Saigon Signatures

Another week another Banh Mi for us again — had caught news about the opening of a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese eatery that had just opened its doors fairly recently. Named Saigon Signatures, the eatery is located within the Aljunied Crescent / Aljunied Avenue 2 neighbourhood that have seen quite a bit of a change of the late in terms of the selection of F&B choices there. Saigon Signatures is located at Blk 118 Aljunied Avenue 2 — this makes them being located within the same block as where the Giant supermarket is, being just conveniently located a few steps away. Another notable tenant within the same block would be the FM Food Court; this would be the same food court that houses stalls like Osaka Time which we had written before in the past, and is located at level 2 of the block. Whilst Saigon Signatures does look like a rather small dining establishment on the outside, we were actually surprised by how well-renovated they are — the establishment being decked in a rather raw yet warm feel with elements featuring wooden accents mixed in with concrete walls and floors; the addition of plants also helps to add some life into the space as well. We were least expecting a dine-in space being situated considering the small shop space; Saigon Signatures have actually managed to pack in a high table facing the wall that also has high chairs for dine-in patrons, whilst also offering a dining table fit for two pax just right beside the entrance within the establishment itself. Saigon Signatures serves up fare that is pretty typical to what other Vietnamese establishments around the island serves up; think items such as Pho, Com Tam (Vietnamese Broken Rice), Meats with Rice Vermicelli and Banh Mi for main dishes — they also do serve up the usual variations of spring rolls (i.e. deep-fried and fresh), as well as the usual variety of Vietnamese coffee amidst tea options for their beverages.

We weren’t really quite expecting that Saigon Signatures to have a space for dine-in when we made our visit to the establishment — we would have dropped by slightly earlier if we knew about it. Since the dine-in seats were fully occupied when we made our visit on a weekday dinner service, we decided to make a takeaway order of their Banh Mi to consume at the communal seating in a void deck of a HDB flat nearby. Amongst the various Banh Mi that they have to offer, we decided to go straight for the Pork Sausage Banh Mi; there aren’t many Vietnamese establishments that serves up the Potk Sausage Banh Mi — we had also only tried the item once period to the visit to Saigon Signatures at Yu Lok Fan Hin III at Tanjong Pagar Plaza. As with most other establishments serving up Banh Mi, Saigon Signatures does not explicitly list out each element that comes with their dishes, though it is noted that the Pork Sausage Banh Mi comes with a baguette that is stuffed with Vietnamese pork sausage, pickled carrots and radishes, tomato slices, cucumber and a spread of pate in between. We aren’t quite sure if it was due to us having the Banh Mi as a takeaway (we found a spot to sit and eat after going around for 5 minutes though), but the baguette had mostly become a little soft and limp by the time we consumed it; sure, the baguette did provide a good bite though lacked that shattering crisp texture that we were looking for. We liked how the Vietnamese pork sausage came with a flavour almost akin to that of a less salty Taiwanese sausage with a firmer bite, though much of the other elements seemed to have become a little wet as well; the flavours of the pickled vegetables felt especially watered down, leaving the Pork Sausage Banh Mi being mostly savoury from the Vietnamese pork sausage and the pate.

It was a little bit of a pity how our experience of the food at Saigon Signatures was a little marred by how we have had their food in takeaway format; we would reckon that they might have fared a little bit better if we could enjoy their offerings on the spot — after all, it does seem that Saigon Signatures is a spot with a bit of potential. There has been effort placed in the decor of the space, while they also serve duo their baguettes in printed paper bags that comes with their branding. Apart from their Pork Sausage Banh Mi that turned out a little disappointing in its takeaway form for us, we also tried their Vietnamese Drip Milk Coffee just like how we would do at other Vietnamese establishments as well. The Vietnamese Drip Milk Coffee was decent; the coffee was most definitely intense enough whilst coming at the right level of sweetness to balance things off — it comes with that slight hint of chocolatey note amidst the caffeinated kick that it carries. The prices of the main dishes at Saigon Signatures can be said as reasonably priced; the Banh Mi offerings are priced in the range of $5.50 to $7.90, while main dishes like the Pho, Com Tam and Rice Vermicelli dishes are within the range of $6.90 to $8.90 — there is no single item at Saigon Signatures which commands a price tag of more than $9.00 each, which makes them a rather accessible option to most. With that being said, our impressions of Saigon Signatures isn’t really something that we consider the establishment to be at its best; we would most probably head down to Saigon Signatures another time just to give some other offerings a go whilst dining in — a spot which we would say is left best for patrons who intend to dine here to try them out for themselves.