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Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
My favorite Little Saigon restaurant for lunch take out. This is a lunch counter/ casual dining restaurant in a shopping center. The address says Moran, but the actual location is on the street/driveway just west of Moran.
After trying pretty much all the vegetarian restaurants in the area, this is my favorite. I have liked everything I have tried and the employees are friendly. The food also seems less salty than some of the other restaurants I have tried. They have a lunch special that includes rice and 3 items for $6. That's lunch for two days! And I love being able to order pho without having to worry about what might be in it.
I have also eaten in the restaurant and had a good experience with the same helpful employees. The portions are good sized and I can't ever finish a single entree at one time.
Some other tips: cash only, they don't have forks for take-out, don't come to order off the steam table too late( the selections runs out after the noon lunch crowd), call ahead and they will have your order ready in minutes.
The only downsides are:
-You have to pay for water (common in Vietnamese restaurants)
-The parking. The lot has been pretty full each time I have gone.
Much Respect!!! Big Ups!!! Don't go when there's a full moon! Give Props to Son and Patricio!!!
If you don't know, now you know...Peace
Had some bun cha gio and cha here just now. Not bad. Surprisingly tasty for vegetarian... first time I've ever eaten at a place like this. The menu selection is really big. Who knew you could offer so much food without any meat???
The prices are ok, some items can be pricey. But the portions are crazy. I couldn't finish my bowl of noodles. The interior is a little odd but that doesn't really bother me. The waiter is kind and helpful. I'd definitely come back here again if I have the urge to eat vegetarian...
Cheap,
Dirty,
Tasty...
You'd think I was writing a dirty review, but it is a review about a hole in the wall that is damn good!!!! and cheap, reminds me of nam :) hahahhha
This is the kind of thing that makes being a vegetarian so much easier. This place proves that vegetarian dishes can be delicious and healthy (not to consider cheap). While it not widely advertised, it took a little circumnavigating around the iconic Asian Garden mall (phuoc loc tho) to be able to find this place. While one can order food from an extensive list of dishes on the menu, one can opt to order the lunch items from the food to go section next to the counter. That was what we did. We got the lunch special (5.49) which included one soup, one stir fry, and one entree. Our choices were sweet and sour soup, lemongrass tofu, sauteed eggplant, stewed fish (vegetarian of course), and vegetable stirfry. It was a quick and enjoyable meal.
big, delicious portions for super cheap. really weird atmosphere. Bring your parents/dates to Au Lac. bring your siblings/friends to Bo De.
This place is actually on a street that doesn't have a name. Turn in on the street NEXT (west) to Moran with an arrow pointing towards Asian Garden. Your GPS will get you lost.
I just had dinner here this past Friday night with my mom and brother and it was yummy! We walked in and were immediately seated. After looking over the menu for a couple minutes (lots of choices here-- a variety of noodles, rice dishes, hot pots and soups...) we all ordered different rice dishes, and I also ordered the spring rolls to share. The food was pretty good, we all enjoyed the dishes we ordered. My brother didn't realize we were in a vegetarian restaurant until I pointed out their big sign over the steam table so he was pretty surprised hahahaha
Me: If I told you we were going to a vegetarian restaurant, would you have gone?
Him: ...Probably not
I will definitely come back to try other items, there's like over 90 dishes on the menu, not including their various shakes and other beverages! Pictures up :)
I don't like vegetarians. They generally reek of pachuli and inexplictly rock birkenstocks and handmade ponchos from TJ.
But I have no problem delaying the mastication of animals for my sick culinary pleasure for a trip to Bo De.
They do a great job of creating traditional fleshy Viet dishes for the veggie denizens of the OC. I love the bun cha Hanoi, a rice vermicelli and "meatball" and "grilled pork" concoction made from nothing more than packed tofu patties. It's served with leafy veggies and a "fish sauce" flavored mostly with seaweed.
They also had a tasty baked "fish" dish that you wrap with a seaweed paper. I also recommend the tumeric and dill "fish" that's served in the same way.
It's not the greatest looking joint, it's like in the middle of a shopping center just east of the Asian Garden Mall and the service is decent for Little Saigon standards. Don't try to park here during the weekends or Tet.
If you want nice and fancy vegetarian fare go to Au Lac next to Mile Square Park but I prefer it here. I likes to keep it real.
The best part of coming to Bo De is that I can't tell which food isn't meat and which is murder.
We had a good experience here. Our waitress was nice and attentive.
The restaurant is pretty for a cheap, hole in the wall place because it is right next to a flower/plant shop, so you can see all the flowers and plants as you eat. The place is a little hard to find... It is kind of in a alley, right next to the shopping mall, Phuoc Loc Tho. Everything here is vegetarian.
Ordered:
Spring Rolls - nothing too special (I like the ones at Au Lac better)
Lau Thai Lan (Thai Hot Pot) - really good
They bring out a fire stove and place a bowl of soup over the fire. They also bring a tray of veggies and noodles. Inside the bowl is fake shrimp, squid, chicken and beef along with other veggies. You mix everything together (Except the noodles) and then place the noodles in your bowl and ladle the soup over it. It is very delicious! Note: We got the Lau Thai Lan for 1 person and it was a lot... perfect for 2 people... total under $20 for 2 people.
I had no idea places like this existed!
The location is in the center of a Vietnamese mall, surrounded by plant stores. Odd I thought.
But once I looked at the menu, I was in Love. Its crazy! So many options! Its a vege paradise I tell yah!
I had the bun cha, and my buddy Quoc Viet D had a chicken dish with spring rolls. I will make this review meatier (or TOFU-er!) once I come back and try more dishes!
Had dinner here with a friend. We're both non-Vietnamese and this review might not hold any weight, but we both were kinda disappointed. The restaurant is located in this bizarre strip mall next to home arts and crafts center. The service is pretty minimal, so there's plenty of time to chat with friends without interruptions.
I love vegetarian food. I really do, but this was was serverely lacking in something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I left unfulfilled. IT's quite likely that we didn't order "correctly," but my friend tofu strips and quiche thing (forgive me, I don't remember what it was called) weren't tasty at all.
Friend ordered "beef" with lemongrass. That was better.
But now that I see other people's reviews, I think I'm going to take your advice and order right next time. :\
Updated July 27, 2007
After trying the com phan (combination rice dishes) at Bo De for lunch, I can now vouch for the restaurant's talent and range in cooking vegetarian food. Com Phan costs $4 a box and comes with three items plus rice, though some of the more labor-intensive foods will bring you down to two items.
Being Vietnamese, even I was overwhelmed by the numerous varieties of tofu before me. And while some combinations are identifiable, most will be a mystery for your mouth to uncover. So when in Little Saigon, do as the Vietnamese do and just point and direct your server to what looks most tasty.
On the left is a version of cha ca thi la and dau hu xao xa. Cha ca is usually made of fish cake, but Bo De does theirs as an egg cake scented strongly with dill. Baked, the eggs are fluffy and airy. Dau hu xao xa refers to tofu that is generously sprinkled with lemongrass, which gives it a spicy finish.
The dau hu sot ca, or tofu in tomato sauce, is one of the best I've had yet with sweet tomatoes over a delicately seasoned tofu cake stuffed with vermicelli and mushrooms. The mushrooms and tofu are flecked with peppercorns that are extremely fragrant when bitten into.
I tend to find stir-fry vegetables at food to-go places greasy, so I always opt for soups, which often come with leafy greens. Both the canh chua and canh rau muong (sweet and sour soup, water spinach soup) were excellent.
The kitchen really showcases its range of cooking in the com phan meals, where you can have tofu prepared 10 distinct ways with each being just as delicious as the next.
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Bo De is one of the more obvious Buddhist vegetarian restaurants and is also my new favorite. While Vietnamese vegetarian cuisine carries its roots in Buddhism, very few restaurants are as decorated as Bo De, which caters mostly to a Vietnamese clientle. Bo De refers to the Bodhi tree, which is a symbol of Buddhist enlightenment.
Only steps away from the Asian Mall, the restaurant was packed to the brim during our 12 o' clock lunch. It is located at the mouth of a mini mall with seating on either side of the hallway and a small food to-go operation near the cashier.
As with most Vietnamese restaurants, the menu was extensive. So like any person in an unfamiliar setting would do, we poked our heads around to see what everyone else was ordering. We settled on the Pho Ap Chao whose aroma wafted into our noses from across the room and the Bun Vit Sao Mang, which we ordered on a whim.
Pho Ap Chao is similar stir-fried chow-fun noodles, which you can often get at Chinese restaurants. At Bo De, the rice noodles are formed into a crispy golden pancake that is pan-fried on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. The noodles are topped with a thick and shiny sauce of veggies with a variety of soy and seitan "meats," of which I could discern duck, ham, and pork meatballs. The dish had a good savory flavor from the oyster sauce and the deeper I delved, the more soy surprises it beheld for me.
Bun Vit Sao Mang is a rice vermicelli noodle dish with a duck broth that is infused with bamboo shoots. The broth has a rich smokiness to it and finishes on a sweet note, similar to Chinese five-spice. While the imitation duck wasn't much to look at, I dont usually eat vegetarian with the expectation that the dishes taste and look wholly carnivorous. The crunchy bamboo shoots, spongy duck, and slippery vermicelli were all it took to convince me of a future career in vegetarianism.
Since it's conveniently located around the corner from my house, you can look forward to an update in the not-so-far future.
This place is pretty good. It specializes in vegetarian dishes that are supposed to taste similar to their meaty counterparts. And they do a pretty good job.
Ambient: Looks like a fast food place. It's actually located in an indoor mall so the restaurant is not it's own entity.
Food: I have tried their com phan which is the rice combo plate, including three side items and rice. Tofu stir fried with lemongrass, sweet and sour soup (canh cua), egg/tofu patty, pickled veggies stir fried with tofu, eggplants all tasted very good. For their special menu items, I have tried pho ap chao, ca kho to, ca chien, spare ribs...etc. All very good, almost as good as their meaty counterparts.
Overall this place is pretty good. You won't be disappointed.
Pho Thap Cam, has a nice rhyme to it, easy to remember anyway.
I had this Pho Thap Cam and it was very good. I didn't miss beef or real meat at all.
In fact that shredded chicken looking lump of a thing? It was so flavorful I was stunned (it was meant to mimic chicken I think). I wanted to stand up and stare at the ceiling while I chew on it, it was that good.
And that beef-slice looking things? They were fantastic..., with nice deep rich flavor and a great aftertaste.
The noodles were firm and held it's firmness well without turning to mush later, they were slightly chewy in texture as well, nice.
The soup tasted ordinary at first but I didn't tire of it easily. It had a nice deep rich flavor that's different than beef stock based soup's, a very nice change in pace for me.
By the way, is this the small size? (Pictured) I can't imagine what large looks like, the small bowl was large enough (Also cheap for all the food you get! $5.49 baby!).
The veggie food here is great & the service here is friendly & nice..I loved the selection that they have here...it's pretty small & easy 2b missed but a great place 2go 4 lunch.. =)
Bo de service is not the greatest exception of one very nice older gentlement, but the food is quite tasty I must say. I'm a meat eater, but I thought the bun bo hue banh cuon and curry were very tasty and flavorful for the vegetarian version...they have a large menu for u to try...everything from hot pot, pho, com etc. Whenever I'm in the neighbor and in the mood for a meatless day, I will be coming to bo de. Phuoc Loc Tho is also right next door if you want to stop by afterwards for some pastry or more snacks. Its the closest thing we have to Viet Nam street food, which I miss quite often.
I used to love this place but not so much with my recent trip here. I was a vegetarian for awhile so I frequent this place often. I've had their combination food to go and also bought some food from the cooler. When I asked how long I can keep it, they said a week but it didn't last more than 3 days in the fridge. Mold started growing. The food is really good considering it's all vegetarian. I really like the chao goi ga (rice porridge with chicken salad). I liked the banh mi cari (curry). Bun Rieu and bun bo hue was good too. So I've had some pretty good experience here, nothing to deter me from coming back but whereas I used to go out of my way to go there, I don't anymore. The older man was a lot nicer than the younger one. When I ordered my food to go, he was very rude in taking my order where I was given to another person half way through. I had to wait forever for the food. They don't accept credit card so I had to use all my cash. And for how expensive the food was I had to pay $3 more for plain rice. Shouldn't it come with rice if the chicken dish was really just a couple of slice of tofu which cost $6? Overall it's pretty cheap but depending on what you get it might not be worthwhile to go. The total for 3 people was $33. Not exactly cheap since this is without drinks but not at all expensive like Au Lac.
we had the egg rolls (came with lots of herbs, yum) and the lao (hot pot)- dac biet. it came with a soup of tofu, fake fish cakes, asian mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and taro. veggies on the side to be cooked inside the soup included more mushrooms (the white long stringy ones), cabbage, broccoli, carrots, and bok choy. very good and tasty! also an A+ cafe sua da.
Portions were plentiful and delicious. We had the crispy noodles that resembled a bird's nest, vegetable hu tieu, and Vietnamese curry with baguette. All three were delicious and a great value. We came at 2pm, too late for any good options with the Com Phan combo. The portions are generous so be careful with how much you order. Our "appetizer" curry came after we were well-stuffed with our other two dishes; it should be shared with at least four people if eaten as an appetizer. Great value, would eat at again. Closes at 9pm on Sundays.
bo de is the kind of place where the waiter tells you no, you don't want THIS, you want THIS....but in the best way possible.
first we ordered the vegetarian meat spring rolls, a great start. then against the waiter's wishes (demands?) my friend chose the juicy citric spare ribs and i took his advice with the mi xao don (crispy dried noodles).
the ribs were juicy and delicious. they're like the ones at wheel of life but better. i'm pretty sure they're made of seitan.
the crispy dried noodles were a surprise. a tower of crispy noodles topped with veggie beef, ham, fish, bok choy, broccoli cabbage etc....all sitting in a delicious broth. can't wait to go back for a few more of 91 dishes.
i'd give this 4.5, but i'll round up to 5. i'm feeling nice.
UPDATE:
i went back a second time and somehow agreed to order the curry ("cari") with french bread. how in the world could vietnamese curry be good? well somehow bo de knows the answer to that question. deeelicious. the hot case food, although cheap and plentiful, was simply mediocre. the fish we got smelled like a really bad poop but tasted pretty good. my friend wouldn't go near it. yum.
Westminster, CA
Category: Vegetarian
Westminster, CA
Category: Vietnamese
Westminster, CA
Category: Vietnamese
Garden Grove, CA
Category: Vegetarian
Westminster, CA
Category: Vietnamese
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