Saigon II Lincroft gone?

[seal]

Stopped at the BOA next door to them yesterday and was shocked to see a new sign there that read "Kimchi & Sushi".

Does anyone have any info on this? I always liked Saigon II a lot, with the recent loss of Mannow and now this Lincroft may lose its brief status as a foodie destination.

-----
Saigon II
650 Newman Springs Rd, Lincroft, NJ 07738

[equal_Mark]

Got email from Lori today with everything you need to know about the new restaurant
(except the location)...

http://www.saigon2.com/pl.htm

[equal_Mark]

Got another email from Lori today...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First of all.... thank you for all your email and support. With your encouragement, I’m finally getting out from my mini retirement and deciding to open another restaurant. After few months looking for the location, finally we found new location in Broad Street - Red Bank, we are still in the process of putting everything together. God willing, Pho Le Vietnamese Restaurant will be open on April 2011.

Before the opening date, we will inform everyone who leaves their email address at the former Saigon II restaurant or whoever emails us through the Saigon II web site.
Thank you to all of our loyal customers. I will not say "GOOD BYE"...... But, I will see you all soon!

Lori

[anngrape]

hi everyone, just wanted to add that it does really seem like saigon II going to reopen under a new name/location...in an email last week the owner seemed hopeful that her "Pho Le Vietnamese restaurant" will open on November 1, 2010!

[cantkick]

Did she give a location? Craving some of their Pho.

[anngrape]

No location yet, but I'll definitely post if I learn anything

[MWinston]

I just went over to Kimchi & Sushi to check it out for myself. I was very happy with the Bento Box lunch special I ordered. I thought the portion was quiet good and everything was very tasty.

I chose the Stir-fry Squid Bento (though I think it was octopus). For $10 I got a miso soup, goyoza, tempura vegetables, 4 pieces of California roll, salad, rice, and my main course. The California roll was better quality than I expected and the tempura and goyoza did not disappoint, especially with the tempura sauce. I thought it was a little strange that the salad had no dressing so I poured a bit of soy sauce on it and everything was happy again. The stir-fry tasted great. It had an ample amount of squid and the vegetables tasted fresh. There was slightly spicy sauce on the stir-fry that I swiped up with the white rice at the end. I look forward to going there another time to try their Korean dishes.

[cantkick]

Thanks for the report. I don't know that it'll replace my usual sushi places, Kanji and Sono (depends what I'm near at the time), but I'll try it. Looking forward to a Korean report, as I am totally unfamiliar with that cuisine.

[sockster]

Can't, as long as you love sushi, have you tried Yumi in Sea Bright? Once you go, you'll be hooked. It's amazing. As Kanji, not true sushi, but incredible Japanese fusion food.

-----
Yumi
1120 Ocean Ave, Sea Bright, NJ 07760

[eleeper]

Yes, they do serve octopus instead of squid, and while this is not quite as bad as listing beef and serving pork (or vice versa), it is a grave disservice to people who have reservations about eating octopus. (In my case it was someone else who ordered it, but I have to remember to avoid anything listed as squid on the menu.)

[equal_Mark]

Has anyone tried any of the Korean dishes here?

[joonjoon]

Yeah, I've tried a couple of their dishes. I don't know if you've ever tried the Korean menu at Fune but this place is at about that level. It's fine in the event of a Korean craving emergency or for a change of pace during lunch, but that's about it. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad - but just not close to any of the options in Edison.

[cantkick]

Fune is long gone, and its replacement is not very good. (Ginza, I think. I wrote it up a few months ago.)

I tried Fune's Korean in the lunch buffet. I don't remember anything about it, so it must have been ok, but only so-so.

[equal_Mark]

I stopped by and grabbed a menu. There are plenty of decent local Japanese places around, so I was hoping for a decent Korean place. After checking it out I have one comment that speaks volumes to me about the Korean selections at Kimchi & Sushi: THERE IS NO KIMCHI ON THE MENU.

http://www.exit109.com/~mstevens/Take...

[joonjoon]

Yeah it's appalling that a place called Kimchi & Sushi has no Kimchi on the menu - how hard is it to put a kimchi roll or something on the menu?

Having said that, when you order a korean dish it is served with kimchi. Their bulgogi bibimbap is actually not bad - but then again how do you screw up a bulgogi bibimbap?

[equal_Mark]

So they do serve Kimchi with the Korean dishes? Most Korean places I've been to have 2 different vrsions; the wimpy stuff served to the customers and the high-test version eaten by the staff. You often have to inquire about that.

What about the half dozen or more condiments that normally accompany most Korean meals? Can you recall the ones served here?

[joonjoon]

As far as I know they don't have 2 different versions of food for Koreans and non-Koreans. And they do serve banchan - the little side dishes - but they only serve like 3 different sides, one of which will be Kimchi. The others are usually pickiled cucumbers and some steamed bean sprouts, or sweet pickled daikon or something. Nothing fancy, but it's not bad for lunch!

[equal_Mark]

The thing about the 2 versions of kimchi is never posted anywhere, you have to ask them. I may have to check them out. The Korean food seems to be an afterthought here, but it seems to be the only game in town...

[equal_Mark]

Went there a couple nights ago and it was pretty good. Had the Yellowtail Jalapeno appetizer ([sheepish grin] - I had to ask for a pair of the cheapie wooden chopsticks as the plastic house ones were just too slick). On your advice tried the bulgogi bibimbap. It was quite good as well as being quite huge, though I had to augment it with a bit of Melinda's habanero sauce. :-) With the heat radiating off of the scorching ceramic bowl it was served in I bet it will be especially comforting during the cold weather...

As for the condiments, they did serve the red chili sauce as well of 5 small bowls that consisted of 2 types of spicy sprouts, what appeared to be sauteed endive, a marinated seaweed and (Yay!) kimchi. It was nicely spiced, but could have been cranked up a few more notches...

Oh, here is a video I came across dedicated to all the other Kimchi lovers out there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHw4lv...

[autumnlilacs]

Does anyone have a menu for this place?

[cantkick]

I don't have one handy, but I wasn't terribly impressed. The Japanese portion was pretty standard. The Bento boxes for lunch were a little restrictive, and about a buck or two more than other places I enjoy. There were a few Korean dishes, but fewer than I'd expect for a restaurant with Kimchi in its name.

[JustJake]

I'm going to try this again. Has anyone ever ate at Eugene's (how strange a name) for what was once a GREAT Korean restaurant in Pemberton? Now gone about 2-3 years.

Damn, was that place something else.

[Quine]

Eugene's was off the hook GREAT. It was in Brown Mills, now it's a subway. The store next to it was also good. *sigh* I really miss it.

[MaxMoon2010]

Kimchi & Sushi Cuisine at 650 Newman Springs Road has great food, especially their LUNCH BOX special.

My kids and my wife love it so much. The waiter, Joe, is very friendly and the price is right, too. Note that their lunch box speical is only from Monday to Saturday. They do not have Lunch Box special on Sunday.

[equal_Mark]

***One Hit Wonder Alert***

[JustJake]

lol.....

[joonjoon]

It really doesn't get any more obvious than this...

[MichelleM131]

lol. That's actually pretty funny.

[FoodDude2]

Looks like a mediocre bento box at best. Some fried stuff, rice, and either fried shrimp or 4 slices of sashimi. OOO Saigon II how I miss thee already

[delasandra]

Just heard about this yesterday. Very upset. If they are moving to another location please post. Thanks

[hcentro]

My wife and I actually happened to go to Saigon II the last night they were open. We had no idea they finally sold the business. The waiter told us his step-mother who was the owner/chef is going to take the spring/ early summer off and travel. They are planning to re-open in another location somewhere in the Monmouth Mall area in late summer/early fall. They took people's e-mail address so they can let their customers know when they will be re-opening.

-----
Saigon II
650 Newman Springs Rd, Lincroft, NJ 07738

[joonjoon]

That's great news! Hopefully Saigon III will be back soon and this way we'll have Korean AND Vietnamese in our area! :D

[cantkick]

That's a shame, but not a total surprise, as they were pretty empty every time I went there, and didn't seem to do much take out, either. I'll check it out this week.

In the bright side, it may mean we finally have a Korean restaurant in the area.

[wench31]

Yay!!! Sorry to hear that Saigon closed but yay for Korean!

[joonjoon]

Kimchi and Sushi is now open! I just ordered BiBimBap, and my friend is getting a Bulgogi Bibim Bap. The Koreans are out in full force today! Haha.

Update: Just finished eating. I thought the BibimBap was passable, the sides were ok. My friend really liked her dolsot bulgogi bibimbap though, and their yuzu tea. We also got a roll that was ok, the rice was a little on the mushy side.

IMO this place is basically about the equivalent of Fune. My friend thinks this place is much better.

They also have a tea menu, but i'm not really a tea guy...

[wench31]

I wish I saw this earlier! I was trying to decide where to go for lunch today. Will definitely give that a try. Thanks for letting me know!

[cantkick]

Stopped by earlier this week. There's a small sign on the door that says "Opening soon. Japanese and Korean Cuisine." But no apparent activity inside. If I see anything, I'll alert the Hounds.