so they got busy with the food, talking about ingredients. They even thought of getting into a cooking class to learn Vietnamese cuisine. As for me, I was 100% sold out of the place after drinking their caphe sua da. It was just so special.
Here are some photos from last night:
This photo reminds me of the life in the countryside. Simplicity at its best!
Is that supposed to be a scarecrow?
Pinoy night in Saigon 
I had 6 bowls of rice 
Kangkong straw
Busog!
I feel like I’ve known them for ages.
I am Vietnamese.
The door to a delightful moment!
How to get there? Check their website: Cuc Gach Quan
Love this restaurant! It’s our favorite too! They were kind enough to let us have our family photo shoot taken upstairs.
Top notch food!
There’s something about their food that can’t be found in other restos. I’m not sure but it might be the use of herbs and spices for flavor, instead of MSG. And the fresh juices in bottles- that was a totally new experience!
Will definitely dine there again!
Funny, I was also there last night. But at one of their other 2 locations, so didn’t see you guys.
The food there can be described as Vietnamese home cooking.
Wow, we didn’t know they have other locations. Mind sharing where they are?
The other one is at 92 B, Thạch Thị Thanh, HCMC.
Love the veggie straw! Nice touch!
Native Vietnamese food look so good. The choices here in NYC for good VN restaurant are slim pickings. I cant wait to visit all the yummy food stalls and restaurants when I get the chance to travel to Saigon.
Reblogged this on A Love For Vietnam.
Thank you for reblogging! <3
The other place on Thạch Thị Thanh is nice,they only have one menu so this is cheaper and surprising. Like the one your are describing in your article, the setup is very original as it looks you eat at somebody’s place.
Cuc Gach is a very nice Vietnamese restaurant but their prices increased due to their success. Fair enough, SH garden did the same a few years ago.
Another great deal in the same area is “Quan Bui” on 8 Nguyen Van Nguyen | Tan Dinh Ward, D1.
This is my new favorite since a few month. Western food is as reasonable and good as vietnamese one.
I love salads there.
Wow! I have never been to that place. Thanks for the info. You do know a lot about food!