The Cupertino Courier

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Saigon Palace chef Chanh Ngo and restaurant owner Kathy Tran show off
a combination of grilled beef, shrimp and egg rolls.

Palace brings traditional, new dishes to The Oaks

By Pam Marino

After years of working in her parents' restaurants in Southern California, Kathy Tran had a dream of opening her own Vietnamese restaurant.

A cousin of hers, Chanh Ngo, who lives here in the Bay Area, told her that Cupertino was a nice town with not very many authentic Vietnamese restaurants around. The two found out that a Japanese restaurant in The Oaks shopping center was for sale, Tran bought it, and in late August Saigon Palace opened its doors. Tran said the restaurant is already enjoying repeat business from enthusiastic customers.

Tran runs the restaurant, and Ngo is the main chef. Tran said Ngo has many years of experience as a chef, as well as experience with wines.

The restaurant features traditional Vietnamese dishes, as well as a new dish that Tran said she wants to introduce to the Bay Area. "It's the new thing in Southern California," she said.

The dish features traditional Vietnamese vermicelli noodles, called bún. A grilled patty, made with marinated ground shrimp or pork and ground water chestnuts, is wrapped inside bean curd and then deep-fried. The concoction sits on top of the chilled bún noodles, which sit on top of a salad with cucumber, bean sprouts and mint. It's served with fish sauce.

"I haven't seen it at other Vietnamese restaurants up here," Tran said.

One "very popular" dish at Saigon Palace, according to Tran, is the "Special Claypot Rice," a combination of prawns, chicken, mushrooms, broccoli and rice. The mixture is pan-fried and then baked to a crisp in a clay pot.

Tran said the restaurant has a theme centered on one particular herb called lemon grass. There is a lemon grass dish under in category on the menu: calamari, chicken, beef and pork chops, as well as a vegetarian tofu in lemon grass. "The lemon grass chicken is a bestseller," Tran said.

Many of the lemon grass entrées are listed as "spicy," but the herb itself is not spicy. Tran said any dish at Saigon Palace can be made mild or spicy.

Appetizers at Saigon Palace include Vietnamese egg rolls, shrimp rolls and fried garlic chicken wings. Salads include shrimp or pork with lotus root salad, calamari Thai-style salad and Vietnamese chicken salad.

There is a wide variety of beef noodle soups, made with a broth cooked for 12 to 15 hours. There are also seafood noodles, egg noodles, egg soup noodles and rice soup noodles. The restaurant also has fire pots; a pot of hot broth over a fire is brought to the table for dipping meat and vegetables. There is also a big variety of rice plates, dinner entrées, and a selection of vegetarian dishes.

Prices start at $3.95 for a small serving of beef noodle soup, or $4.95 for a large bowl. Tran said the dish makes an excellent lunch. Appetizers are $4.25 each, salads are $6.50 to $7.50. Rice plates run from $4.75 to $6.50. All vegetarian plates are $5.50. At dinner the restaurant features two combinations: One has egg rolls, soups and lemon grass chicken for $9.95 per person; the other offers all of the above and a sautéed combination of seafood with mixed vegetables, for $11.95 per person. Other dinner entrées run from $6.95 to $9.

The restaurant features modern decor and a view of the Cupertino foothills.

Saigon Palace is located in The Oaks Shopping Center, 21271 Stevens Creek Blvd., 996-8886. Hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The restaurant is currently closed Mondays.

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