Grand Com ga Hai Nam – Garden Grove – (714) 638-1310

Grand Com ga Hai Nam – Garden Grove – (714) 638-1310, 9904 Westminster Ave, 92844

Located in the Mall of Fortune complex close to the Hong An and Binh Minh restaurants. This place specializes in Com Ga Hai Nam (Come Gaah High Nam) which is chopped pieces of cold chicken still on the bone served with Vietnamese salad/herbs and ginger fish dipping sauce. Not my favorite because the chicken is tasteless and cold for my Americanized palatte, but the Com Ga Xe Phai (Come Gaah Sair Five) is quite good which is shredded chicken with herbs tossed in a tangy sweet vinger sauce and chicken broth cooked rice. I tried the Pho Ga Kho (Fahh Gaah Ho) which is dry Pho Ga but it was tasteless and I wouldn’t recommend it. Go for the regular Pho Ga soup not the dry version if you want to try the soup here.

Pho Vie II – Garden Grove (714) 539-5224

Pho Vie II – Garden Grove (714) 539-5224 – 10120 Westminster Ave, 92843

Another Pho shop that seems to be related to Pho Thanh. It is notable because it was one of the first to have the 50% Pho Ga special. A good deal for a bowl of Vietnamese style chicken noodle soup. Still, my favorite hands down is Pho 86 since the broth doesn’t seem to be as oily there.

Binh Minh – Garden Grove (714) 636-7103

Binh Minh – Garden Grove (714) 636-7103 – 9908 Westminster Ave, 92844, closed Wednesdays.

Specializing in Northern Vietnamese dishes like Bun Cha Ha Noi (Boon Jaa Ha Noy) and Bung (Boong). Located in the 99 cent store complex.

Pho Bach Yen – Garden Grove – (714) 636-3016

Pho Bach Yen, Garden Grove – (714) 636-3016, 9786 Westminster, 92844

One of the best deals for Pho around, free drink, nuoc mat, (nook mak), free appetizer rolls: Nem Nuong (Num Noong) – Spring rolls (not fried egg rolls). Rice paper sheets wrapped around lettuce, mint, pork with a peanut dipping sauce, and finally free sweet bean dessert, che (jair) 

Pho (Fuh) – Most popular noodle soup of Vietnam. Rice noodle with meat usually beef, onion, ginger broth, beansprouts, lime, and basil. There are hundreds of Pho noodle shops and each one depends on personal tastes.

A common misconception is that you have to drink all the broth in the entire soup thus Pho is too filling of a meal. But in reality most people just eat the noodles and meat and leave a large portion of the broth uneaten. Pho broth is very fatty by the way so it is unhealthy to drink it in large amounts on a daily basis.

Phuong Restaurant – (714) 534-3339 – Garden Grove

Phuong Restaurant – (714) 534-3339 – Garden Grove, 10722 Westminster Ave, 92843

Known for it’s hu tieu (who tew) noodle soup. There are 2 kinds of noodles to choose from, the regular white rice noodle, ban mem (Bun ma’am) or the clear, chewy transparent noodle, ban dai, (Bun yai). Most people order it dry, kho (hoe), so that there the soup base is separate and a shrimp, tomato sauce is provided. The noodles are in a separate bowl with pork slices, shrimp, egg, squid.

Royal Capital Seafood – Garden Grove – (714) 638-8315

Royal Capital Seafood – Garden Grove – (714) 638-8315 – 10911 Westminster Blvd, 92843 – www.royalcapitalseafood.com

Family style Chinese-Vietnamese meals. Lobster in a savory sauce. There are a number of Chinese-Vietnamese restaurants serving large family style banquet meals with a majority of the specialty in seafood dishes. Kung Pao Chicken is also a favorite here.

Kyotori – Garden Grove – (714) 530-3029

Kyotori - Garden Grove – (714) 530-3029 – 9789 Chapman Ave, 92841  (next to Regal Theater)

Sushi – some places that have affordable yet tasty sushi and Japanese cuisine.

Wasabi & sushi – Garden Grove – (714) 539-3333

Wasabi & sushi – Garden Grove – (714) 539-3333 – 9542 Chapman Ave, 92841

Sushi – some places that have affordable yet tasty sushi and Japanese cuisine.

Jumpa Thai – Garden Grove (714) 537-1076

Jumpa Thai – Garden Grove (714) 537-1076 – 12085 Brookhurst St, 92844

Thai Food – Pad see ew, pad thai, beef salad are some of my favorite Thai dishes. Most Thai places have affordable lunch time specials that include a crispy appetizer, soup, and salad. Curry with coconut milk is common to most Thai dishes. The soups are a good variety ranging from hot and sour soup, coconut milk soup, noodle and tofu soup, to a whole meal of hot pot Thai soup.

Van Restaurant – Garden Grove (714) 530-6858

Van Restaurant – Nha Hang Van – Garden Grove (714) 530-6858 or 530-4551  – 14122 Brookhurst St, 92843

Banh Xeo Dac Biet (Bun Sail Dock Beak) – A crispy thin crepe filled with shrimp, pork, beansprouts, and sometimes bean paste. Served with lettuce and herbs and nuoc mam (nook mum). This place specializes in savory pastries filled with meat: banh tet, banh gio, banh chung, banh it, banh gai.