Co Chin Saigon

If you’re looking for an authentic take on Vietnamese food, Co Chin Saigon should be your next stop! Their menu offers a good variety of Vietnamese dishes that you’re unlikely to find elsewhere. After eyeing their social media posts for some time, I finally decided to make a visit and left feeling satisfied with what they had to offer.

Co Chin Saigon’s menu has quite a bit to choose from but you’ll also find daily specials, providing the opportunity to try out different and unique Vietnamese dishes. Many of the dishes are ones that I grew up eating at home, but rarely ever saw being offered at restaurants. There are both savoury and sweet specials. It’s nice to know Co Chin Saigon was willing to step out of the box with more non-traditional items to showcase that Vietnamese food is so much more than just pho, rice, and vermicelli.

On the Sunday that I visited, the special was the Combo Bèo Lọc Trần Đúc ($14.95), a combo of 4 types of traditional rice cakes:
Bánh bèo – rounded rice cakes, Bánh lọc – clear tapioca dumplings, Bánh ít trần – sticky rice dumplings and Bánh đúc – steamed rice cakes. All of the cakes were great but I particularly enjoyed the Banh Duc, which had subtle hints of coconut. Eating this mini platter had me reminiscing about my visits to Vietnam with family. If you are visiting on Sunday, it would be a great option to sample a bit of everything!

We also tried their Bún Bò Huế ($13.95), a spicy lemongrass beef noodle soup. The Bun Bo Hue at Co Chin Saigon comes with all the toppings, including Hue style sausage (central Vietnamese pork sausage) and you can even add cubed pork blood. I definitely prefer bun bo hue over pho most days so was excited to give it a try, however, the Bun Bo Hue was unfortunately not a stand out dish for me. I felt there was some depth missing to the broth and overall, it just wasn’t my favourite but… a contending dish if you want to play it safe.

My favourite dish here was actually the Bột Chiên ($11.95) – fried rice flour cakes with egg, served with pickled veggies and a sweet but tangy soy sauce. This is a common street food in Vietnam and I personally think there are not enough restaurants in Edmonton that offer it! It is normally found under the appetizer section on menus but I love it so much that I eat it as my main course lol. Co Chin Saigon’s bot chien was great and a fair portion! The rice cakes were perfectly crispy and I would definitely order it again.

I also tried a dessert item – Chè bưởi ($4.00) – a pomelo sweet dessert. Anytime you see the word “Che,” it refers to Vietnamese dessert, generally a soup/pudding or beverage of some sort. If you enjoy pomelo and don’t mind texturized and gelatinous desserts, this is worth a try! Made with pomelo, coconut milk and tapioca, it was sweet (but not overly sweet) and a great item to finish off the meal.

Overall, my first experience at Co Chin Saigon was a good one. I enjoyed the meal I had and was impressed with the variety they offer. Service was friendly and prices were fair. While they are located in an unassuming spot, their vibrant and modern interior is warm and inviting. If you are looking for a Vietnamese spot that stands out from the rest, check them out!