Local Review: Vietnam House - Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio and Cafe Sua Da - San Gabriel, CA

Vietnam House is located in a strip mall at the southeast corner of Las Tunas and Mission. It's owned by the same proprietors as Golden Deli across the street although it's always less crowded. It basically has the same menu except they also have and specialize in Bo Bay Mon ("seven courses of beef", bo = "beef", bay = "seven", and mon="dish" as in a dish of food and not literally the dish itself.) which I've only probably eaten once or twice in my life and never here. My mom tells me Bo Bay Mon is overrated.

Usually when I go here I get the com tam ("broken rice"), the pho ("beef noodle soup"), or the Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio ("noodles with grilled pork and egg roll(s)", bun = "rice vermicelli noodles", thit = "meat", nuong = "roast or grilled", cha gio = "egg roll"), which I decided to get on this occasion.

Besides the noodles, the grilled pork, and egg rolls (of which they give you two, some places skimp and give you just one which makes me a sad panda), there is also a hidden stash of greens, cucumbers, and bean sprouts underneath so you should mix it a little, like you would a salad, before eating. It is also served with nuoc cham which is a sauce you pour over the dish, it's basically fish sauce (nuoc mam), sugar, water, and vinegar, or sometimes lemon or lime juice.

It was pretty tasty, the egg rolls were crisp, and the pork had a good flavor to it and a nice char. I wished the nuoc cham was a little stronger but that's about it.

And of course, we all got cafe sua da which was strong and sweet but my favorite is still from Banh Mi Che Cali.

Vietnam House
710 W Las Tunas Dr
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 282-6327

Hours of Operation:
Sun. 10 a.m.–9:30 p.m.,
Mon.–Wed. 10 a.m.–9 p.m.,
Fri.–Sat. 10 a.m.–10 p.m.
(Closed Thursdays.)