Trieu Chau-Little Saigon Classic, Most Gangsta

You mean Pho 45 - La Mirada, not 54.

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@Ns1, tk u. I’ve had those but when I ask for a few more minutes they usually leave & return without the surliness. As a matter of fact, we went to Bai-Plu on Bellflower in LBC (owner said she sold the 7th St location), 3 servers came to us in quick succession so original one said just to let her know when we’re ready. We don’t usually take a long time to decide but with mouth probs & small appetite, I’m trying to find something interesting that also goes well w/lots of chili.:grinning: …& because she was nice, we added coffees & SO approved green tea ice cream.
Only place nearby that makes 1 of our fave ground meat w/century egg & fried basil (I had some of the egg pcs).


Green tea ice cream

Tom kha-I gave the chix & mushrooms to SO & I only had the broth.

Hello @attran99, I knew u could give me some feedback. Tk u for the intel on the La Mirada Pho 54 or 45. Will add to my wish list. Best to u & the boys.

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@hal, which resto are u referring to? Tks for the other info. Macarons & ice cream I can suck & swallow-tks for the calorie info. Why are most soft foods high carbs & sweet (I don’t have a sweet tooth but did buy 2 small Dairy Queen blizzards). Not to be gross but bought rice porridge, requested mala spicy mapo tofu w/ lots of chili & xo sauce from Lunasia, mixed them together & woke up the taste buds😛.
Pumpkin @ foreground & Girl Scout mint in background-I still have most of the 2 cups. Looking forward to eating well once body decides not to reject implant screws. Sashimi is great but getting expensive😂

I was talking about Trieu Chau.

@hal drove by yesterday & was reminded I never made it to the Artesia location before they closed. Tk u…

That’s pretty standard experience tbh.

Re: Paying the bill. Most Vietnamese places do not bring you the bill and you have to pay at the counter. This is pretty standard all thru Little Saigon. Your experience is just a cultural misunderstanding. I had to learn this as well.

Mondays and Tuesday’s are typically when a lot of Little Saigon restaurants close. Bad timing.

FYI Pho 101 by Bella Terra is from the same family as Pho 79. Sometimes the parking can be pretty bad at Pho 79 or you might be closer to the area. Something to keep in mind.

Yes most of the uncles expect you to order right away when you sit down. Yes some are very surly but it’s not personal. Happy cheery service is the exception. They just want to make money and you just want to eat pho. That’s it.

Been thru everything you felt eating my way thru Little Saigon over the years. (See my thread).

Also have many Vietnamese friends. I assure you in my experience they are mostly outgoing, fun, family oriented, and hard working people. I love Vietnamese people, and culture! Please don’t take your experience the wrong way and as a reflection on them as a whole.

Grouchy uncles are the same everywhere.

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And fwiw being able to speak Vietnamese does not actually garner better service.

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:100:

@JeetKuneBao, tk u also for the additional info. Will re-read ur thread for additional info. I’m even more educated now on expectations when patronizing Little Saigon biz in Fountain Valley/Garden Grove. Wonder why treatment is different outside the areas. It wasn’t my 1st rodeo there, I’ve been to many biz many times over the years either on my own or w/my Vietnamese friends who introduced me to different biz/meals but yesterday was :woman_facepalming:t4:. Nope, not taking it personally cause I continued to be nice, kept thanking him in Vietnamese even when we walked out so I just attribute it to him not adjusting. Never expect cheery workers cause I know how stressful their jobs could be due to difficult customers/owners/co-workers (oldest daughter worked as a server for yrs so I heard some unpleasant experiences). I only expect decency, we’re not regulars, obvs not Vietnamese so might have taken 5 more minutes than others. …but they weren’t busy so what’s the rush & why the attitude? Wondered if they don’t want customers to return & don’t care if they lose biz to competition. Like you said, we just wanted to eat & enjoy our dishes, we weren’t difficult, demanding, didn’t dare ask for substations, we just ate.
Tks also for the Pho 101 rec by Bella Terra, yes much closer than Little Saigon, will check for hours, payment type & menu before we go. Around us, most Indian restos are closed Mondays, (boo, no more buffets last I checked), some Chinese on Tuesdays.
Agree, I have nothing bad to say about Vietnamese people, I continue to be friends w/former co-workers whose moms fed me well & introduced me to many dishes like bun bo hue w/cubed blood, bun rieu oc, mam tom, Mắm Chưng (aunties in Little Saigon always chuckled & made sure I knew what I was buying), etc. When we lived & worked in NoOC, we used to go to our 2nd Vietnamese restaurant discovery—Kim Loan. One of the bros always knew SO’s special order—off menu pealed fried shrimp w/garlic & me, whatever something interesting he wanted me to try. On rainy days we would order & they delivered to our ofc. Alas, they closed.
Uncle reminds me of Echizen’s owner in Cypress. As often as SO & I went for lunch for yrs, he never greeted us as he did Japanese customers when they entered & left. We used to say let’s go to Echizen & maybe he’ll greet us-nope but we kept going back cause the food was worth being ignored. If we sat at the counter, owner would keep looking over the counter so we’d try to guess what he might be thinking. Hurry up & eat the food, you ordered too much, you keep coming back​:open_mouth:. Take care…trying to convince son not to drive like a race car driver so I can treat him to Heritage BBQ down south. He’s bribing me w/taking the dog so I’d agree to go for an amusement park type of ride.:smirk:

@Ns1 & @attran99, usually works when I say hello & thank u in Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Spanish, Mandarin (?), Thai, Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, French, Swahili & a few others. I’ve learned cause I used to be able to eat different ethnic foods.

I feel like this in NY too. Just consider it an authentic experience.

Doesn’t work in Little Saigon tho

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@Ns1 LOL, note to self, need to visit NY to have that experience. 2 kids have gone but never mentioned different service that we get in our burbs. Also note to self, don’t expect welcome mat just because I say hello & thank you in Little Saigon. Again, tks to all for the info, It’s awesome to be more educated & not be ignorant.

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Just smile sillily at all the uncles and aunties and say thank you a lot, they’re always super nice to me. I’m also very fluent in Vietnamese, hahaha.

Yup, sincere :blush:, no condescending attitude on our part. We were nice, grateful & respectful towards Uncle & other workers. Tks all…have a nice weekend.

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