at Zen in Ho Chi Minh City

  • CLOSED: Zen
    (11)
    1

    Closed

  • White Vegetarian
Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
International
Vietnamese

Uses some dairy and cheese but otherwise vegan. Prices cheap to moderate. Reported re-opened Jan 2012. DEC 2013 REPORTED SHUT.

Venue map for Zen
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11 Reviews

First Review by raphalla

Avatar Chia

Chia

Points +3635

Vegetarian
29 May 2012

Zen Veg

I don't recall what my partner and I had ordered but I remember the food being salty and heavy on sauce. We didn't return after that one meal. Also, cleanliness seemed like an issue here at the time. Hope that's all changed and improved. If you eat here, please write a review and let us know!

Pros: it's vegetarian

Cons: vegan not labeled

Avatar Floatingduck

Floatingduck

Points +503

Vegan
06 Mar 2012

Disappointed

Next time i will read on Happycow before...

I ordered some fried tofu (boring, no taste) and a salad (they brought me the wrong one and than i waited about ten minutes for english-speaking staff to tell them what for a salad i ordered because the guy who brought it to me really did not understand a single word. Unfortunately he was to lazy to get me somebody...so i waited and waited and in the end i had to ate the wrong one, a normal papaya salad, nothing special). During the meal the guy stared at me the whole time. Really bad service, boring food and definitely too expensive!
Shame on you, Lonely Planet.

Btw. i think they use only soy cheese, no cow milk cheese.

Pros: Big menu, Easy to reach

Cons: Boring food, Bad service, Very expensive

Avatar Pitaya

Pitaya

Points +1265

Vegan
14 Jan 2012

Disappointment

They have a huge menu with different kinds of Asian and European dishes. That might be part of the problem, because the cook didn't really seem to have idea how these dishes should be like. Both pesto pasta and Indian tofu curry were really strange and didn't really taste that good.

at Zen in Ho Chi Minh City

Avatar tash

tash

Points +72

Vegan
26 Nov 2010

...

bit wary because of the bad reviews on here but the food was good, better than can be said for most other veg places in vietnam. a bit more expensive than most but we avoided the indian/western food and had some nice tofu, the veg was fresh and tasty, and not too pricey for beer. all in all good, and the waiter was friendly. just really annoying being interrupted 5-10 times in the course of a meal by hawkers.

Avatar fire horse

fire horse

Points +120

Vegan
11 Mar 2010

Just DON'T go there.

Inedible - the worst food I've had in Asia in the last 2 and a half months. I ordered the veg coconut curry with rice. It arrived too quickly which always sets off alarm bells and it definitely tasted like it had been lurking around a bit long. They hadn't even bothered to heat it up properly and the rice was stone cold (dangerous). It was tastless and yet tasted strange - it was obvious they just don't care and the owner and staff acted like they were doing me a big favour. They looked slightly embarrassed when I paid and left a full plate of food and so they should be.

I believe the only reason this place manages to stay open is because of its Lonely Planet recommendation.

It gets a BIG thumbs down from me.

Pros: there aren't any

Cons: over priced, bad attitude, incompetent cooks

Avatar Pea

Pea

Points +88

Vegetarian
27 Feb 2010

Asian dishes good

This is essentially a tourist place and the menu is extensive which includes a lot of western dishes. I assumed the western food would be average at best and therefore avoided it. We had a nice braised tofu in clay pot which was great, noodles and rice and cheap iced green tea.
Not incredible but no complaints.

Pros: good asian dishes, reasonably priced

Cons: nothing special

Avatar vegan_simon

vegan_simon

Points +2617

Vegan
30 Dec 2008

disappointing to say the least

Like most eateries in Saigon this place was disappointing to say the least. For breakfast I ordered muesli (without the cow's milk) with sliced banana and a mango juice poured over it (instead of the milk). I got a couple of slices of mango and banana with some museli sprinkled on it and then got charged 35,000 dong for the lot (too much), and the guy serving me (with total disinterest) blew cigarette smoke all over me. I pondered going back for dinner one night because the menu was quite comprehensive, but I never did because who knows what they would have served me or charged me for that matter!!

Cons: staff & customers smoking, rude staff, over-priced

Avatar Merciless666

Merciless666

Points +195

Vegan
07 Jan 2008

me ones again

well, i found this quite disappointing. the dishes miss some heartful flavour. your better of down the street at Little Saigon, which has an awesome variety of vegetarian dishes, though it's not a vegetarian restaurant. the fried yam will justify everything.

Pros: central to guesthouses, cheap

Cons: missing flavor, too many alternatives

Avatar rach

rach

Points +144

Vegetarian
31 May 2007

Tasty Burrito/ Wierd soup

I ate here before reading the other reviews on Happy Cow, which suprised me actually. We actually liked the Bean Burrito (with salad and guacomole) so much that we went back a second time. I ordered the pumpkin soup the second time we went back, which was weird, way too heavy on some herb or spice. The enchilla wasnt as good as the burrito and the nachos were ok as were the spiced chips (french fries). We didnt get sick or anything and didnt get a look at the kitchen but it was ok.

Pros: Yummy Burrito, Large menu selection, 100% vegie

Cons: Lacks atmosphere, Hawkers galore, Hit and miss dishes

Avatar JohnnySensible

JohnnySensible

Points +7566

Herbivore
20 May 2007

Be careful -

I hope that the current owners quickly change their style. Under the old owner this was a good place to visit & eat in. Original paintings by the local artist "Le Vuong" on the walls. Great layout / design by the last owner. Drinking coke / pepsi / other canned & bottles drinks is perfectly safe. If you are considering eating there I strongly suggest that you first go & take a look in the kitchen / freezer / on the stove / on the food preparation areas - if everything looks "tickety boo" & you order / enjoy dishes made from fresh & clean ingredients then please email to me & I will visit there again myself & will agree to delete this review. Until then I will be eating in An Lac Chay / Bodhi Tree etc. on the next lane where the owners use fresh ingredients.

Pros: Good decor, Airy

Cons: Old veggies, Old dough, Old oil

Avatar raphalla

raphalla

Points +768

Vegetarian
04 May 2007

Heavy Tasted

Wide variety of choice.
The Indian food is so so.

Pros: Location

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