-->

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Vietnam House in San Gabriel

When my Danish cousins were about to fly away from us, we decided to take them to Vietnam House in San Gabriel so that we could tentalize them with this one last memory of a good Vietnamese meal. My family and I go to Vietnam house regularly whenever we crave some good Viet grub, and since it's roomier than Golden Deli across the street, it's a little easier to find a place to sit here for our large groups, and the food in my opinion is almost as good.

Because my parents are creatures of habit and hang on to a good thing when they find them, and since I usually go get pho' in the Alhambra area only with their company, we have yet to try Vietnam Restaurant, not to be confused with this one. As fellow blogger Wandering Chopsticks has explained in depth the relationship between all three restaurants mentioned above, Vietnam Restaurant should be quite good and I'm looking forward to going there. For now, Vietnam House is not too shabby for pho' and when we crave it, Vietnamese 7 course beef (Bo Bay Mon).

Parking is rough here. Just circle and circle until you find a space.


My cousins ordered the Com Thit Nuong (rice with grilled pork), pictured above, while my brother ordered Com Cha Thit Nuong, which is essentially the same as the above but with some Vietnamese quiche added. I've had both here before and have always loved them.

They make their Suong Sa Hot Luu, pictured on the left, the way I like it, with lots of mung beans, tapioca strips and mock pomegranate pieces, and the juice is not overly sweet. The Soda Xi Muoi (Salted plum in soda) is always perfect here.

Their Cafe (or Ca Phe) Sua Da. Have never tried it here but my husband liked it.

I ordered the Pho Tai Sach Bo Vien, which is actually not on the menu. The 4 meatballs were huge, halfway split, and a little chewy but still good, with the noodles being on the skinny side. The broth looks a little murky but was bursting with flavor as always from all the herbs. It's a very good broth. Lots of rare steak in this bowl and not too much tripe, which is how I like it.

No sawtooth herb is offered here, but you order bean sprouts cooked already like my dad does. I don't like bean sprouts either way, cooked or raw and often leave them out in my bowl of pho'.

Mom ordered the Hu Tieu Tom Kho (Vermicelli with Shrimp without soup). Actually the soup is brought out in a separate bowl. Mom gobbled it up. Their hu tieu here has never disappointed.

The service I've noticed was not on par as it has been in the past. They actually messed up my mom's order intially and brought out Hu Tieu Tom Cua instead, but they took it back. You can see from the photo above that we were very tempted to eat it anyways. I also noticed they messed up an order for another table next to us, but that other table was not as forgiving. Can't stand rude customers. Even though they messed up the orders, the food comes out lightning fast. You can't complain.

Hubby order Pho Dac Biet as always. Their special bowl of pho has a good balance when it comes to ingredients. Not too much tendons, a good amount of rare steak.

Vietnam House never fails to disappoint our appetite for things Vietnamese.

Vietnam House is located at 710 W Las Tunas Dr. in San Gabriel, CA (626) 282-3630



7 comments:

Jenn said...

It's been a while since I've had Vietnamese food. I love the soups. I'll have to check this place out next time I'm around that area.

EatTravelEat said...

I like here too; we went here once after seeing the crowd here and we were not disappointed! Their quality of the ingredients is great and they don't skimp on ingredients.

Food For Tots said...

I luv Hu Tieu Tom Kho (Vermicelli with Shrimp without soup). Looks so appetizing esp the char siew (barbecue pork). I think I will gobble up like your mom too. Slurp! Slurp!

shavedicesundays said...

Jenn, yeah check it out, can't go wrong!

EatTravelEat, they do make good Vietnamese food.

Food For Tots, I never really like char siew in my soups for some reason, nor hoison sauce, they add a sweetness I don't like, but I'd eat it in a soup like that!

s. stockwell said...

Our friends have recently returned from a month long stay in Vietnam. They are excellent cooks and have promised to treat everyone with a dinner soon? This post makes us hope the dinner is coming soon! Thanks for popping in on us recently and we will watch for your new stories too. best from Santa Barbara. s

imjustatree said...

nice pictures. what kind of juice is suong sa hot luu made of exactly?

i'll have to try this place, as well as golden deli, which my cousin has told me a lot about

today's weather definitely calls for some shaved ice

shavedicesundays said...

s. stockwell, thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy your Viet dinner!

Sawyer, i'ts basically sugar water and coconut milk. Yeah shaved ice is good anytime, but especially this week.