If you ever find yourself lost on the streets of Saigon, follow your nose up a creaky flight of stairs to this open-air rooftop BBQ joint. The place works in DIY fashion: order away and then cook on the table, on a roof, in the heart of this whirlwind of a city. It's a fantastic assault on your senses.

The first thing to note about Quan Nuong is that the food is FRESH. So fresh that the prawns were actually moving (I'll spare you my videos). Luckily, the waitress came over and dumped the entire wiggling bowlful right on the flames before I could as much as hesitate. The machiavellian end product was spectacular!

Twitching Prawn Skewers in a Chilli, Lime and Fish Sauce Marinade

Next on the menu were marinated squid and beef, at a more conventional level of freshness. As a side dipping sauce, you often get a little mound of salt and pepper with a lime in Vietnam. Squeeze the lime over this mound and mix well - it's so simple but really works wonders. Or just dunk in some Vietnamese fish sauce for some salty heat. All of this was accompanied with a beautiful side of lotus seed rice served up in a leafy parcel.

Marinated Beef and Squid ready to hit the flames.  The squid is definitely the one to go for here! — Marinated Beef and Squid ready to hit the flames. The squid is definitely the one to go for here!

Lotus Seed Rice with Pork (?) and Mixed Vegetables

At this point I was eyeing up a neighbouring table which was tucking into some incredible looking vietnamese spring rolls. The food envy won over! To start, you BBQ some smaller 'rolls' of pork covered in streaky pork fat. Make sure to cook these really well. Then, grab a sheet of rice paper and heap it up with herbs, rice noodles, and your BBQ'd pork glory. Roll, dunk prodigiously, devour, repeat.

Pork Rolls laced in Pork Fat, ready for cooking

Vietnamese Herbs, Green Bananas and Cucumbers

To top it all off, the lights suddenly went out, and an opera-like rendition of "happy birthday" came over the stereo as a cake was brought out to the local revellers on a nearby table. This extravagnaza was repeated 4 times throughout the eve - I guess all of Ho Chi Minh celebrates their birthday here?

Don't forget to wash it down all down with a cold Saigon. If you find it that is - look for a small entrance to take you above the Temple Club Restaurant.