Full Moon Sushi – Fountain Valley – 714-963-3214 ,  9965 Ellis Ave, 92708,

Affordable sushi combos, teriyaki chicken & beef combos. Standard Udon soup, gyoza, and tempura fare. Informal surfing themed restaurant.

Oh Me Ly – Fountain Valley – 714-531-7173

16086 Harbor Blvd, 92708,

French/Vietnamese restaurant in a colorful setting. The restaurant looks like a Mexican cantina with its bright orange decor. A one-man band/pianist provides live evening music. Good yet pricey gourmet style food. Bear and wine served. Free soup appetizer and ice-cream dessert served with meals. There’s a jambayla or paella style fried rice with seafood that is served here. The salmon with tamarind sauce is recommended.

Top Baguette – Westminster – 714-379-7726 or 714-310-0363

9062 Bolsa Ave, 92683, Mon to Sat: 5AM to 7PM, www.topbaguette.com

Small take-out sandwich shop specializing in Banh Mi (Bun Me), a sandwich on a French baguette with meat, cilantro, shredded carrots. There a many sandwich shops around like Lee’s Sandwich which is a fast-food chain. Banh Mi is similar to the American hamburger in terms of a popular fast food. Top Baguette makes one the best tasting Banh Mi’s in the Little Saigon Orange County area.

Xanh – Fountain Valley – 714-531-2030

16161 Brookhurst St, 92708 www.xanhbistro.com

Fancy new artsy Vietnamese restaurant located in the Albertson’s shopping center, next to the Vietnamese Performing Arts Center. Food is presented in artsy, gourmet style and pricey, but tasty. I liked the greens soup with Chicken meatballs. The 5-spice spare ribs weren’t that great. I would come again to try something different but not easy on the wallet. Good place to take Americanos.

Pho Tau Bay LTT – Santa Ana – 714-531-6634

3610W. First St, Suite C, 92703, closed Mondays, Open Tues-Sat: 8am – 8pm, Sun & Holidays: 8am – 4pm.

This place used to be famous for it’s hand made banh cuon (bun koon) but with my latest visit, the portions were sparse. The Pho here is not my favorite, I would go here for the banh cuon instead, although I like the Banh Cuon Tay Ho portions better.

Passion Berry – Westminster – (714) 775-5300, 9550 Bolsa Ave #115C, 92683

One of the many Yogurt/dessert shops popping up like crazy. It reminds me of the Boba drink fad several years ago (early-mid 2000s). They are very similar to the Korean owned Pinkberry chain but the difference is it’s all self-serve and you get charged by the weight. You can pick from many flavors of frozen yoghurt and select your own fruit or candy toppings.

Hoang Yen – Westminster – 714-531-8833, 9600 Bolsa Ave Ste N, 92683
Small, new restaurant located next to Luc Dinh Ky II. They serve a number of vietnamese dishes, but the Chao Ca is good here. Chao Ca (CHOW KA) is a rice congee soup with fish Ca, or chicken Ga (Gaahh) that is normally served when one is sick like the American Chicken Noodle Soup, it is a comfort food that is good for those who have problems chewing.
The Bun Vit Sao Mang (Boon Veet Sow Mung) is good here too. That’s rice noodle soup with Duck and Bamboo Shoots.

Kobe Sushi – Fountain Valley – 714-968-9938, 10585 Slater Ave Unit 8A & B. Low cost sushi joint where they have a 50% off sushi deal from 5pm-7pm Mon-Thurs. Run by Vietnamese owners so may not be 100% authentic Japanese. I stopped going here because the wait service was slow and they screwed up my order one too many times. However if you want cheap sushi, this may be the place for you.

Sakura – Huntington Beach – (714) 841-8885, 16871 Beach Blvd

Small, upscale Japanese restaurant serving Shabu Shabu, the boiled pot where you cook raw meat and vegetables at your table like a fondue pot. Run by Vietnamese owners so may not be 100% authentic Japanese.

Mandarin Restaurant – Fountain Valley (714) 962-6058, 18420 Brookhurst St, 92708. Open for lunch from 11:30am – 2pm.  Dinner 5pm – 9:30pm. Good Chinese food. Walnut Shrimp is tasty.