Asian restaurants ask a great deal of a kitchen. The menu at Saigon covers a broad sweep of Asian cuisine: dishes that require high heat, precise timing, and a cooking environment that can sustain long service windows without compromise. Saigon's Gżira location, on Triq d'Argens, operates from breakfast through to midnight. The kitchen behind it has to perform accordingly.
We were brought in to handle the complete kitchen design and fit-out: from initial floor plans and 3D renders through to delivery, installation, and commissioning. What follows is an account of what went in and why.
The cooking line
The centrepiece of the kitchen is a linear Bertos Macros 700 cooking line, configured to run along a single wall. The Macros 700 series is a well-established platform in professional kitchens: robust, configurable, and built to handle sustained volume. For a restaurant with the service demands of Saigon Gżira, a line of this specification is the right foundation. The configuration gives the kitchen the output capacity it needs across what is, in practical terms, a very long service day.
Above the cooking line sits a wall-mounted extraction hood covering the full length of the run, with a multistage air filtration system and custom manufactured ductwork. The ductwork was designed and fabricated to suit the specific geometry of the space, ensuring effective extraction at the source rather than relying on volume alone to manage the heat and vapour generated by a busy Asian kitchen. In a cuisine context where wok-style cooking and intense heat are part of the daily routine, getting the extraction right is not a secondary concern. It is part of what makes the line viable at full service.
Refrigeration
Combisteel refrigeration units were specified throughout, positioned across all corners of the kitchen to keep prep stock and ingredient supply close to the points of use. A kitchen with a long service window and a broad menu cannot afford cold storage that requires a walk to reach. The Combisteel units provide the coverage the layout demands: countertop prep units, upright cabinets for bulk storage, and undercounter units positioned to support the cooking line directly.
The decision to distribute refrigeration across the kitchen rather than consolidating it in a single run reflects the nature of the operation. When a team is preparing and cooking across a full day, the cold side of the kitchen needs to be as accessible as the hot side.
The combi oven
The Unox Cheftop MindMaps Plus brings a significant level of precision and programmability to the kitchen's baking and roasting capability. The MindMaps Plus range is distinguished by its intelligent cooking programmes, which learn from use and adapt over time, as well as its connectivity and the consistency it delivers across repeated tasks. For a kitchen producing food across three distinct service periods each day, that consistency matters. A combi oven that behaves the same way at lunch as it does at the end of a Saturday dinner service is worth a great deal in a team environment.
In a kitchen running from morning through to midnight, the ability to programme and replicate results across a full day is not a convenience. It is how standards are maintained under pressure.
From plans to installation
The Saigon Gżira project was handled from the ground up. The process began with a measured survey of the space and the production of floor plans and 3D renders, which allowed the Saigon team to review the proposed layout before any installation began. That stage matters: it is the point at which adjustments are inexpensive, and it is where the logic of a layout is tested before equipment is committed. Once the design was signed off, we managed delivery, positioning, connection, and commissioning of every element in the kitchen.
The result is a kitchen built for the demands of a serious Asian restaurant group with multiple outlets and an established reputation in Malta. Saigon has operated in Birkirkara and at Malta International Airport as well as at the Gżira site. The Gżira location is their flagship full-service restaurant, and the kitchen reflects that.
If you are planning a restaurant kitchen fit-out in Malta, we would be glad to talk through what your operation requires. Get in touch with the Spiteri Catering team and let us understand what you need. We handle everything from initial consultation and design through to supply, professional installation, and ongoing technical support.
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