This is Saigon Bay Express. Yes. It replaced the old, I forgot what was there, I don't know, Coffee House Outpost I believe, back in 2004-2005. For a minute I thought, "YESSS!! I don't have to go far for a Vietnamese meal!" I had a hunch that they served bowls of Pho here. But, as soon as they opened, bad reviews from friends and students arose. As if it wasn't worth the eat. So, I never got the chance to check it out.
Sadly to say, my final semester at Sac State had me curious to check out this Vietnamese express restaurant. Not only that, it was getting cold, and my throat was really hard to clear out. I needed something quick, hot, and good.
Walking inside, already, I got that burst of Vietnamese Restaurant Air: Lemony-Grass-Lime-Bean-Sprouty air. In addition, the site was uncanny, strikingly similar to the interior of most Vietnamese restaurants: kind of moist, semi-humid, and sort of dirty. But, I didn't care. I was used to this kind of stuff. Sometimes the most dirtiest places were always good. HAHA.
I ordered a Number 8 Pho Noodle Soup, a Pho with beef balls-beef strips of meat-noodles, came to about 5.75 from what I remember, or just about 6 dollars. Ok, so you're not getting as much as what you would get with a humongified X-large at some places for 6.75. Yes, I've had an x-large pho at one point, and it was, just, unbearable...too much food. Sorry, side tracked...but the Pho I got was served in a large Styrofoam container. The size can be compared to maybe a small bowl of Pho. But the taste was there, similar to most Vietnamese places, and nothing life changing. Now, all it needed was some some squeezes of hot sriracha, plum sauce, and lime.
There's a "condiment" section next to tables where you can eat your pho here in Saigon Bay Express. The condiments are obviously the sriracha, plum sauce, and a large pile of limes.
You can't really judge the soup, nor the price. I don't know how they survive on campus by selling these overly expensive Pho. But, they're still there serving many students, faculty, and staff.
Oh, I forgot to mention. Pho is the least of their worries. They have a wide variety of things to choose from their menu. Hot Brewed Coffees, Cold Beverages such as Smoothies and Iced Teas, Specialty Vietnamese Sandwiches, Spring Rolls, and of course PHO.
CSUS Students of YELP. Don't be scared to try this out. It's a major alternative to anything else served in the Union or at the River Front Center. If you're tired of Burger King, Asian Fats, or Gordito Burito..You got to at least give Saigon Bay Express a try. It's like, no one goes in there because it's so, DIFFERENT. Maybe my friends, and other students were right about this place being "hella sorry, and useless". Who cares. I'm being fed MOTHER SUCKAAA!!! Fed some quick PHO, and I don't need to LEAVE TIP!
3 Stars because, its ok. It would have been 4 stars if they had more quantity LOL. X-LARGE my PHO please?? hehe. read more