Review: Oryz Saigon - another modern Asian restaurant?
I’ll be honest. These days, ‘modern Asian’ restaurants that combine Western techniques with Vietnamese flavours and ingredients are a dime a dozen in Saigon with ones that stand out from the crowd, far and few between. Thankfully, newcomer Oryz Saigon is here to give new light to the term with its distinctively modern East Asian menu that spotlights regional culinary techniques, ingredients, flavours and food rituals.
Head Chef Chris Fong helms the newly-opened Oryz in District 1
Helmed by Singaporean chef-owner Chris Fong who honed his craft at several Michelin star restaurants such as Andre and Saint Pierre in Singapore before leading Villa Song Saigon as Executive Chef, the self-professed Asian cuisine geek with a diverse Asian and Western culinary background is keen on changing perceptions with his menu at Oryz that combines Asian fermentation techniques, soy, koji, and more with inspirations gleaned from his experience working in Vietnam, Japan, China and Malaysia.
To further help ‘Asian' stories flourish, Oryz has even curated a uniquely Asian list of new and old world wines like Silver Heights (acclaimed for its Chinese Cabernet Sauvignon wines) and Burgundy's Maison Lou Dumont founded by Japanese Sommelier Koji Nakada and wife Jae Hwa Park in addition to a selection of traditional Chinese teas.
Credit: Oryz Saigon
Credit: Oryz Saigon
The Space
Keeping in the same vein, the restaurant opens into a zen-like space with earthy grey and beige tones, minimal decoration (save for visible lines that mimic the crevices, creaks and movements of the mountains in the region), raw concrete floor, bamboo textured chairs, and an open kitchen where Head Chef Chris Fong calls the shots. Spanning two floors inside a refurbished shophouse in District 1, the spacious 50-seater space is due to open its al fresco seating area on the second floor in early 2024.
Cured and dried meats can be found inside Oryz’s fermentation room (Credit: Oryz Saigon)
Fermentation comes to the fore inside Oryz’s ‘fermentation room’ on the third floor where not one but three temperature-controlled fridges housing meats, vegetables and seafood (oysters are dried and powderized to make the restaurant’s signature homemade oyster sauce) sit next to a generous line-up of colourful pickling jars.
The Food
For his debut tasting menu, Chef Chris shines the spotlight on his favourite ingredients and flavours like rice-wine cured Sapa trout, kaya toast and Hue-style shrimp sauce. For a grand total of 1,288+ vnd per person - about half the cost of what you’d pay in a high-end fine dining restaurant in Saigon - which makes it all the more compelling to visit this new kid on the block while prices are still relatively affordable.
For Fong’s opening course, he serves his interpretation of a Vietnamese banh mi, which arrives as a charcoal dough fritter (banh quay) topped with a generous serving of chicken liver pate which is made from marinating the chicken liver in milk for a day before soaking it in rice wine for two hours and blending it into a smooth paste mixed with pho aromatics, butter and eggs. To finish, coriander, daikon and pickled carrots are added to give this one-bite wonder some crunch and contrast. The result: a perfect starter to whet the palate.
Another menu standout is Chef Fong’s rendition of the popular Vietnamese fish noodle dish - Bun Ca. For his version, Chef Fong uses a cured Sapa trout (24 to 48 hours) which he rubs in rice wine, leaves to hang dry for a day and then cures using Bac Lieu sea salt, dill, orange and tea leaves for four hours.
To balance the dish, Chef Fong adds what he calls a ‘Vietnamese salsa verde’ made from pineapple, tomato, starfruit, shallots and dill - vegetable staples typical of Bun Ca - tossed in a fish sauce vinaigrette with golden berries. Last but not least, a housemade rice sorbet mish-mashed with coconut is added tableside to the dish to neutralise the acidity of the salsa verde. Perhaps my favourite dish of the evening, this dish easily warrants a visit to Oryz.
East meets West for the first time in Chef Fong’s rendition of a classic beef tartare that swaps out the usual Dijon Mustard and capers with Vietnamese sate sauce - a spicy and flavourful condiment composed of garlic, lemongrass and shallots - fish sauce mayonnaise inspired by Sốt Bơ Trứng (usually used in Banh Mi) as well as lemongrass, thai basil and sawtooth coriander. The result is a combination so compelling and moreish, you’ll find yourself begging for more. The tartare comes with a generous portion of deep-fried pillow crackers made from rice so make sure to help yourself to a generous dollop of tartare.
For mains, Chef Fong dishes out a beef ‘fried rice’ served in two parts - a puffed rice salad composed of brown rice and jasmine rice tossed with a riot of vegetables (mustard greens, tomatoes, coriander, fried shallots from the North and crispy garlic) alongside a 16-hour sous vide steak grilled over charcoal. The steak is extremely tender and complements the pickled mustard greens perfectly though my only peeve is reserved for the rice, which arrives a tad coarse and over seasoned in oyster sauce for my liking.
Credit: Oryz Saigon
Thankfully, Chef Fong’s bibimbap risotto served with Iberico pork, soy egg and pickles from Vietnam boasts decidedly intense flavours headlined by gochujang and soya sauce, and is definitely the crowd favourite between the two albeit a bit moist. Though both mains are distinctively refined dishes, the appetisers still steal the show for me at Oryz.
Lotus tea served tableside (Credit: Oryz Saigon)
Oryz’s ‘kaya toast’ in the form of a sable cookie courtesy of fellow Singaporean chef Jack Lee (Credit: Oryz Saigon)
Desserts are the brainchild of Singaporean pastry Chef Jack Yeo, who was the founder of now-defunct pastry brand Soul Lab in District 3. At Oryz, Chef Lee brings to the table nostalgic Singaporean classics such as Kaya Toast in the form of a chewy sable cookie filled with homemade kaya custard and salted butter. I must caveat this by saying I don’t have the biggest sweet tooth so despite all the flavour trappings of an Singapore kaya toast - it was a bit on the sweet (and sticky) side for me.
Thankfully, a pot of refreshingly light and floral lotus tea served tableside is paired with the dessert and adds some balance to end the evening on a light and satisfying note.
The Verdict
Unless you’re coming for lunch or short on time, I recommend opting for the more-than-adequate eight course tasting menu at Oryz. Plus, until the 31st of October, Oryz is offering a 20%-discount on every bill. In time (if you prefer to hold out), Oryz will launch a new menu tentatively in Q1 2024 and add more teas and wines from Asia to its beverage menu - trust me, it’s definitely worth the wait or in my case, a return visit.
