Little Saigon Adventures

how was the pork meat patty? Any comparison to the OG Hanoi restaurant near Asian Garden mall?

Not well formed patties but the flavor is there.

Not sure which place by Garden Mall. I know across the street Pho Quang Trung does Bun Cha, actually had a Viet coworker recommend it

Pho Ga Hai Van at Westminster x Magnolia (same plaza as Ngu Binh), IMO the best pho ga in town. Forgot to take pics.

God I love 7 Leaves Mung Bean milk tea, warm and less sweet.

1 Like

Speaking of Ngu Binh, it was a mom and pop, until they got divorce and mom opened up Ben Ngu lol!

Some Little Saigon restaurant drama!

1 Like

Just wanted to thank you for your contributions. It must take a tremendous amount of discipline to eat through and document each of these shops. Couple questions — have you tried Thanh Mai’s banh xeo, and since you stated that banh xeo is one of your favorite dishes: What makes a good, proper banh xeo for you specifically?

Also, have you been able to find a truly great pho bac in Little Saigon? I’m feeling pretty stumped; lots of great pho nam.

3 Likes

I have not had Thanh Mai’s but I will definitely try it. I really don’t know what makes a good one. I just know what I like personally.

I don’t think there is a legit Hanoi style Pho in Little Saigon. SF’s Turtle Tower and some places in SGV seem to do it right. Pho B in Huntington Beach does a Hanoi style Pho.

There been a few times when the broth at Pho B was out of this world good. Pure. I just skipped the basil, and sprouts.

@euno, what are your favorite Pho places?

For me:
Pho Ga: Pho Ga Hai Van and Pho Dakao
Pho Hanoi: Pho B
Pho Saigon: Pho 79

I really want to try something else besides Pho 79

2 Likes

I have a few mixed feelings on a truly great Hanoi-style pho; one of my best friends is Vietnamese, and actually it was his father who made a proper pho bac for me for the first time, a very clean beef-based broth with minimal garnish or spice that was refreshing without the assistance of juiced limes. As far as I know great examples of it are hard to come by; that friend’s father claims the best are in Vietnam, and he has yet to find a practitioner of a proper pho bac broth Stateside.

The dominant style at least in Little Saigon appears to be pho nam and pho ga, for obvious reasons.

Pho 79 has its contrarians though their reasoning is generally lacking in uniformity/clarity. It’s my favorite pho as the blend of spices used has always had a very comforting effect on me. I’m partial to the star anise. I also really like Pho Quang Trung, for a very decent pho and an even better bun bo hue (and of course, those great dao chao quay crullers :slight_smile:)

My favorite Pho Ga is at Pho Dakao, though oftentimes I’ll just be cheap and get that $4.50 pho ga (not sure if it’s still that cheap) at Pho Vie due east of Westminster and Brookhurst. Pho Ga Hai Van is also excellent. My only beef against Pho B is the overall unctuousness of the broth, it’s a little bit heavy and doesn’t get much help to lighten it.

Up north I do like Phorage (though I haven’t been in some time), and Golden Deli.

Pho tau bay…for their banh cuon

for pho? i’ve heard that pho is not their strong suit - it’s other parts of the menu.

2 Likes

Yeah I have more bowls at Pho B where it was more heavy as you stated. I concluded that beef pho can be so inconsistent at times.
Also been times when it tasted more like a Saigon broth.
But man there has been a few times in which
(2 times) it was so pure!

Pho Huynh in El Monte seems to be the place in SGV for Hanoi Pho. Maybe @JThur01 or @secretasianman have tried it.

Since we are on the subject Round 3 Pho Noodle House in Rowland Heights caught my attention, you can get a beef and chicken pho with Hainan dipping sauces on the side. One Yelp review said the pho was less herbal and more beef based.

Quang Trung is solid and open late!

After Saigon style Pho I think the second most popular noodle is Hu Tieu.

1 Like

It’s probably been more than a year but I’ve had the Banh Cuon there. It was tasty!

1 Like

i think i’ve been there and also pho filet nearby, but it’s been a while for both. had i known that pho huynh was northern, i would have evaluated it differently; i now understand that northern is supposed to be more nuanced than southern, but to an inexperienced palate the line between subtle and bland is fairly murky.

I always liked their combination pho, they’ve a pretty reliable bowl of tendon-tripe-brisket pho that I find comparable to replacement-level bowls in Little Saigon.

a chacon son gout; the common wisdom as i hear it is to skip the pho there. i went to pho 79 (now saigon eden) a lot when i first moved to the west coast and it was my go to for a long time. now recalibrating as i try more different vietnamese stuff.

The Pho 79 in Alhambra I believe you are referencing was massive disappointment for me. I do recall them being listed with the Pho 79 from Westminster on the Pho 79 website at some point, but the broths were completely different, and on the last two visits (one was about a month before it closed) the noodles were completely overcooked, puffed to an off-putting softness. The Westminster location is vastly superior in my opinion, but à chacun son goút. :joy:

what.

ever.

Ba Le

Although there are many Ba Le’s in the US they are all independently owned and operated but all have some type of connection to the original, be it former employee or family/friend. The recipes can also be different from each one.

Everything here is house made. The bread, pickles, protein, mayo, and pate.


Pic of the Mayo that is available to take home.

They do make one of the best Banh Mi’s around. This “Bacon”/Pork Belly Banh Mi is great…

Warm bread and pork belly combines with the richness of the mayo and pate spread with a balance from the pickles to create truly one of my favorite Banh Mi’s.

$3.81 for the damage. All house made ingredients, you can’t get a sandwich at any of those shitty sandwich chains for that price.

One of the workers there said I should try this next time since New Years is coming up

2 Likes

Nha Hang 1.99

This is a Little Saigon classic!!!

I hate all you Yelpers who give this place less than 4 stars especially for the whole “its not $1.99 anymore”. Well no shit man. The 2 locations are strategically located at the West and East bookends of Little Saigon (Beach Blvd and Harbor Blvd).

Real OG’s will show their age when they truly ate here for $1.99. I think just about every Bolsa kid has ate here. Every.


So it’s now $6.75 and you can get a small mound of rice, egg, pickles, and Cornish hen. Of course the sauce!!! The sauce has onions that are completely cooked down until they are sweet. The sauce is more on the salty side but then you get a hint of sweet from the onions. Enjoy the crispy skin on its own first. Then parts of the chicken with a little rice and sauce.

Thank You Nha Hang 1.99 for feeding anyone who ventures in and all the Bolsa kids past, present, and future fueling their bodies so they can do great things for their family and this country.

5 Likes

Extra sauce like a boss.

1 Like