Locally-owned Saigon District brings a piece of Vietnam to Cypress

After owning two previous Cy-Fair area restaurants, Kim Kim and Pho Kim Kim, Saigon District Vietnamese Restaurant owner Huy Nguyen said he's finally found a place where he belongs.

Long story short

Nestled in the front of Fairfield is what Nguyen calls "a little piece of Saigon" in Cypress, his Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon District. Nguyen said the restaurant offers dishes influenced by the year he and his wife spent back home in Vietnam while construction on the restaurant was being completed, adding that the main focus of Saigon District is the food.

"We care about the customers and the quality, so if the food's not ready, we don't sell [it]," Nguyen said. "I want the quality exactly the same every time they come back. Exactly the same."

After working as an accountant, Nguyen started working as a restaurateur in 2004, taking over his mother's restaurant previously located at the intersection of 290 and Hwy 6. Since Saigon District opened last December, Nguyen, a Cypress resident himself, said the support from the community has been overwhelming.

“I can see the return customers every day. I just get to know all of them,” Nguyen said. “[For the] first time in my life, I feel I belong somewhere in the community.”

What they offer

Some of Saigon District’s signature items include the Cast-Iron Skillet Steak and Eggs, the Ultimate Feast, which comes with multiple types of meat in slow-simmered beef broth, and the Shaking Beef, which features cubed, marinated steak and vegetables paired with rice and salad – Nguyen’s personal favorite. 

One of Saigon District’s most popular items is its Vietnamese coffee, Nguyen said, which features traditionally filtered coffee, cut with condensed milk and topped with a sweet foam. Nguyen said many of their dishes require lengthy preparation and cook times, with the Pho bone broth taking 14 hours.

Nguyen said that because it gets so busy on weeknights and weekends, they sometimes sell out of Pho by 7 p.m., and, sticking with his mom’s Pho recipe, they use a careful process to make their broth, rather than using powder.

“We know Fairfield, especially, they support their community,” Nguyen said. “More than any other community, Fairfield is very special. They really go out there, they support new local [businesses]."

With Saigon District's one-year anniversary approaching on Dec. 7, Nguyen said he's still thinking about how they plan to celebrate with the community.

• 15103 Mason Road, Ste. C2, Cypress

• www.saigondistrict290.com