Head to 'GarViet,' the thriving Vietnamese food scene in the San Gabriel Valley

Los Angeles may not have an official Little Saigon, but if you travel to the San Gabriel Valley you'll find a thriving community of Vietnamese businesses along Garvey Avenue, straddling the cities of El Monte, South El Monte and Rosemead.

This bustling commercial hub doesn’t have a dedicated highway exit or government-sponsored placard, but I like to call it “GarViet” as a nod to the area’s main drag.

Drawn to the area in part by more affordable rents than nearby Alhambra and San Gabriel, the family-owned Vietnamese restaurants here serve regional specialties that can be harder to find elsewhere.

Familiar favorites like phở and bánh mì are available alongside rarer offerings from Central and Northern Vietnam in the many plazas dotting this highly trafficked thoroughfare.

With April 30 marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War — which triggered the first wave of Vietnamese refugees and immigrants settling in the U.S. — it's a good time to celebrate the culinary contributions of the Vietnamese diaspora in L.A. Through restaurant ownership, many Vietnamese families gained a foothold in the American economy while nourishing their communities with a taste of home.

Here are some great places to check out.

Kim Hoa Hue

The restaurant Kim Hoa Hue in El Monte has served Central Vietnamese delights for nearly two decades, while a second outlet opened in Temple City in 2024. During peak lunchtime hours, the main dining room fills up fast with locals and nearby workers, while folks ordering bounteous catering trays trickle in throughout the day. The most pleasant seats in the house are on the back patio, away from crowds and shaded by mature fruit trees.

Kim Hoa Hue Restaurant serves food from Hue, in central Vietnam.

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Kim Hoa Húê Restaurant in El Monte

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The restaurant is named after Hue, the former capital of Vietnam, famous for its imperial cuisine. The Hue Combo ($11.50) offers a variety of these delicacies served on a single plate, including bánh bèo (steamed rice cakes topped with shrimp and cracklins), bánh nậm (rice cakes embedded with shrimp and steamed in banana leaves), bánh bột lọc (shrimp and pork tapioca dumplings), chả (steamed pork forcemeat), and bánh uớt tôm chấy (rice sheets with minced shrimp).

Brighten these light bites with the accompanying fish sauce; whether it’s a restrained drizzle or a serious dunking is up to your tastes. A bowl of bún bò Huế ($13.25), complete with pork trotters and slippery rice noodles, is just the thing to round out the meal.

Bánh Cuốn Hương Bắc

Bánh Cuốn Hương Bắc in South El Monte has a Northern Vietnamese menu.

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While some Vietnamese restaurants boast winding menus spanning many regional specialties, others opt to keep their offerings tight and focused.

Bánh Cuốn Hương Bắc sits in the latter camp, serving a succinct Northern Vietnamese menu with just a trio of appetizers, a few noodle soups (canh bún, bún riêu, and bún mọc), and the house-specialty bánh cuốn. Relative newcomers on Garvey Avenue, the owners of Bánh Cuốn Hương Bắc are betting that dependably executing a few dishes well will attract a steady crowd. So far, their gamble is paying off.

The restaurant prepares five varieties of bánh cuốn ($12), gently steamed rice flour “crepes” served plain or wrapped around eggs and ground shrimp, or pork and wood ear mushrooms.

It’s hard to go wrong with the signature (dặc biệt) platter, which includes bánh cuốn plumped with both a pork and wood ear mushroom filling and minced shrimp. Everything is topped with fried shallots, two types of steamed pork sausage, and a deep-fried sweet potato raft studded with skin-on shrimp. Blanched herbs and bean sprouts and a fish sauce-based dressing arrive on the side for garnishing to taste.

Thien Tam Vegetarian Restaurant

Thien Tam serves a plant-based menu, including the Hainan chicken rice made of soy beans.

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Whether you've adopted a plant-based diet or just dine meatless on occasion, Thien Tam is a terrific spot for Vietnamese vegetarian fare. The restaurant serves a brisk crowd on most days of the week and is especially popular on the first and fifteenth days of each month on the Lunar calendar, when Vietnamese Buddhists refrain from eating meat. So plan accordingly.

Opened by Bonnie Quach in 2009, the restaurant serves a robust menu featuring the cuisine’s greatest hits — all made without any animal protein. Start with the tautly-wrapped spring rolls ($6.95) chock-full of herbs, vegetables, and fried tofu. The fishless fish sauce served alongside for dipping is impressive in its mimicry. Equally superb is the Hainan chicken rice ($13.95) made of soy beans, boasting crispy and divoted skin, just like the real thing. A mound of ginger-laced rice, pickles, soup, and a ginger “fish” sauce comes with each order.

Hue Thai Bakery & Deli

Despite its discreet signage, Hue Thai Bakery & Deli in Rosemead offers bountiful sandwiches.

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In this economic climate with soaring prices and stretched dollars, Vietnamese sandwiches promise the ultimate meal on the go.

While Vietnamese delis can be found across L.A., none can compete with the expertly made sandwiches at Hue Thai in Rosemead. Located in a freshly paved strip mall anchored by outposts of Orange County imports Hot Stone Pho and Bake and Che, Hue Thai may very well be the shabbiest business on the block. Look beyond the peeling paint and make a beeline for the front counter, which is loaded with Vietnamese provisions, including cured pork sausages with fresh chilies and garlic ($8) that make for a spicy, sour snack.

The deli’s menu is posted in both English and Vietnamese, with photographs of each dish. Every sandwich is made on one of two kinds of house-baked baguettes: round and squat or long and lean. Sandwiches constructed on the latter loaves are about a dollar more and contain additional protein and less bready fluff. Hue Thai’s variety of fillings include cold cuts ($7), grilled pork ($7.50), canned sardines ($7), fried eggs ($7) and more, each one with requisite flourishes of pickled carrots and daikon, shaved jalapeno, cilantro and scratch-made mayonnaise.

What separates these sandwiches from the pack is their masterful proportions. From pickles to spreads and proteins, the ratio of each ingredient is thoughtfully considered so that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Order the dặc biệt ($7) sandwich brimming with head cheese and plenty of pâté to experience the dynamic interplay of textures and flavors.

Che Hien Khanh

Che Hien Khanh makes a variety of Vietnamese desserts.

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The Los Angeles location of this longtime Orange County sweets shop is the ultimate IYKYK. Hidden inside a food court within the GW Supermarket complex in Rosemead, Che Hien Khanh prepares Vietnamese desserts — a genre heavy on legumes, seaweed, fruits, tapioca flour, and coconut milk — with a deft hand.

Hien Khanh’s colorful array of chè (puddings, beverages, soups) is hard to resist. The chè đậu trắng ($3.75) combines glutinous rice with black-eyed peas and a rich dollop of sweetened coconut cream.

Ripe baby bananas, teeny tapioca pearls, taro, and coconut milk come together in chè chuối ($3.75). Best of all is chè trôi nước ($3.75). Served warm, the chewy tapioca balls stuffed with mung bean paste come soaked in ginger syrup and finished with coconut cream and a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.

Beyond its wide range of chè, Hien Khanh also makes several varieties of xôi (sticky rice) and sticky-sweet bánh da lợn, a fetching dessert featuring layers of pandan-infused tapioca and mung beans. Bring your sweet tooth.