Saigon Mama opens fourth Beijing location

Founded in 2015, Vietnamese cuisine restaurant chain Saigon Mama opened its fourth Beijing branch in Chaoyang Joy City in June.

Founder Kevin Chu aims to build a modern and casual restaurant brand that brings authentic Vietnam flavors to Chinese diners. Their recipes have been passed down from mother to son for three generations.

The restaurant's dishes are a blend of northern and southern Vietnamese delicacies.

Chef Hung Lam takes 12 hours to cook the base soup for the restaurant's signature pho, which uses ox bones, beef tendon, onions and a dozen spices. The soup for the seafood pho also takes 10 hours to make, and includes pig bones and shrimp paste.

The Vietnamese spring roll is one highlight, as the homemade nuoc-mam adds Southeast Asian flavor to the dish.

The Vietnam-style drip coffee and Saigon special sandwich are also must-tries.