29 S. Garfield Ave., Alhambra 626-289-0239
Saigon Eden
980 E. Las Tunas Dr., San Gabriel 626-287-3158
Type: Vietnamese, of course
Quality: !!!! (see note below regarding Saigon Eden) Price: $-$$ Ambience: **
Both restaurants are owned by members of the same family. This is a great pho restaurant. I like the Pho Tai Sach, which is traditional Pho Tai with tripe. They serve numerous types of soup noodle dishes. One notable drink is Soda Chanh (listed as Soda Xi Muoi / Chanh). Soda Chanh is some clear soda mixed with sugar and a whole lot of lime juice. Once you get it, mix it up so the juice isn't all on the bottom. Take a swig, and it tastes like you're sucking on a whole, fresh lime. It does wonders for clearing your palate. All in all, the food is really good and affordable. Pho 79 is a block south from the Regal Cinema on Garfield Ave. and Main St. Parking is a bit strange. There's plenty of parking space in the parking structure behind the restaurant. You should to enter the structure from First St., which is one block west of Garfield Ave.
Saigon Eden is better decorated. The food quality has gone up, down, and sideways--rather inconsistent, if you ask me. But their most pressing issue is that hey need to work on their choice of videos for their widescreen TV. They were playing a Bee Gees reunion concert DVD. Somehow, hearing "Staying Alive" while eating pho isn't very reassuring to me. Perhaps pho tastes better with polyester....
710 W. Las Tunas Dr. #5-7, San Gabriel 626-282-6327
Golden Deli
815 W. Las Tunas Dr. , San Gabriel 626-308-0803
Vietnam Restaurant
340 W. Las Tunas Dr., San Gabriel 91776 626-281-5577
Type: Why are you asking me again? Isn't it obvious by now?
Quality: !!!! Price: $-$$ Ambience: **-***
All three restaurants are owned by the same family and share the same menu (there's a fourth one on Valley Blvd., but I haven't been there, yet). Golden Deli has long been the most popular Vietnamese restaurant in the Western San Gabriel Valley. In fact, they usually close a month for a vacation, which is almost unheard of in the restaurant business. Business was so good that the owners bought out another restaurant in a mini-mall diagonally across the street and renamed it Vietnam House. The food here is just really, really good. The parking for Golden Deli is just really, really bad. It's located in the same mini-mall as Newport Seafood Tan Cang Restaurant, Fine Garden Restaurant and some other restaurants, There is no waiting room inside. Fortunately, the parking for Vietnam House is much better, and it's not nearly as crowded. The food is just as good (remember, they share the same menu). Try the Phan Chao Tom appetizer. It consists of deep-fried shrimp paste on sugar cane. The Banh Tam Bi (Rice Noodle with Coconut Milk) is also very good--very refreshing and satisfying. If you order this, mix up the dish after it arrives--there's sauce and other stuff at the bottom of the bowl.
The other restaurants have the same menu, but are closed on alternate days so that at least one of them is open at all times. The latest incarnation--Vietnam Restaurant--is much smaller than the others, but parking is much better. The decor is much better, too. It is brightly lit but not in a garish way.
9016 Mission Dr., Rosemead 626-286-3370
Type: Vietnamese
Quality: !!! Price: $-$$ Ambience: **
There are always long lines of people outside, but that's because they are waiting to get through the In-N-Out restaurant next door. Once you get past them, there are still people waiting to eat here. The menu is short by Vietnamese standards--a little more than 20 items. The food is excellent. The Nem Chua Nuong (Charbroiled Sour Pork Patties) is recommended. If you order this from the menu (item #3), you'll get some veggies with it. However, you can order them individually if you just want the meat itself (it's cheaper, but it's not listed anywhere as such). Also good is Nem Nuong Cuon voi Cha Ram Tom (item #5: pork ) and Nem Bo Nuong Cuon voi Cha Ram Tom (item #6: beef). You get the meat wrapped in a thin, translucent rice paper wrap. Inside are cold lettuce and assorted veggies along with a crisp, warm egg-roll-of-sorts. The egg-roll-of-sorts doesn't have much inside, but it's a great complement to the rest of the roll. You must try this item in one form or another. I've also been told that they specialize in Bun Bo Hue, which is a regional specialty from Hue, located in Central Vietnam. If you want to impress your friends, casually mention that Hue was the ancient capital of Vietnam. I've never had the Bun Bo Hue here, but it usually has pork blood in it, so it is not for the squeamish. Typically, it is in cube form, so you can remove it if you don't like it.
9016 Mission Dr., Rosemead 626-286-3370
Type: Vietnamese
Quality: !! Price: $ Ambience: *
The decor is truly lacking in this place. Sometimes, when the Roadhouse Cafe next door has a live band, you can eat your meal to the thumping beat of a band that would never make it on American Idol. The food is decent--nothing special. At least it's cheap. This is located in the big mall on the northwest corner of Rosemead and Las Tunas.
8702 E. Valley Blvd.., Rosemead 626-288-9166
Type: Vietnamese Sandwich, believe it or not!
Quality: !!! Price: $ Ambience: **
The price listing is off. It really should be half of a dollar sign. Sandwiches go for less than $3 here. And they're really good. Remember, the French occupied Vietnam for about 70 years, which was a bit shorter than the Chinese 800 year occupation. Anyway, during the French occupation, some enterprising Vietnamese mastered the art of baking French breads. You can get a freshly-baked large baguette here for about $1, and it tastes much better than the one you buy from Ralph's Supermarket. You can also order croissants and pate sandwiches here. I haven't tried the pate sandwiches, but the croissants are really good. This is a bakery, so you can't find pho or rice/noodle dishes here.
400 E. Valley Blvd., San Gabriel 626-280-8883
Type: Vietnamese Sandwich
Quality: !!! Price: $ Ambience: **
This has been an on-going trend of French-style Vietnamese bakeries. As with Mr. Baguette, the price listing should really be half of a dollar sign. You can get a 12 inch Rotisserie chicken (Thit Ga) sandwich for about $2.25. A 12 inch roast beef sandwich goes for about $4.25, and it's served on a freshly-made baguette. Again, don't expect to find pho or rice/noodle dishes here.