Saigon Express

This is a joke. .I ordered beef and rice. at literal its just thin slices of beef and rice. foe $ 8.00.they need to change there picture… freakin sad

don’t have unrealistic expectations for a fast food phở eatery. i like this place a lot because they are consistent and convenient. when i need a phở fix an i’m in Waikiki, this is the place for me. i call my order in, i get my rare steak & meatball phở with ice cafè bada bing, bada boom! 10 min wait and i am on cloud 9.

I went here for a quick bite and didn’t have time to read the reviews before ordering. I should have… After reading the ratings below, perhaps I should have gone with a roll… But I didn’t. I ordered the Phở noodle soup with chicken. I received a bowl Packed (with a capital «p») full of what seemed to be store bought ramen noodles, a couple of slivers of chicken, a few scallions, and chicken bouillon with extra bouillon. To those claiming «it’s a dive therefore below average is just fine» isn’t giving any responsibility to the owner of said dive to put in a seconds worth of effort and deliver a decent dish. It’s not that difficult to use the correct ingredients. Well. There goes $ 10, 30 minutes, and taste buds I’ll never be able to get back.

Meh, located in the international market next to HU LA LA ice-​cream but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get back to this place. The picture board of all the plates helps entice you because everything looks so good. Unfortunately it is a bit misleading and doesn’t really come out the way it looks on the board. Smaller portion and not very tasty. I would try your luck at another place, maybe not even anywhere in the international market… its pretty much a tourist trap!

A nightmare of a dining experience. The phở was bland and tasteless. The server behind the counter was slurping one pinapple piece after another while we ordered. Then the end of the experience which I hesitate to tell my fellow Unilocalers: the server handed me a napkin BATHED in the pinapple juice from the fruit she was slurping down.

Most of the bad reviews here seem to ignore the fact that this place is a hole in the wall food court Vietnamese kitchen. I believe that one should review places in the context in which they present themselves. In other words — how does this place compare as a food court kitchen in the location it finds itself?
Another thing is some things are done well in this context and others really not.
This place is definitely A-​OK as a food court offering. It is not awesome nor is it horrible.
If you really want to know this place probably has some of the best sandwiches for the price you will see in Waikiki. The bread is very crispy and the fillings very flavorsome.
The summer rolls are also entirely satisfactory.

Saigon Express, which specializes in Vietnamese foods, is located in the food court of the International Market Place in Waikiki.
Being unfamiliar with Vietnamese cuisine, I decided to stop by this place and try something from their menu. I found it helpful that their menu includes photos of all their dishes but it was their prices which were a bit on the high side.
Not knowing what to order, one item that stood out and I was familiar with was the pad thai noodles. For $ 8.95, I had a choice to have my pad thai cooked with chicken, tofu or shrimp. But not all three. I decided to place my order for the pad thai noodles with tofu for take out.
As I opened the foam container, I felt it was not worth it for the price that I paid. Not only were the portions small but the dish lacked all taste and flavor.
Unfortunately I give Saigon Express a thumbs down for their food and the unfriendly woman behind the counter who took my order.

WORST. PHO. EVER.
Tasteless, kids size bowl, barely any meat or veggies and expensive! NEVER AGAIN!

Came here twice during my visit to the International Market, apparently I don’t learn because I was disappointed twice. First time I came I got the Pad Thai… boooo! was lacking flavor and portion was small for what I paid. Second time I came I got beef brisket soup for myself and a kid size beef noodle for my daughter. The flavor was ok and my daughters was super duper hot in the small container it came in. By the time she could eat it the soup dried out. The lady was stingy with forks and napkins and I asked for an extra bowl for my son who wanted some. She gave one to me with a dirty look. No thank you biatch, wont be back for a 3^rd disappointment.

The word Express scares me. Yes the food hardly had taste. Poor tourist in the food court were walking around all confused ! Read the Unilocal reviews !

Terrible, tasteless, expensive. Gave it one star because the woman behind the counter was very nice.

This location is inside of the international market food court.
I ordered the Chicken Salad for a late lunch ($ 7.50). For the price I paid, it was actually decent. However, I did not know they put mint into the salad. I am not very fond of mint in my food.
Anyway, the salad was made with lettuce (not sure what kind), bean sprouts, and papaya topping. The chicken was grilled and it came with their own special sauce. The meal was perfect for a light lunch.
I will definately be back and order as they have a large menu selection. But on my next visit, I will try something else.

Totally disappointed. I was craving pad thai so I came here since its the only Thai food place in the food market. I consider this place a hole in a wall. Ive eaten at several hole in a wall Thai places before n never been disappointed with pad thai but this place sucks. First, they use egg noodles which Ive never had pad thai with before and it really didn’t work; it has to be rice noodles. Second, the taste was just off; totally didn’t taste like pad thai. It had like a bitter taste to it that was aweful. I thought it would taste better if I put more fish sauce and siracha… nope, it was still awful. I took 2 bites: one before I added more fish sauce and siracha, and the other after I added it. DO NOT eat here. it’s terrible!

Food is ok. It is not as good as expect. It is too expensive. The Com Suong Nuong is about $ 9.75. Since we have no other choice, so I have to eat here.

Not a very good Vietnamese restaurant. The soup was pretty bland and a little on the salty side.

One star for having the most genuinely nice person that I’ve encountered serving at the International Market Place. A second star for offering a solid selection of vegetarian choices. Star #3 is because the food was decent — by no means spectacular, but it’s just fine for a food court.

Good solid food place in the International Market Food Court in Waikiki. I had the bbq chicken with noodles and spring rolls. Nice, quick service.

Stumbled up here solo when I couldn’t sleep and decide to add to the streets of Waikiki. 8am and starving, no place to eat but craving some soup and rice noodles… Went to the International Market in hopes of a lively open food court but to no avail.. However, Saigon Express noted my plea for some-​kinda-​soupy in my tummy and made it fresh on the spot. Was far from the better end of Phở I’ve ever had but my brain and heart craved it most at that particular time and Saigon Express kindly accomodated. Won’t forget it. THANKS!

Meh. I was not impressed. My Phở Tai was completely flavorless and boring. Even adding the fish sauce, hoisin, and chili sauce didn’t help. My husband’s Com Suon Nuong was great, but the phở left a lot to be desired. Blech. We had the spring rolls too — totally chock full of lettuce and frozen shrimp. Ew.
I agree with Matt. I felt ripped off too — super expensive for what it was.

We went to a late dinner around 9:30. It was hot outside!
Anyways, the guy who took our order also made our fresh (non-​fried) rolls, so they were truly fresh!
We got the Saigon special. A pork chop wit the bone, a noodle cake, lettuce, tomato, and an fried egg sunny side up (not flipped). Very tasty overall if you cut it all up, mix it up, and pour the fish sauce all over, like bun!
Medium sprite to wash it down.
$ 15.75 for dinner for 2!
Followed up with a slice of cheese pizza for $ 3.66 from a different place.