Huong Lan
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
24 Reviews for Huong Lan
I hardly ever ordered from the menu. We go their for the quickie food that we can grab to go. My husband loves their number & (grilled pork) sandwich. He goes there so often that I think people recognize them. It's a cool place where people come in and out for their munchies. I'm not really a big fan of Vietnamese sandwiches, I don't like the dryness from the bread, but if i were to order a sandwhich from them i would go for #7 too or #3 which i believe it was the meatball one.
day old bread you say? hell yeah, toss it over. order the number 12 huong lan special. so delicious and filling for the low, low price of $2.75. i was on the lookout for some shoes and a sun shade umbrella near s.f. supermarket and couldn't go without buying a tasty sandwich. i'm so full i could die. i'll be back next week to get some coconut milk and rice noodles. awesome place where they stare at your old school air maxes like they're gonna jump you for 'em. seriously, i thought i might have to fight off some ladies. it's totally worth it. banh mi, you are my special friend.
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This has always been my Vietnamese sandwich shop of choice in Sacramento, but it seems that the meat is getting sparser and sparser. Make sure to count your sandwiches before you leave or you'll end up with less than you paid for. If this keeps up, I will have to find another sandwich shop to favor.
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If you want some quality banh mi thit or any Vietnamese sandwiches, this is the place to eat at. It is usually crowded on Sundays, especially when the Vietnamese church is over and the familes rush over here, so I reccommend buying food here on weekdays.
However, the service is bad. The cashiers sometimes take your money and don't even give you cash back until you remind them and sometimes they don't even give you a receipt. The lines are very hectic at times, which sucks because people can randomly come up to the servers/cashiers and steal your food since they didn't get a receipt from the cashiers.
IMHO, This place was the best and still is the best place to find French/Vietnamese sandwiches in Sacramento. There is a lot of varieties to choose from and, moreover, other items besides sandwiches.
The food varies from Sandwiches, quick to-go foods all for grabs in the island, PHO (though I never tried it there), and other foods.
Huong Lan has been in Sacramento for a while, ever since I was in elementary school... (10+/- years?) Ever since a sandwich was about $1.00.
Most of the time, the place is full of people. IMHO, i think that the place is pretty unorganized.
The goods of this place:
Quick sandwiches: ordering 10+/- sandwiches only takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
Some of the food is pre-made and ready to pickup on the island. (My friend's Family makes these items).
Lots of room to sit at the tables.
If you want day old bread, this is the place! Awful sandwiches (banh mi).
I love Huong Lan. I have been a loyal customers for years. Get the banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich), the drinks, chicken and pork. Do not waste your money on their pho.
I discovered the wonder that is banh mi about a year ago, and I proceeded to gleefully explore every banh mi shilling establishment in the Sacramento area. As the New Asia supermarket is one of my family's favorite haunts, it was only natural we'd give Huong Lan a shot.
The restaurant is inside of what appears to be a Vietnamese convenience store, featuring all manner of glutinous rice desserts, candies, condiments, pre-prepared spring rolls and various other vacuum packed treats. There's also an extensive menu of frozen drinks, ranging in flavor from strawberry to avocado. You can order a sandwich right from the cashier, but if you want soup or an actual entree, sit your butt down and let them take your order.
We ordered three items: spicy beef soup, a bowl of bun noodles with pork and shrimp, and a BBQ pork sandwich.
The food came out quickly (go figure) and we dug in. My bun noodles were a great rendition, and I enjoyed the fatty, if slightly lukewarm pork in juxtaposition with the charbroiled shrimp. There were also plenty of yummy veggies. The noodles were a bit thin, but I think that's more my personal preference then any bad judgement on the restaurants part.
The beef soup came in a considerable portion and was hearty and soulfully spiced, with a rich red color that I appreciated. The beef was also tender and plentiful. Be prepared for the included chunks o' congealed blood if you're a Westerner of delicate constitution.
How about that sandwich? It was tasty, utilizing plenty of the usual condiments (daikon and carrot slaw, jalapeno, lettuce, etc). The bread had the right mixture of fluffy interior and crunchy outside. However, I'd still rate Long Sandwiches banh mi above Huong Lan's...Long's just has that extra special something. That banh mi mojo.
We picked up a baguette and some pork to go with our dinner that night, and both were quite tasty (and was the price ever right.)
I'll definitely be back to Huong Lan in the future if I need a quick post shopping meal. The banh mi isn't quite as good as Long's Sandwiches, but they have a bigger non-sandwich menu then Long's, which more then makes up for it. I love me some bun.
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Amazing Avocado Pearl Drinks! I love going here every time I visit my relatives in Sacramento. I tried the BBQ pork sandwich last time; pretty tasty. I want to try more of the foods there, but I'll wait on that.
I love that the sandwiches here hover around $2 and are damn tasty to boot! Fresh, crusty baguettes stuffed with grilled meats, pickled daikon, shredded carrot, and sliced jalapeno - oh so good. The barbecued pork is the best! I also love that I can pick up dinner here (for me, sandwiches are purely lunchtime fare) in the form of prepackaged barbecued chicken, garden rolls, and other assorted Vietnamese street food dishes, including desserts. I've also noticed people coming in just to buy the bread, which is very cheap and baked daily on the premises. I'm not a big fan of tapioca drinks but if that's your thing, they also have a huge selection.
My one complaint is that the place isn't that clean - lots of times there are dirty dishes piled on vacant tables in the sit-down area, and the floor could use a thorough mopping. But hey, I just grab my tasty treats and head for the door.
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This IS the original Vietnamese sandwich place. They originally had a store on Stockon Blvd, but moved here for a better, lager location.
They also have packaged rice/noodles for lunch on the run. They have a good variety of Vietnamese sandwiches, just go up to the lady, tell her the numbers, she'll give you a recipet, and then just stand back and wait for your number to be called.
I like the grill pork, "thit noung" ...
As for other things they serve, they serve the normal range of Vietnamese food, along with tapioica drinks. They have HUGE tables, so having a group here isn't a problem.
The only problem here is parking. They have one row out front, but is usually full, so park on the sides or in front of the plaza itself.
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this is the only place i'll order banh mi from, but i must say, this place has severely deteriorated in quality since first opening. do they even toast the bread for the sandwiches anymore? untoasted bread makes this girl a sad panda. and what's up with the price increases? i remember when sandwiches were like $1.50! geez!
the mocha pearl drink still manages to make me happy, as well as the fresh spring rolls, so those will keep me loyal for a bit longer. well those two things and the adorably rude old ladies working the registers.
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Both mini-store and restaurant. They have the staple banh mi, pho etc with a variety of desserts and other foods in the freezer section. Food on the menu is slightly more expensive than Paris Bakery since the restaurant's got a super location right next door to SF market. Overall, the food is fine. The exceptionally good item is what i call the mongo Vietnamese omelet -- banh xeo. they fry the bejeezus out of it and add mung bean besides the usual massive amounts of bean sprouts and meat. It's really tasty for the price and better banh xeo than what I've had in the heart of Little Saigon in OC.
Cheap, tasty Banh mi - I like the pork with carrots, peanuts, cilantro. Order at the counter on the right (for sandwiches) and they will shout out when it is ready.
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Vietnamese sandwiches for under $3 (2 - 2.25 each)! You can't beat that. Best of all, the bread is freshly baked on location, so it's super soft. They also serve pho here. Most tapioca drinks are $2.50 here...tapoica balls soft and chewy. The coconut one is made with coconut juice and has young coconut slices in it...also, give the mocha one a try!
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I love this 65th / Florin plaza and I love Huong Lan. I'm all about their less than $3 sandwiches, pho, rolls, and tapioca drinks. The service is good and fast. The place can get packed especially on weekends, so for your convenience you can easily pick up food to go-- they have fresh baked breads, hot dishes, lil' groceries, and desserts ready to go.
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Here's another place that specializes in the dollar sandwich! I am very, very fond of the buck-and-change banh mi sandwich. It is the best deal in the whole world. Huong Lan also has lots of bubble-tea things and jello looking things and fresh spring rolls ready for immediate consumption. This is one of those places where you could drop in and grab an entire meal for your people if you're not in the mood to cook. You can also take advantage of the very brightly-lit cafeteria-style eating area. My favorite here is the shredded chicken or grilled pork w/ lots of veg product. Yum. Wash it down w/ a "Mr. Brown" iced coffee in a can.
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Good, Low-Cost, Fast, and Healthy Food. Two dollars for a sandwich. Nice variety of vietnamese delicacies: sandwiches, vermicelli rolls, spring rolls, sticky rice dishes, and of course sweets (i.e., mung bean desserts).
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Great sandwiches! They range from $1.50 to $2 and there is a veggie option. My favorite is the fish cake sandwich but they have the standard pate sandwich. There is also a small market of course , I don't know what half of it is but it is fun to randomly pick some and find out what it is. Try it!!
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My other favorite Vietnamese sandwich in addition to Lee's Sandwiches (finally coming from San Jose). So this original San Jose establishment came here around the tech boom and I was glad to see it and saved me the excuses to visit my relatives in addition to the shop lol. They serve traditional baguettes of French influence with Vietnamese meats and soured vegetables. The sandwich is made to order. In addition to just sandwiches they do serve food such as pho and rice plates. They also sell various Vietnamese deli items, desserts, and drinks. I love the avacado boba made with real avacados =)
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Vietnamese don't let me down! I hopped over here because my own people at Goldilocks across the lot don't care about us non-meat eaters; there's such a lack of veggie options! But while they do offer a vegetarian Banh mi, it wasn't that great. At $2, it sure as hell doesn't compete with Saigon's in SF. Huong Lan has a dining area, and tables with drinks and pre-packaged desserts--their Chao Quay bread was good; I'll give 'em that. The staff seemed aloof.
I used to visit this place on the weekend when SF supermarket first opened. It was a mad house and would make my head swim...there would be hordes of people elbowing and nudging each other trying to order their sandwiches. It seemed as though if you spoke Vietnamese, they would take your order first. You just gotta keep an eye on who is there before you and who comes after you. I used to love eating their sandwiches...fresh french bread with all that yummy goodness inside...grilled meats, pickled carrots, onions, peanuts...so good. I used to get the grilled pork sandwiches until one day I decided to take a closer peak at what made my taste buds say "give me more...don't stop eating". What I thought was grilled strips of pork ended up being a pork meatloaf cooked on a grill. I took an even closer look...no wonder this sandwich tasted so good...it was chunks of pork fat and maybe some specks of actual meat...fat makes everything taste good right? It may, but this just grossed me out. Needless to say, I stopped eathing at Huoung Lan after I discovered what was really in the grilled pork sandwich. Head on over across the street for equally good french baguettes and LEAN grilled pork...New Paris Bakery is yummy...and healthier...and not as crowded.
Be carfeul of the packaged foods Huong Lan serves in their "refrigerated" section in the middle of the restaurant. I'm not talking about the fridges along the wall near where you order your sandwiches (those keep foods frozen)...I'm talking about the open refrigerator. It looks like the food is being kept at a cool temperature, but you'll notice when you pick up a package of food, it's still at room temp. Someone told me the place got in trouble by the food/health inspector and were required to have all foods refrigerated. So Huong Lan got an open fridge, but they don't actually turn it on. If you are buying prepared foods like cooked chicken or rice noodles, just be aware it's being stored at room temp for who knows how long. I recommend inspecting the food before purchase because sometimes you can find specks of mold.
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If I'm around 65th & Florin, it's not too often that I can pass up indulging in a simmering bowl of noodles (aka large #8 or #9) at the TK Noodle. But if I am going to, chances are high that you'll find me in Houng Lan's sandwich shop, just a few places down from the TK in the same mall. The specialty here is Banh mi, which are Vietnamese sandwiches. Banh mi are sandwiches that are about 8 inches long and usually filled with different meats, mostly things revolving around pork & beef prepared in different ways. They are then topped off with an assortment of shredded carrots, pickled daikon, fresh cilantro and sliced jalapeo (for an added little kick). The most surprising thing? One of these sandwiches won't put you back more than about $2. If you can think of anything that only costs $2 and tastes as good, let me know because I can think of nothing. The next best thing (or would that be the third, after price & taste?) is that they also have Vietnamese noodle soups (pho included). Which incidentally are also screamin good (not TK good but close) and cheap. Recommendations are: The special sandwich (#11) and a bowl of egg noodle soup (#2). If this was math I think the equation would end up looking something like $8/Houng Lan = full & happy. Oh yeah, they also have a bunch of food pre-made to go along with a bakery, which means people are all over the place resulting in a somewhat chaotic version of a restaurant/market.
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came here with mom on a Sunday before we started a major shopping trip, hitting up all the Asian markets in the area. We had to power up to handle the crowds =)
the Sandwiches here are tasty.... I agree not as good as Saigon's in SF but what is? and the beef pho was pretty good too, nothing that blew me out of the water but decent for lunch.
and again I've noticed a trend service was totally lacking this weekend. There was major confusion about where we were supposed to order, where we were supposed to pay, and is it a to go store with limited seating or a restaurant with a store...
It's a learning experience but I most likely won't be returning as there are soooo many other Vietnamese options that are just a hop skip and a jump away.
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