Asian Food at its Best – Little Saigon, Newcastle
I have always wanted to be a Food Reviewer. I always envy people with that job – to be able to eat for work… it’s not fair! So this time, when Ken was asked to do the photography of the newly opened Asian Vietnamese restaurant – Little Saigon at Bigg Market, in Newcastle, I was thrilled and excited to be able to write my own short review about the restaurant, to go with the photographs taken.
We went into Little Saigon on a rainy day, it was midday when we were asked to do the photoshoot because the restaurant was less busy. Outside the weather was dark and gloomy and Ken was not sure if he could get enough natural light. He wanted to avoid using LitePanel as he loves photographing with available (natural) light.
Already regular customers at Little Saigon for their lunch menu, this time our culinary experience was quite different! As we were setting up our equipment, one by one, the dishes came out at an astonishing speed but carefully prepared and beautifully presented. Soon the table was full of food. I could feel my saliva going as the wonderful fusion of coriander (my favourite herb in the world), mint, charcoal, beef filled the air, and the striking colours of the food caught my eyes. The generous restaurant owner said to me “We will all eat these after the photoshoot”.
Still in awe admiring the food, I was awaken from numbness by Ken’s voice in the background “Ling pass me the L lens!” . He continued assertively “Ling, you can’t eat the food. You can’t drink the coffee. We are working!” I then realised that I was there as his assistant! I wasn’t sure if he was slightly annoyed with me, but after he went on shooting 2 more dishes, he whispered “I can’t wait to finish this photoshoot so that I can bl**dy eat these!” 😀
My verdict for the restaurant? Well, a Vietnamese restaurant is what Newcastle has been missing. Even better, Little Saigon serves healthy, non-greasy, feel-good food. What more can I say, Little Saigon is definitely here to stay!
This smoothie is not on the menu – it is made out of banana, kiwi and strawberry. If you want to order, you need to ask for Andy’s Special Rainbow Smoothie – because it’s made by Andy (the very nice & friendly bloke who works there). 🙂
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13 Comments
Carrie
Beautiful pictures!
Kim
Lovely photos. You could sell lots of these as stock photos, they’re nice 🙂
Su
Ken and Shirley, these photos and your description of the food are making me hungry! The photos are great, it looks like such a nice restaurant and the food is very well presented. Shame Newcastle is so far away for me but when I come to visit you Ken I hope we can eat here! take care both of you, su 😀 xx
Ina
I feel hungry.. haha
wendy
Your photos made my mouth water!!
Emily
mmm yummy food.. the pineapple fried rice look very nice….kaka
Shirley you should encourage ken to take more this kind of job…haha
Candy 18
very nice~~~
I’m so hungry!!!
CJ
GOOD MAN THE PICTURES WERE AMAZING KEEP UP WITH THE GOOD WORK THREE LOBSTER ON YOUR NEXT VISIT AT LITTLE SAIGON!
SEE ME
THANKS A LOTS KEN
CJ
Joanne
Ling and Leung, I love your review and the pictures! The description and the photos make me wanna fly to Newcastle right now!
Danny
I ate at this place about a month ago, with 9 friends. The cost of the meals was under £100 with some of us having 2-3 meals in the main. It was lovely food and we went there after a recommendation. Lovely pictures which do the food justice. Nice to see what we ate was exactly the same as what you presented in the photographs!
Cherry Ee (Sa Kor)
My dear Ling, You see! You didn’t simply say “Yes” just because the diamond ring was beautiful! You actually have made the right decision by choosing this talented and fine young man “Ken” to be your lovely husband. There are so much wonderful things you both have cherished together, I just can’t wait to hear and see more……
kenlam
Thank you Sa Kor, for your valuable and insightful comments to my work. I really appreciate your support and I will do my best to improve my work each and every day. I am so glad to be part of the “Ee” family. Thank you for your unconditional acceptance and continuous loyalty. Looking forward to see you soon!
vincedel422
Hey, cool tips. I’ll buy a glass of beer for that person from that forum who told me to go to your site 🙂