Wow. What an absolute hidden gem for Hanoian cuisine…read more The chicken is outstanding. They use free range hen, and you can taste the difference immediately. Unlike the overly soft, almost mushy texture of supermarket chicken, this has the perfect bite. It's tender, yet still pleasantly firm with a natural chew that reminds you you're eating real, quality chicken. More importantly, it actually tastes like chicken. Rich, clean, and deeply flavorful. Then there's the broth. One sip and I was transported back to Hanoi. Crystal clear, incredibly clean, and bursting with flavor without relying on sweetness or excessive salt. It's delicate yet powerful, the kind of broth that only comes from patience and respect for the ingredients. I found myself savoring every spoonful. The xôi was a texture delight. The sticky rice had a wonderfully chewy, satisfying texture, and the crispy fried shallots on top added the perfect aroma and crunch. Every bite had that beautiful contrast between soft, sticky rice and fragrant caramelized shallots. It was simple comfort food executed flawlessly. What truly sealed the experience was the hospitality. I accidentally left my bag behind, and the owner immediately grabbed it and kept it safe for me. That simple act of kindness says everything about the people behind this restaurant. I haven't tried the bún chả yet, but after this meal it's already at the top of my list. I'll be back soon, and I'll update this review once I do. If you're searching for authentic Northern Vietnamese flavors instead of the more common southern-style Vietnamese restaurants, Pho Gà Hùng deserves your attention. Between the incredible free range chicken, one of the most memorable broths I've had outside of Hanoi, perfectly chewy xôi with fragrant fried shallots, a beautifully balanced fish sauce, and genuinely warm hospitality, this has officially become my go-to spot for Hanoian cuisine.

I was visiting the lion plaza food court as usual and I noticed that this restaurant had a…read morehainanese chicken rice plate (viet style). I have tried a few other Vietnamese restaurants in the Milpitas area and they were quite good. Service was a little slow as I suspect some items needed to be reheated before serving. The rice was quite flavorful but lacking in the pandan taste which is a feature in the Singaporean version. The only negative was the lack of a chili sauce to spice up the meal. The chicken was ok but tasted a little dry. On the other hand the soup was tasty and not overly salty. I wasn't totally impressed and don't know if I will order it again.

Came by for breakfast the other day and it was a tasty experience. Parking is plentiful in the…read moreprivate strip mall lot. The area is rather decrepit though "hole in the wall" Dining is available both indoors and outdoors. Service by the owner was very hospitable. Opted for a large pho dac biet with a side of ox tails and it was excellent. The broth was very light. The fresh noodles were very fresh. The meats were very tender and juicy. Loved how tender the side of oxtails were too! ~$26/head after tax and gratuity for breakfast. They take credit cards!

Pho Nhy is a family run Vietnamese restaurant with a narrow pho menu. We were picking up sandwiches…read moreat nearby Duc Huong and grabbed a quick bowl of noodles. Rated 4.4 on Google, 4.4 on Yelp. Their claim to fame is allowing you to choose 1-3 meats in your pho. The pho was slightly above average, but nothing special per se. Safety Pluses - Online menu, Delivery services available, online ordering. Food Review: Pho ($19.25) with Tai, Oxtail and crunchy skirt and regular noodles - they ran out of fresh noodles. The broth was slightly above average, noodles average, not a lot of meal but a lot of tendon skirt. 8/10 Overall - Good Food - Good Decor - Good Service - Good Value - Good Would we come back - No

We come to Phở Tàu Bay a few times a year--it's close by, a family-run spot, and they have late…read morehours (10 p.m. on weekdays). I like supporting local businesses, and they offer variety--phở, cơm tấm, and more. Food (4 stars) + I had the large phở đặc biệt ($17) and added a rib bone (+$3). The broth had that deep color I love, and it was packed with meat. Honestly, I couldn't finish--it was a generous portion! + My wife had a medium phở (around $15), steak and brisket. Honestly, the medium and large aren't that different, but she enjoyed it, finishing the meat. + My youngest had the kid's phở (about $9) with steak. It's generous for a kid's portion, and the steak was tender. ~ My older daughter had shaking beef (around $18). The plate was very colorful because it had a ton of veggies on the side. It even had an avocado as one of the side veggies. I love that. The beef was a bit dry, but the dipping sauce helped. Service/Ambiance (3.5 stars) + They're open a little later than many pho places, which is a plus for a late phở craving. ~ Family-run vibe, but a drink mix-up and a side-eye instead of an apology was a miss. ~ Chairs were going up near closing--didn't feel rushed, but you notice it. We'll be back--sometimes you just need that local phở fix, even if there's room for improvement!

Big warning -- cash only! No credit cards, so come prepared…read more I stopped by Pho Tau Bay after getting back into town from a SoCal trip. I ordered the #1 Special Combo, and the kids shared the #7. Pho Tau Bay is not the best pho in town, but it definitely gets the job done when you are in a pinch. Portions are big and they are generous with the meat. The broth is smooth and flavorful, making it a solid, comforting bowl overall. Service was friendly and fast, which is always a plus. There is usually Vietnamese music playing on the TV, giving it that classic local pho spot vibe. We also grabbed some desserts to go -- Vietnamese yogurt and lychee jello -- and my kids loved them. Pho Tau Bay is a staple in our food rotation and a dependable go-to when we need a quick pho fix.

Best Vietnamese food in SJ hands down. Idk why people gatekeep this place so hard such a hidden…read moregem. Love the Pho and Banh Xeo.

Located near Eastridge, parking is limited but there are a few open spots. The interior is quiet…read moreand fairly empty. Pho dac biet (4/5): broth was flavorful. Noodles were a good texture and meat was tender. They also gave a generous amount of bean sprouts. Overall good bowl of pho Tap to pay is accepted. Overall Pho Huong is a nice small pho place. Food is good and service is quick.

I ordered the basic bot chien because I was deeply missing the street food flavors from my student…read moredays back in Vietnam. This place delivered exactly what I was longing for.My order was ready in less than 10 minutes: fresh, hot, and perfectly crunchy. The shredded papaya and the savory sauce instantly brought back fond memories of school years past. Since it is a dish I cannot easily make at home, the price felt very reasonable. To top it off, the lady working there was incredibly warm, nice, and friendly. Eating here recovered 80% of my homesickness!

Randomly saw this new spot pop up inside the Lion Food Court in Lion Plaza. We love a good bot…read morechien so we decided to try them out. We came on a Saturday around 10:20am and the food court was already bustling. Ordering was quick and easy. When our food was ready, the cashier lady called out to us to come pick it up. We ordered.. BOT CHIEN KHOAI MON $14 -fried taro cake with egg. It's topped with shredded papaya, green onions and fried little bread croutons. Sweet soy dipping sauce, chili sambal and pickled shredded daikon / carrots were given on the side. OK overall, the taro cake was too dense and heavy for me. The dipping sauce was delicious though. I think I would have preferred the original rice cake version. The portion was kinda small for the price tag. 3/5* CHA CA CHIEN (2) $12 -fried fish cake taco. It's basically fish paste smeared on rice paper, folded in half and deep fried. It came with sweet and sour sauce. Pretty good, different but again, hefty price tag for what you get. It's more like a snack. 3/5* The lady taking our order was super friendly. She gave us a free sample of their crispy rice with pork floss. She also noticed that we had our toddler with us so she asked if we wanted extra napkins, plates and water. I would come back to try their regular bot chien if we were already dining in the Lion Food Court.

I recently found out this location is a sister of Bun Bo Hue next door, they specialize in pho,…read moreduck and chicken soups! It's funny how I've come to this plaza numerous times and have not noticed this neighboring spot, fully decked out with Labubus. Anyways, I defintely recommend y'all stop by and check them out while you're in the area.

Not too busy on a Saturday afternoon. Parking lot is quite busy though and can be difficult to find…read moreparking. We shared the banh beo which was great and I loved it! I got the banh canh ga dac biet (combination chicken with Vietnamese udon noodle) and it was pretty good....until I found not 1, but 2 pieces of thick curly black hair in my broth (see pic). I was able to look past the first piece of hair but after the second piece, I lost my appetite and wasn't able to finish the bowl. The cherry on top is that my friend's bowl had a piece of hair in her broth too, but it was different color and texture. Luckily, they didn't charge us for the meal and were nice about it. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be returning due to this experience.

My rating is purely for the tofu pudding which I love especially when you add the syrup and the…read morecoconut sauce on top. I hesitated on whether to give a 3 star rating because none of the fried tofu items has any signage so although I wanted to try some items it was hard to determine what they were and the staff was too busy ringing people up. I guess I could have been more proactive to ask but with a line behind me I didn't want to be a block for the line. I did manage to grab a large container of sweetened soy milk which was also delicious. Maybe next time I'll try to ask what items are as nothing is really marked in English so unless you know what they already are it's hard to figure what things may fit your taste.

A Food Review Duc Phuong Tofu…read moreReview: 2 out of 5 Address:3005 Silver Creek Road, 204, San Jose, CA 95121 Phone:(408) 270-6115 I told you the other day about the worst fries in San Jose. Today I am going to tell you about the worst Vietnamese sandwiches in town; it is from Duc Phuong Tofu. I came here a couple of weeks ago and had a delicious banh mi ba chi before our study session. It was packed with meat and I devoured the whole thing in the car in the parking lot at school. As soon as I climbed the stairs and got keys to the study room, I was feeling disoriented and foggy. I was so out of it that I couldn't even hand over the key so that someone else could open the door for me. When I came home that night, I went to bed immediately after my warm bath. My stomach was in knots and it felt like somebody brown was stabbing the right side of my uterus. I woke up at 1am still clutching onto my poor tummy and told myself that I was going to feel better in the morning. And when I woke up in a cold sweat, I did...... I coughed it up to random cramps. Like a stubborn warrior, I came back to Duc Phuong Tofu to get banh mi for the kids for our picnic. We went hiking last Saturday and they voted on Vietnamese sandwiches instead of pizza. I wanted to get egg rolls so I wanted to save time by coming to this tofu place. They usually have a good selection of prepared food on the table. The boys were already anxiously waiting for the rest of us and there was not enough time to make multiple stops. It was 9:45am and they did not have ba chi sandwiches available yet. I settled for 3 thit nuong (#3) and 3 cha lua (#5)) sandwiches . Six sandwiches ($7.00 each), 4 cha oc, 16 hush puppies, and 10 egg rolls came out to $70.50. The cashier decided to give me 2 hush puppies instead of giving me my change back. Ms. E, Ms. B ,and Mr. A already turned up their nose at the fried fingers; I didn't need or want more hush puppies!!!!!! Give me my $0.50 back. Just kidding, it is not about the money, it is about the principle. This lady obviously should not be at the register. We were waiting for our food outside, trying to avoid the feminine weirdo that was wearing a fake black checkered LV shoulder bag and LV orange wallet that was recording us. His imitation was not very flattering at all. I am never wearing my tote bag again. The cashier came outside and asked me if we ordered sandwiches yet? I looked at her like she lost her mind. I said, "yes..." Then she asked me if I paid for them yet and if so, how much did I pay. I paid twice, once for the sandwiches ($58) and again when the egg rolls ($13) came out. What the?!? This lady probably ate the laced sandwiches too. Her memory was shot. Are you not recording all of the cash sales in the registers, madam? Does the shop owner or the IRS know about this lapse of judgment? (I take 4 courses in taxation and I suddenly turned into a federal agent). Ms. E was next to me when I paid for the food. I knelt down and told her that we should have went to Trung Legend Coffee down the street. They have a special buy 3 sandwiches and get 1 for free. Mr. A and Mr. L said that their sandwiches were good the next day in the air fryer. I didn't want to waste food and tried to eat the leftover sandwiches again from Duc Phuong after the hike for dinner and for lunch on Monday. They forgot to add mayo and real meat and the bread was super dry (even though I sprinkled water on the bread). The pate was sour. The bread was hard and I had to throw the 3rd loaf of bread away. There were 7 of us hiking and we could not even finish 2 sandwiches. Duc Phuong needs to retrain their staff or they will continue to hold the title of worst most poisonous sandwiches in town. This is my absolute last time ordering sandwiches here. We are all too young and precious to die early. Enough said....

Hidden gem. If you…read moreknow about this place, you just know it because you grew up on it. Parking lot in this plaza is horrid but people come and go. Their house made pate is next level. Their banh mi sandwiches are so underrated. Everyone goes to the other place (we shall not name it, but it's on story road and has a garlic bread option), but in my honest opinion, the banh mi here are so much better (they also do not skimp out on the pate) and will taste just as good 5 hours later. They bake their bread in house here as well. It's not really a place to sit down and dine, you're meant to buy and eat at home (or find a nearby local park).

Been going here for over 20 years even before them reopening again. The service has always been mid…read moretier some days better than others but the reason why I had to write this was the service we received yesterday morning from the lady. We walked in looking for banh mi bread and other items to make sandwiches. We walked in and asked where it was and the woman behind the counter yelled at us in Vietnamese. She said something in the nature of "it's right there! Can't you see it?!" Then proceeded to turn away. She rang us up and didn't say a word, we took the items and left. Not every customer that comes in will know where certain items are. I don't know who she was but the other ladies are usually very sweet so that's why I didn't give them a 1 star review.