SAIGON STREET FOOD – Vietnamese PIZZA

Saigon Street Food? – Vietnamese PIZZA

NEWS FLASH:  Perhaps the most original, unique and authentic Saigon street food adventure yet uncovered by Eating Saigon’s street food reconnaissance team (that would be Hai and I) can now be reported.

Well, in fact, we had a little help finding this place, as follows:

Hai and I  received a surprise, semi-mysterious late night snack invitation from Ngoc (my landlady’s daughter) and her boyfriend, Vinh.  You might recall a month or so ago, a similar text message from Ngoc led to my semi-successful encounter with a Durian Pancake.  Revisit that distasteful/wonderful (depending upon your ethnicity) eating adventure here.

This time, however, Ngoc’s invitation and subsequent motorbike lead into the narrow, circuitous, dimly lit, yet-undiscovered alleys of Saigon’s District 10, were to be nothing less than a brilliant eating adventure success!

Hai and I jumped on our motorbike downstairs from our apartment and followed Ngoc and Vinh closely past Cong Vien Le Thi Rieng (our local park), past đường thịt chó (dog meat restaurant alley), and through the maze of narrow residential streets into a narrower-yet alleyway that had no businesses and no eateries — well, except for that one little house (hereinafter referred to as the NO NAME VIET PIZZERIA).

There, two women squatted respectively over a small charcoal grill and metal folding food-prep table – smiling, chatting, and working away on their unique dish – Vietnamese Pizza!

Actually, in truth, bánh tráng nướng is the more appropriate name here for this charcoal-grilled-to-a-thin-crispy-perfection rice batter cracker (frisbee-sized, thinner than a taco shell,  thicker than a potator chip.)  But, if it looks like a “pizza shell”, smells like a “pizza shell”, walks like a “pizza shell” … well?

On the pizza shell were the most delicious ingredients.  A sauce, blending red chili, sugar (or something quite sweet), tiny dried salted shrimp, and green onions.  Then,  there were the chunks of  bbq’d pork!  All sauteed, then grilled, creating an amazing flavor sensation. Sweet – hot- tangy – soooo yummy!

We each ordered and quickly consumed two small pizzas.  A real treat at just 10,000 vnd (50 cents USD) per pizza.

We were lucky to grab the only table provided in the tiny alley.  The score or so of other young visitors to NO NAME VIET PIZZERIA placed their orders, waited, then consumed their pizza treats all while sitting on their motorbikes … and then, drove off, back into the maze of alleys.

Easily rating a triple YUM YUM YUM here on Eating Saigon!’s Yum Meter, No-Name Viet Pizzeria leaps this week into Eating Saigon’s Top 20 eating adventures.

UPDATE – January, 2020:  Had another fun and delicious “pizza” treat in the alley here. Still a unique and yummy Saigon experience!

OPEN from 1:00 pm – 10:00 pm  (sorry, no morning pizzas)

NO-NAME VIET PIZZERIA
125/22 Nghia Hung Street
P.6,Tán Bình District
(difficult, almost impossible to find – but worth the effort)

View No Name Viet Pizzeria in a larger map