Oxtail Pho and Phin Coffee on East Coast Road: La Saigon

In the eastern neighbourhoods, a search for pho near me tends to throw up hawker stalls and chain restaurants, so a café that roasts its own Vietnamese beans is a nice surprise. La Saigon Café, at 914 East Coast Road, #01-04, The Domain, Singapore 459108, is a neighbourhood café and coffee roastery that also takes its phở seriously. The menu runs from ribeye and oxtail bowls to a smoked duck phở, and every bowl can be paired with a phin-dripped coffee made from beans grown in northern Vietnam.

The café describes its approach as farm to cup. Its website says it brings Vietnamese coffee culture and family recipes to East Coast Road, sourcing beans from highland farms in Da Lat and Son La and roasting them at its own roastery in Singapore. The coffee is Rainforest Alliance certified, according to the café, and its online ordering runs on a platform from L'Avent Roaster, the related roasting company named in the site footer. That background explains why the coffee list is as long as the food menu.

There are six phở on the current dine-in menu, served under the heading Signature Phở. The La Saigon Beef Phở, made with ribeye, costs S$22, and the La Saigon Beef Phở Special, with grass-fed ribeye, beef ball and beef tendon, is S$26. The restaurant notes that its grass-fed ribeye is kept chilled to preserve its flavour and juiciness. All phở is served with rice noodles in a slow-simmered beef bone broth with fresh herbs and traditional garnishes.

The bowls that set La Saigon apart from a standard pho shop are the oxtail and smoked duck versions, each S$22. The café calls the oxtail phở a truly soulful bowl, and it is the one to order on a rainy evening. The smoked duck phở follows what the café calls its signature recipe, adding a gentle smokiness to the beef broth. Even the chicken phở, also S$22, is served in the beef bone broth rather than a separate chicken stock, which gives it a richer body than most chicken noodle soups.

For a lighter meal, the La Saigon Petite Phở costs S$10.50 and comes in beef or chicken. The Vietnamese Tasting Duo pairs a petite phở with a petite sourdough bánh mì for S$18, a good order for one person who wants to try both. The café has a dedicated kids' section with a DIY petite bánh mì, and an afternoon Saigon high tea set for four, with bánh mì sliders and drinks, suits a family visit.

Two dishes show how the kitchen uses its phở broth. The bone marrow soup, at S$19, is built on the slow-simmered beef broth, enriched with roasted bone marrow and served with handmade sourdough bread for dipping. It is the café's zero-waste signature. The bánh mì here are made on sourdough baguettes baked fresh daily, and the signature crispy pork version comes with crispy chestnut pork belly, kombucha pickles and a house curry mustard sauce.

Since this is a roastery, the coffee deserves as much attention as the food. Drip Black, the traditional phin-brewed coffee, is S$5.50, and Drip White, with condensed milk, is S$6. The egg coffee, with condensed milk and whipped egg crème, is S$10, and the coconut latte costs S$9.50. There is also a pour-over with a choice of Vietnamese Arabica or Robusta for coffee drinkers who want to taste the difference. A current promotion gives a free coffee with an order of phở.

The kitchen cooks a few Vietnamese home dishes that are worth knowing about. Bò kho, the fragrant Vietnamese beef stew, is listed as Mom's Recipe at S$24, served with a choice of bread or noodles, and it sells out on busy days. Smoked duck also turns up in rice paper rolls, filled with mango, avocado and kombucha pickles, at S$19 for a portion. For a slow morning, the brunch section offers a classic Saigon pairing of coffee with buttered bread, the way many people in Ho Chi Minh City start the day.

If you want the full La Saigon experience in one order, the Phở and Egg Coffee Set costs S$31. The Bánh Mì and Drip Coffee Set pairs the signature crispy pork bánh mì with an iced Vietnamese drip white coffee for S$22, a lunch that works well for anyone working from home in the east. The café also takes pre-orders for slow-cooked dishes, including a whole roasted crispy pork, which needs two days' notice.

La Saigon Café is open Monday to Sunday from 10am to 10pm. Dine-in orders carry a 10% service charge, and orders are placed against your table number. Bookings are free for groups of one to six. Groups of seven or more pay a S$50 deposit, which is credited to the final bill but is non-refundable on a no-show. There is alfresco seating in front of the café as well as tables inside, so ask for an outdoor table on a mild evening.

The Domain sits on one of the most pleasant stretches of East Coast Road, lined with low-rise houses, bakeries and neighbourhood restaurants. East Coast Park, the long seafront park that runs along the south-east coast, is the natural place to walk off a bowl of oxtail phở, with cycling paths, beaches and sea views across to the ships anchored offshore. Buses run along East Coast Road in both directions, which is the simplest way to arrive without a car.

La Saigon Café, 914 East Coast Road, #01-04, The Domain, Singapore 459108. Hours: Monday to Sunday, 10am to 10pm. La Saigon Beef Phở S$22, Beef Phở Special S$26, oxtail and smoked duck phở S$22 each, Petite Phở S$10.50. Dine-in service charge 10%. Groups of seven or more pay a S$50 booking deposit. Website: lasaigoncafe.com.