One of Toronto’s earliest Vietnamese restaurants undergoes major facelift as it nears 40th anniversary

We really do get by with a little help from our friends. 

In 1979, just a few years after the gruelling and devastating 19-year war that rocked Vietnam came to an end, an entrepreneur took the ultimate risk and became one of about two million people to flee the Southeast Asian country by boat in search of a better life. 

When Bill Ha arrived in Vancouver as a refugee, he took on four jobs, including as a mechanic and waiter, to make ends meet. While on the West Coast, he and a friend, Duc Luong, decided to uproot their lives once more and move to Toronto, where they would start one of the city’s earliest sit-down Vietnamese restaurants. 

Now, one big move, multiple celebrity encounters (and shout-outs) and a significant passing of the torch later, Saigon Star, a beloved local staple that’s about to turn 40, is starting a new era with both old faces and new. 

“When [Bill] came to Ontario, he opened the first Saigon Star right at Yonge and Bloor, behind the Toronto Reference Library,” Thomas Ha, Bill’s son and the new owner of Saigon Star, tells YourCityWithIN.com. 

“It was one of the earlier Vietnamese restaurants in the city and it was for sure the one that showcased Vietnamese cuisine in a finer manner. Many, if not most, were very street food-style: pho, grilled meat on rice, etc. We were one of the first to come in and do premium Vietnamese seafood.”

The original Saigon Star, which Ha and his SEA Hospitality Group partner, Jacky Yoh, say once served famous actor and martial artist Jackie Chan, opened its doors in 1987. While Vietnamese cuisine was nowhere near as ubiquitous in Toronto as it is now, people immediately took notice and Bill Ha, Luong and the restaurant’s front-of-house manager, Ken Phat, did all they could to keep people coming back.

One dish that kept traffic moving? The signature curry dungeness crab. 

“We were definitely the first to do Vietnamese food in that [finer] way and we’re known for curry crab and as crab specialists in Toronto,” Ha says. 

For close to 10 years, Saigon Star served diners in search of that special seafood offering in Toronto, but as more of the restaurant’s clientele moved to the suburbs, Ha–who had since met his wife and started a family–and his faithful team decided it was time to follow them. 

In 1994, Saigon Star moved to Richmond Hill and now, almost 40 years after it first opened, Bill is passing the torch to Thomas, a restaurateur who is fast making a name for himself as not just the owner of the restaurant known for its top-tier seafood, but also as co-owner of Toronto’s two Pii Nong Thai restaurants (one of which recently opened as a 10,000-square-foot restaurant, market and spa). 

And even though the long-standing Saigon Star restaurant recently underwent a bit of a facelift (more on that later), it’s still going strong with both Luong and Phat helping hold down the fort. In fact, it’s a restaurant that thrives because the more things change, the more they also stay the same. 

“The entire kitchen, four other guys, have been there since 1987,” Ha says. 

“As a relatively new restaurateur, I’m learning from my father that the core of the business is people. His staff, his suppliers, and everyone else have been with us for over 30 years. The reputation of my father, Bill, speaks for itself. I have huge shoes to fill,” he says, adding that the team Bill put together goes back decades, with many people having met in both Vietnam and B.C.

The long-standing team thrives, Ha says, because of its mix of talent. While Bill Ha was more business-minded, Luong was the one who crafted the curry crab dish that has been declared a must-eat delicacy by a number of acclaimed chefs–including Nick Liu, the chef and owner of DaiLo, a Toronto mainstay popular for its exquisite tasting menu. 

Ha says the dish is made with crab shipped directly from Vancouver. 

“We have a relationship with crab catchers out west, so we get the freshest, most plump and largest crabs from B.C. Our special curry sauce was never meant to be a showstopper piece, but Duc had extra sauce and he added a few more ingredients, made the staff a meal and it was so good that my dad put it on the menu,” he says. 

“There are a lot of restaurants that will emulate the crab and that’s very humbling, but some things are tough to do the way we do. A lot of restaurants plan a signature dish, but for us, it came by accident.” 

While the curry crab is arguably the star of the show–ask anyone who grew up going to Saigon Star for special occasions and it’s almost certainly the first dish they’ll mention–the restaurant made a name for itself by reinventing Vietnamese and Vietnamese-Chinese fare. While guests can order phở and bún, they can also indulge in seafood bisque, a roasted rack of lamb, charbroiled West Coast oysters, grilled jumbo prawns, and more.

Over the years, a number of big players in the culinary scene have taken notice and taken a seat at the suburban restaurant, including Spanish chef Albert Adria and Canoe’s former head chef Ron McKinlay. 

The restaurant has also attracted Hollywood talent, including Chan (who visited the original location), Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat and actor Gina Rodriguez. 

Now, almost 40 years into the restaurant’s tenure, Ha says the time has come not to reinvent the wheel, but to do more to help the decades-old operation better adapt to a changing food scene as the elder Ha passes the torch down to his son. 

“He’s been running the restaurant all of this time and after COVID, things are different,” Ha says, talking about his father.  

“He feels like his time [in the business]  is coming to an end, so he’s taking a step back and deepening relationships with [our suppliers] and I’m stepping into the spotlight and will be the face of the restaurant.” 

For Ha, the transition from the son of the restaurateur to the restaurant owner will be less jarring, thanks in part to his experience running Pii Nong. Named after the head chef and co-owner, Ha and his team introduced people to the expanding Thai hotspot last year by announcing plans to open an ambitious second restaurant with extensive seating, a market that sells everything from Thai snack foods and curries to dishware and famous elephant-patterned pants and a full spa (which will open later this year). 

Pii Nong has quickly made multiple lists of must-visit restaurants in a city that’s far from short on restaurants in general and Thai outposts (many of them fabulous) in particular. 

“I’ve gained more experience running Pii Nong, so I feel like I’ve gone through the bumpy road, so to speak, to run a big, historic restaurant, but there are still big shoes to fill,” Ha says. 

As for what changes Saigon Star diners can expect, Ha says the restaurant has fully reopened after temporarily closing for renovations. 

“There was a facelift for the restaurant, a complete overhaul. We shut down for three weeks. We gutted the kitchen, redid it all. We want to run this restaurant for another 20 or 30 years, so we invested in it to set it up for success down the road. It’s more modern, more in tune with today’s dining trends. We’ve kept the main staples on the menu and we’re complementing them with a few more new items,” he says.  

“The vibes are different, the feel is different. We’ve added some cocktails to the menu as well,” he says.  

For Ha, a restaurant with a more expensive signature dish needs to provide something special for the diner who chooses to go all-out. 

“How do we charge a customer $50, but give them such a good experience that they feel it’s worth it? We deliver double on the experience at both [Saigon Star and Pii Nong]. Drinks from downtown, you can get those here. We’re bringing all that [Toronto] excitement to Richmond Hill.”

Another big change on the horizon? Authentic Vietnamese coffee.

Ha and Yoh recently announced a partnership with Trung Nguyen Coffee, which they describe as Vietnam’s number one coffee brand. The coffee will debut when the restaurant celebrates its grand reopening in August. 

The restaurant will also offer diners some more affordable options.

“In the middle of the day, we have a more value-oriented menu with really affordable eats,” says Ha. 

“You don’t have to just come for curry crab. You can come and get a bowl of pho for $15. You can get a grilled pork chop on rice or spring rolls. If you do decide to treat yourself to a premium experience, you can get that as well.” 

For Yoh, the renovation and revamped menu will help the restaurant retain the diners who have been enjoying curry crab for years, while also attracting a new generation of foodies seeking something special. 

“We believe in the quality of food that’s been around for nearly 40 years,” Yoh says. 

“We’re bringing new ideas, new innovations and new flavours to Richmond Hill and the GTA. We’re excited to meet people who weren’t eating here 40 years ago. This was a restaurant for my parents, but people our age haven’t heard of it. We’re excited to share this legacy restaurant with a new audience.”