Coriander, Thai Restaurant, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Coriander Restaurant

185 Bui Vien Street, District 1

Ho Chi Minh City

Opening hours 09:30 - 13:30

There are not many Thai restaurants in the Pham Ngu Lao area, actually this is the only one I recall seeing. I had not planned on eating here as the exterior is little inspiring to be honest. However, the Mumtaz, where I had planned to eat, was full and this was opposite the Mumtaz so I gave it a shot.

Very basic interior.

The interior was cleaner than the outside let me expect and the staff where on me in a flash to hand me the menu. The choice is fairly large without being too large and has all the run-of-the-mill Thai favorites: Pad Thai, Khao Pad and curries. Surprisingly enough they also have Spaghetti on the menu; perhaps a concession to the backpackers. I would have liked to see more curries as their choice is limited to Green and Red curry.

Spaghetti in a Thai restaurant?

Prices are quite reasonable with starters in the VND 35,000 - 60,000 range, salads and rice dishes around VND 60,000, curries VND 70,000 and main dishes from VND 35,000 to 150,000 (the latter a whole sea bass). Drinks are also not expensive, a fruit juice will set you back VND 20,000 and the cheapest beer, Sai Gon Green, costs a measly VND 12,000. If you want a drinkable beer than a large bottle of Tiger is only VND 20,000.

Order taken, I settled back with my coconut juice and tried to read. This was no easy task as the staff and owners were engaged in a very lively discussion. Vietnamese culture tends to border on the noisy but this was ridiculous, my ears were ringing by the time I left the restaurant; so much for a quiet lunch break. My theory is that the constant noise so prevalent in Vietnamese cities has resulted in most people being borderline deaf; thus the constant shouting.

Food arrived quickly and the portions were more than generous. I had asked for deep-fried shrimp patties to be served as a starter but, as usual failed and everything was served in one go. The patties were not bad though, not as rubbery as they often are; I would have liked a little more kick though. The sauce that came with the patties was out of the bottle and sweet like heck. It would have been nice to have some fish sauce, Thai or Vietnamese, with chillies. When I first came to Vietnam fish sauce was served as a matter of principle (and it still is so in Thailand); regrettably many restaurants have shifted to Maggi or something similar; a sauce that is just salty and tastes like crap really.

Fried shrimp patties.

The spicy beef salad was quite good though again lacking the necessary punch that is part of Thai cuisine. I pass that particular restaurant quite often and see that it is popular with Vietnamese punters; my guess is that they keep the food moderately hot for that market.

The salad was pretty good.

I had ordered pan-fried minced pork with Holy Basil and fried egg as the main dish. Not bad at all and this was the one dish that had a at least a little zest to it. As mentioned earlier the portions were way too large for me; like many Asian cuisines, Thai food is best eaten in a group so one can sample a little of everything.

Pan-fried minced Pork.

It would be more than a slight exaggeration to say that this was the best Thai food I ever had. However, considering its location in the backpacker area (where good food is a bit of a rarity) and the prices; I still think it is a solid choice and an alternative to all the restaurants lining Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien serving the same pseudo-Vietnamese food. Should the need for Thai food strike again, and should I be too lazy to head for the arguably better restaurants around Dong Khoi, I will certainly be back.

Food: ***

Ambiance: *

Value for money: ***

Recommended: For a quick Thai fix, yes.