Black Cat Saigon…Meow Meow … a Deli review-

Location:	Black Cat at 13 Phan Van Dat Dist 1 , HCMC , Vietnam

Been in Vietnam for almost 2 years now but I have only recently heard of Black Cat.

And it was only by word of mouth of fellow Expats that I came to know about the place.

I needed the break from the seafood, pho and other regular Vietnamese cuisine that I always had.
I craved for a piece of a good sandwich.
So on my R&R I headed to Black Cat at 13 Phan Van Dat Dist 1 , HCMC .
The restaurant was included in 2006 by CNN as one of the 10 places to eat in the World.
So it was only but natural for me to have high expectations. It was a small 2 level loft type nook that can be called both cozy and a bit cramped.

They have a very extensive menu of sandwiches , soups, salads , entrees , pitas from American , Mexican, Vietnamese and even Thai cuisine. You would have a good array of selection of that comfort food that Expats or long time visitors in Vietnam would look for after they had their fill of the local cuisine.

One of their specialties was called a Big Cheese, A monster of a cheese burger which had half a kilo of beef for its patty.Clearly it was more then I can handle. Memories of a half pounder (250 gram ) hamburger I tried to eat in a diner named Grease Spoon in Ontario , Canada still haunts me to this day , so I ll pass on that :)

I had a clam chowder as my starter and I was disappointed by its watery consistence. The taste could still be improved with more spices. It was one of those soups I would rather not write about.

For my entree I had their version of Reuben Sandwich which was made of corned beef, sauerkraut, onions parsley, Russian dressing and Swiss cheese on a dark rye bread grilled in butter.

The kosher pickle was limp and has seen better days , the potato salad was nothing special to write home about.

As for the Sandwich , the bread was grilled to perfection and from the way it crumbles in your mouth plus the smell of warm bread wafting to your nose. The bread itself shows that was it freshly baked that day and from what I heard the Black Cat bakes its own bread.

The corned beef was very good if not excellent and I am comparing it to 2 of the best deli/sandwich places in the world that I have eaten. Those are Katz and Carnegie Deli both in New York City which I never fail to visit when I am in town.

I was surprised to meet that quality of corned beef outside of the US , the salty beefy taste was simmered by the well made sauerkraut that even my former German GM would agree to have been excellently made .

From the taste and how it feels in your mouth, It was a well orchestrated symphony that will please your epicurean senses.


Overall its one of the best sandwiches I ever had. If Black Cat can improve more on its side dishes and soup. I would happily included them in of the top 20 places in the world to eat , but for now it will have to be one of the top 3 Deli Sandwich place in the world.