Operating out of an Elm Street storefront in downtown Westfield, Alo Saigon is small in square footage terms, but when it comes to food, it's an operation with big ambitions.

The restaurant's compact dining area is furnished with booths and tables, and pastel-toned Asian contemporary serves as the decorative theme for the space.

Alo Saigon's menu is extensive, listing more than 80 different entrees along with a supporting cast of appetizers, salads, and soups.

Pho, the emblematic Vietnamese noodle soup, is available in variations such as Pho Dac Bet (special beef -- $8.95) and Pho Tom (shrimp and shrimp ball -- $8.95)

Main dishes in which rice noodles dominate include Bun Tom Nuong (grilled shrimp vermicelli -- $8.25) and Bun Bo Xao Sa (a beef saute served over rice noodles -- $8.95).

Chicken Sauteed with Five Spice Powder ($10.95) and Sliced Pork with a Vegetable Medley ($10.95) are typical wok-prepared dishes, and traditional Southeast Asian flavors are present in the likes of Lemongrass Beef ($11.95) and Curry Chicken ($10.95).

For those who enjoy seafood, the kitchen prepares Bo Bien Xao Thap Cam ($12.95), a wok-fried combination of shrimp, scallops, and vegetables.

More than a dozen different vegetarian options, some featuring tofu, others not, round out the entree repertoire.

From the equally substantial selection of appetizers, we chose two familiar options.

Fresh Summer Roll (Goi Cuon -- $4.50) is an iconic Southeast Asian affair. Moistened-until-soft rice paper used to roll up rice noodles, fresh herbs, and shrimp, and the rolls that resulted were served with a spicy peanut sauce and nuoc cham, a sweet-sour dip compounded from fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and spices.

Our second appetizer choice, Tom Chien Gion (shrimp tempura -- $4.95) was simply but attractively presented with grated carrot and green leaf lettuce. The five deep-fried shrimp were breaded with panko, a coating that gave them an appealing grease-free crunch.

By the time the entrees we'd ordered arrived, we'd already realized two things about Alo Saigon's culinary efforts. First, appetizers and entrees, handsomely presented on white china, have serious eye appeal without benefit of fancy garnishes. Moreover, everything we tasted had a clarity of flavor that can be rare to find in restaurant food.

Wonton Noodle Soup (Hoang Thanh Mi -- $8.25) was a pho (noodle soup) built from a wonderfully fragrant broth infused with whispers of five-spice powder.

Rice noodles lent the soup substance, as did herbs, minced pork, and wontons fat with a shrimp-pork mixture. As is customary, a plate of mung bean sprouts, fresh basil, and lime wedges were provided to further customize the pho.

Steamed Vermicelli with Grilled Chicken -- $11.95 was a some-assembly-required dish. Boneless chicken thighs that had been rubbed with a spice paste before being grilled were served along with flat "sheets" of steamed rice noodles, while fresh mint, grated carrots, and leaves of lettuce were presented separately. The objective, of course, was to create rollups with the lettuce, and the result was a show-stopping combination of flavors, textures, and temperatures.

Heo Xao Rau Cai ($10.95) was a stir-fry dish based on sliced pork that had been "chowed" with a medley of green vegetables -- baby bok choy, zucchini, broccoli, celery, and more. The sauce that flavored the dish, we decided, was primarily about garlic, onion, and fish sauce; the sliced pork had been briefly marinated to give it an additional layer of flavor. White rice was served on the side.

Alo Saigon isn't licensed, so beverage options are limited. The house does provide hot tea infused with vanilla-like floral essences, and other soft drink options are available.

The restaurant promotes ice cream desserts on a tabletop menu, and that list includes "rolled" ice cream, a treat that's made by pouring flavored custard onto a freezer plate, then using a broad scraper to lift and "roll" the flash-frozen custard. However, when we tried to order the rolled ice cream we were informed that it wasn't available.

We've visited enough Vietnamese eateries to have a fair basis for comparison; Alo Saigon is, in our opinion, one of the best such restaurants in the Pioneer Valley.



Name: Alo Saigon

Address: 116 Elm Street, Westfield

Telephone: (413) 642-6515

Website: None

Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Entree prices: $8.25-$13.95

Credit cards: MasterCard, Visa

Handicapped access: Accessible, rest room not equipped for wheelchairs

Reservations: Not normally taken





