There’s a new girl in town and she wants to make her guests feel right at home.
At the new Miss Saigon Restaurant, co-owner Bao Ma promises great food and great service. Bao means treasure, he said.
The restaurant, located on the corner of Broadway and Sixth Street in the TEP building, has a new interior but offers the same extensive menu as the other Miss Saigon locations.
Ma designed the interior and spared no expense. From the blossoming cherry trees (a symbol or rebirth) to the glass wind chimes to the velvet upholstered chairs and bench seating, this is a testament to Ma’s vision.
“From the floor to the ceiling every little detail you see is all my design,” he said. “It came out exactly the way I wanted it to be.”
In fact, it was the clarity of his vision that helped him get the space, which had been empty from before the pandemic.
It turns out Fletcher McCusker of Rio Nuevo, a group working on revitalizing Downtown, had been looking for a new tenant for the TEP space — but not just any tenant. To get the Rio Nuevo investment and TEP’s nod of approval, it had to be a business with a unique vision.
“It took a lot of work,” Ma said. “The letter of intent had a lot of requirements that the TEP and Rio Nuevo wanted to see, about our family background, our business background, our financial projections, our vision for the space.”
Ma got busy. He said it was the hardest he had ever worked in his life. He taught himself how to do 3D rendering and was able to work virtually. He redesigned the floor plan, the kitchen and the bar. It came out better than he hoped.
Ma’s family is happy with it as well. On the night before the restaurant opened, Ma’s father, Vo Ma, looked around and marveled.
“I’m so excited,” Vo Ma said. “I’m so happy that I have a very great son who can do all the decorations. He (didn’t) sleep 36 hours. (He) worked all night, all day.”
It’s not just customers and family who are pleased with the new digs. Server Stefanie Jimenez worked at the Miss Saigon Sixth Avenue location, but has moved on to the TEP space. She said she is very happy this is her new work home.
“I felt expensive,” she said. “I felt really amazed because of the time (in which) they got this done. It’s so beautiful everywhere you look, the details, everything.”
As beautiful as the interior is, it would mean little if the food was not appetizing. Tucsonans might be familiar with the menu as it is the same at the other two Miss Saigon Restaurants. There is a selection to choose from, including pork or shrimp paste spring rolls ($7), a spring roll with both pork and shrimp ($6.50), chicken skewers ($8.50) or crispy tofu cubes ($7). Diners may also try all of these with the appetizer sampler ($20).
Follow appetizers with a small bowl of wonton soup. The broth is sweet and delicate ($5). The star of the meal could be the shaken beef, a platter with sauteed beef tenderloin cubes accompanied by red rice ($19.50). Not a beef eater? Something interesting is coming in the form of lemongrass chicken. Hint: It’s delicious.
These are just a few items on a very full menu. There are vegetarian options, plenty of vermicelli plates, soups, it’s all there.
Servers will keep glasses full from the complete bar where the mixologists know their stuff. If mixed drinks don’t appeal, there are soft drinks, tea and boba.
Executive director of Tucson, City of Gastronomy Jonathan Mably tucked into the stacked beef and red rice on a recent visit. He took the leftovers home.
“Miss Saigon is one of our culinary gems in Tucson that contributes to our food scene in an important way, which is the diversity of our food scene,” he said. “I’ve been a big fan of Miss Saigon ever since they got here. This new venue Downtown, I expect they will become one of the most popular restaurants in our constellation of Downtown restaurants that are spectacular.”
The restaurant would not have been possible without the approval of Rio Nuevo and TEP, which houses Miss Saigon.
Meanwhile, family friend Andy Cota, who assisted the Mas with getting into the TEP building, was certainly pleased with the results.
“Absolutely love how it turned out!” he said in a statement. “The effort, the creativity and determination was/is on full display. I couldn’t be more happy for (brothers) Steve, Vihn, Bao and their whole family. Great for downtown, and its neighboring businesses. If Tucsonans didn’t know about Miss Saigon before, they will now. So happy to be a part of what will be another life changing chapter for the Ma Family! Congratulations!!”
As it turns out, McCusker and Rio Nuevo are confident Miss Saigon Restaurant will add to Downtown’s revitalization.
“Please visit this site for yourselves, drive by it at night,” he said in a statement. “It is transformational for downtown Tucson. We are proud to be a partner of this uniquely Tucson family. Congratulations.”
The Ma family story is truly a story of the American dream.
“My dad’s Chinese, my mom’s Vietnamese,” Ma said. “Our family emigrated here in 1984 from Vietnam, pretty much came here with nothing. We fled communist Vietnam because my father was helping the U.S. Army during the war, and when the U.S. left (the communists) had a list of all the people who had helped the Army. They were tracking them down so (dad) would be constantly on the run and always fearful for his life and our lives so we had to get out of there.”
Bao was 5 when he landed in Tucson.
The family worked to make it.
“When we first came here, both my parents worked very hard, multiple jobs just to save enough to open their own business,” Ma said. “That was the dream that we had.”
The Food Spot Market was the first business the Mas opened. Over the years three restaurants followed, nearly all successful. The Ina Road location closed but now acts as a warehouse for the other businesses.
Ma is aware he could not have opened this restaurant alone.
“This wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for family, community and hard work, dedication, perseverance,” he said. “When you encounter an obstacle you have to figure your way around it, so we got this project done in three and a half months.”
When you talk to him, it’s really his pride in the place that really shines.
“It’s my baby,” he said. “Being in the heart of Tucson Downtown and being in this beautiful facility, (my brothers and I) knew we had to go all out. We said, ‘Let’s do it. This is our chance to make a statement for our family.’ I think we accomplished that.”
Miss Saigon Restaurant
88 E. Broadway Road, Tucson
11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Noon to 9 p.m. Sunday
520-884-4778
misssaigontucson.com
