Oct 19, 20212 min read

Lucky Saigon Cafe: A hidden sanctuary at Tanglin

Lucky Saigon Cafe, Hidden Vietnamese Restaurant at Tanglin

If you’ve run out of places to visit while still stuck in Singapore, Lucky Saigon Cafe is the restaurant you’ll want to visit!

Situated right next to Salvation Army Drive-Thru Centre at Tanglin, Lucky Saigon Cafe serves Vietnamese food with an entirely outdoor concept. Lucky Saigon Cafe isn't entirely a new establishment as this is actually their second outlet. The first one is located near Boat Quay, at North Canal Road.

The environment

Bored of the usual woody interiors of cafes? Then you'll enjoy the cafe full of lush greenery!

Almost like a garden in the midst of the city, you'll be greeted by pretty fairy lights and an amazing little bridge filled with mist as you enter the cafe. If you're there in the day, you'll also hear the lovely chirping of birds and even a rooster at the cage located right outside of the cafe.

You'll be greeted by their staff dressed in Vietnamese traditional costumes and you're free to seat anywhere! We visited on a weekday evening and were advised to seat closer to the entrance as venture further inside, you'll become a treat for the mosquitoes!

The Food

The menu at Lucky Saigon Cafe is extensive. You can enjoy the barbecue food (think sambal stingray, $18), banh mi (baguette), pho (Vietnamese noodles) and even order tze char style of sides and rice.

We tried the Vietnamese beef ball soup ($8.50) and the Hue Spicy Beef Noodle ($12.50). The beef ball soup, honestly wasn't the best that we've had in Singapore but the Hue Spicy Beef Noodle was something else.

We're not really sure what herbs they used, but every mouthful of soup was a delight! It isn't overwhelmingly spicy but if you want that heat, you're always free to add in more chilli padi they've served at the side!

We also ordered their Iced Vietnamese milk coffee ($4.90) and the Iced Green Tea ($1.50) for drinks. The iced green tea was nothing fancy but the milk coffee was yum! A pity that it didn't come in the drip coffee form for the iced version! That would have made the experience more authentic!

For desserts, we also ordered a caramel Panna Cotta. The dessert wasn't presented as beautifully as we thought but every bite was custard-y and smooth. It wasn't too sweet as well!

The Verdict?

Overall, for the environment and the price of the food, it is definitely worth a second and third visit! We enjoyed dining there and if you were to go for dinner, do head there early! Then, you'll be able to soak in both the day and night view of Cafe Lucky Saigon!