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"Hey ho Silver! To the Wild Horse Saloon on Thai Van Lung St.,
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City." This is what you say, pardner, to
your silver Honda 125 as you spur it through the ornery traffic.
You cannot miss the Wild Horse. The decor is on the outside as
well as the inside. Put the sun rug on the horse and push through
the batwings.
 It's lunch time. Maybe your joint venture is not
going too well, so it's a martini and bangers and mash. The
martini is four or five dollars but in the big picture so what.
this place was designed for people earning the dollar rather than
the dong, and that's not the Australian dollar.
Everything is big and fashioned, panelled in timber, at lot of
it raw and proofed against the kick of the heels of the original
wild horse. The sizes of the plates will take you aback, back to
the meals you were used to, in Texas or Oklahoma or wherever.
Sitting opposite you eating with knife and fork may be a
Vietnamese man named Kiet who learnt to speak English at the
American army communications school at Vung Tau and spent "54
weeks" in Australia, where he picked grapes. Kindly Mr Kiet is the
manager and used to be camp manager on an oil rig.
The music is about someone who "shot Liberty Vallance", but
there's jazz live at night and flamenco from 7 to 8 on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday. The chandelier is a wagon wheel and a lot of
cowboys shirts have been sacrificed to create the lampshades over
the tables. It's fully imported 19th century Americana. There
seems to be a metaphor in the abundant corn on the walls.
 The Wild Horse Saloon does not let history or geography get in
the way of a good feed. For example, there is the "Cattleman's
roast sheep" ($11.75).
There are some American-style cutlets which
are Australian meat. The "best in the house" according to Mr. Kiet
is the American beef, at around $16 to 18 hot off the grill.
Australians will be amazed to hear from Mr. Kiet that Australian
beef is not as good as American. The Australian stuff is down
around $13. And there is mint sauce. Someone else's opinion does
not count on sauce.
Deputy to Mr. Kiet is Mr. Dat, the chef. He loves to cook beef.
Anyway, you can just about cook it yourself, like at a barbecue.
Don't miss the "Wild Horse Saloon chicken breast." The seafood
dishes are in the $9 to $12 range. The desserts are solid stuff
and good value at $2.50 to $2.75.
It's all real and different at the Wild Horse Saloon. It's the
place to go for a solid meal; a place of protein. And maybe a
place to discover a little about yourself. |
