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If you moved to Marana a few years ago, you had to resign yourself to a few culinary realities:

● Steak ruled.

● Chain restaurants were invading every corner.

● Finding challenging ethnic cuisine required driving out of Marana.

Which is why Tucson restaurateur Steve Ma counted dozens of Northwest Siders among the loyal clientele of his University of Arizona-area Vietnamese restaurant Miss Saigon.

It also is what prompted him in November to expand his reach northwest, taking up residence in a former Perkins Restaurant & Bakery next to a Motel 6 on West Ina Road near Interstate 10.

He gave the building an interior redesign, lining some of the ceiling with bamboo accents and fresh paint. Remnants of its Perkins past include booths in the dining room. There's extra seating on a small patio — a couple of metal tables with umbrellas crowned by weathered palm fronds.

The menu takes its cue from the original Miss Saigon but then builds on the authentic Vietnamese cuisine with a full complement of Thai dishes.

Of course, the big draw at Miss Saigon Northwest is the same dish that draws people to the original Miss Saigon: the pho, Vietnamese soup made with a homemade beef or chicken broth perfumed by star anise and a hint of cinnamon and slow-grilled ginger root. The beef pho ($7.95) came with tender, thin slices of meat floating in the slow-cooked broth among a big knot of thin rice noodles that were a tad rubbery on a recent Monday evening.

Appetizers include wonderfully fresh cold spring rolls ($4.50) stuffed fat with finely chopped lettuce, plump tender shrimp and subtle pork and shrimp paste to tie it all together. The crowning touch was the warm peanut dipping sauce that contrasted nicely with the cool lettuce and chewy rice-paper wrap.

The grilled chicken breast chunks in the chicken satay skewers ($6.95) could've used a splash more curry spices, but the chicken was tender.

Fried rice ($7.95 lunch special) is a no-frills affair — peas and carrots tossed into rice fried sparingly with eggs. The oil from the frying moistens the rice, which is gently seasoned with salt and pepper.

The sweet and spicy Thai sauce pasted onto the rice noodles in the chicken pad Thai ($7.95 lunch) was a bit too gummy. It had the characteristic sweetness undercut by a subtle burn from chiles, which would have been more effective as a thinner sauce slicking the noodles.

Ma is new to Thai food; he is learning it as he goes, experimenting with ideas that he gathers on his journeys and through his research, he said.

But when it comes to Vietnamese food, Ma believes in bold flavors that make a statement.

The generous grilled pork chops in the Jasmine rice combo ($11.95) are marinated in lemongrass, with a touch of oyster sauce. The moist chops have a citrus hue that complements the meat. The dish is served with small side portions of seasoned shredded pork and a ground pork and mushroom meatloaf that's steamed, then glazed with egg yolk. When the yolk cooks, it creates a crispy, thin skin that contrasts with the firm meat.

Desserts here can be missed mainly because they are your average store-bought affairs. A pyramid noisette ($5.49), for example, combined cake or brownie — you can't really distinguish — with a hazelnut mousse that was covered in chocolate ganache. On the whole, it lacked that homemade decadence you hope for when you bite into rich chocolate and delicate mousse.

Instead, grab dessert-worthy flavored soft drinks — from slushies and flavored fruit snow ($3) to flavored teas ($2.25 and $2.75). The Thai iced tea is like a nicely bitter iced-tea milkshake — creamy, sweet, with a pleasant bitterness beneath whispers of cinnamon. These can be addictive, so you might want to wait and order it after dinner to avoid overindulging.