We wanted to try some Vietnamese cuisine and so we went to Saigon Republic for dinner. This restaurant is located at Saradise, Kuching which in my opinion is the top spot in Kuching for dining out as there are so many food and beverage outlets located there. We had previously taken Vietnamese food at another restaurant, Little Saigon before but this is our first time dining at Saigon Republic.

The entrance of Saigon Republic with lanterns looks very welcoming and inviting. This gives me a very good first impression of the restaurant.

Once we entered the restaurant, we were greeted with even more lanterns of different shapes and colors.

Besides the lanterns hanging from the ceiling, there were hardly any other decorations. It is as if the owners had either run out of ideas or run out of money to beautify the restaurant.

The restaurant was only about half full. Besides my family, only three other tables were occupied. This is despite the premier location of the restaurant at Saradise.

At the corner of the shop, was a shelf filled with some of the ingredients used in Vietnamese cuisine. I am not sure whether these are for display only or for sale.

The simple counter is located right below the stairs.

This is the menu of Saigon Republic. Unfortunately the menu is very limited. There were some items which we want to order but were not in the menu.

To make matters worse, even with the limited menu, there were some items listed on the menu which were also unavailable.

I ordered a mix platter of spring rolls for all of us to share. The fried spring roll contained minced meat while the fresh roll contained shrimps. The platter is accompanied by chili sauce and fish sauce. My son Jonathan enjoyed the fried spring roll as it was more crispier.

My son and I had the Com Heo, which is pork chop rice vietnamese style. I find that the taste of the pork was rather bland.

Among all of us, my daugther Victoria has the smallest appepite and that could be the reason why she is very slim. She opted for Pho Nam which is pork with rice noodles. It came with a plate of bean sprouts which is very healthy. Overall, this dish was quite nice.

My wife Roselind ordered the chicken Pho which also comes with a plate of bean sprout. According to wife, the dish was just passable.

Overall we felt that the dining experience was not up to par. I do enjoy veitnamese cuisine but this particular restaurant does not make the cut. It is unlikely we will return anytime here soon.