Tien Giang

didn’t realize they had moved since the burn down but love how they are never over crowded like tank noodle and prices are more reasonable since tank did like two price increases with like a year and a half span

So sad this place closed but at least Le Phở’s expanding.

I was so sad to see that Tien Giang has permanently closed.
Truly loved this place and the wonderful family running it.
My boyfriend and I have walked by it several times the past 2 weeks just hoping that we’re wrong and they’re on vacation. Sadly, not. Tried Tank Noodle and Phở Lily nearby, but nothing can replace it.

Looking for Authentic Vietnamese food? What is authentic? where should one go for Vietnamese food? There are several different styles when speaking of Authentic Vietnamese Cooking (i.e., based on region; Southern, Central and Northern). TG, in my opinion is truly the authentic Vietnamese style of cooking from the South. TG is one of my FAVORITES aside from Phở 888, Phở Le (for their Phở), and New Saigon (for their Pork Chop on rice).
TG’s dishes are flavorful, utilizing all the spices to create a unique aroma and flavor. sweet, salty, spicy, and sour when they should be.
My Favorite Dishes: Canh Chua, Ca thit Kho To, Spicy Mussels, Quail, Simmered Spare ribs, Bo luc lac, Com Chien Dui Ga and Bun Bo Hue.
Each place in Argyle (aka, Viet Town or north China town) has its own signature item, you should ask for their best sellers instead of just ordering Phở.
FIVE stars for TG because they have many many flavorful items instead of just one signature dish.
here’s a tip: Be open minded and don’t expect too much from family run businesses. These small businesses can’t afford the best services like upscale restaurants that charges 30 – 40 bucks per entrée.

Seafood hot pot!

Pretty good. Went with some of my Vietnamese friends and they ordered so not sure what we got exactly. Suppossedly this is one of the few and perhaps only vietnamese restaurant to serve homestyle cooking. Most people have only been exposed to Phở or Banh mi and few realize that there is so much more to Vietnamese cuisine. They had Phở and Banh mi here too if you wanted it, but we didn’t order it so I cannot comment on it.
Four stars, because I’m from California and i’ve dined at some REALLY good Vietnamese restaurants in San Jose. However, since i’m a long way from home this is definitely a place I will be coming back to.

they have family style vietnamese food.

When I was new to Chicago I found this place by accident while looking for Phở Hoa restaurant. Love, love, love it! It’s clean and quiet and service is fast. I usually go by myself to relax and it’s perfect for that, although I’ve seen groups there on several occasions.
I later went to Phở Hoa and did not like it at all. I had to add a bunch of Sriracha because the broth was so watery and tasteless. I also recently tried Tank Noodle because everyone raves about it and… meh. The broth isn’t watery like Phở Hoa, but it didn’t pack that much punch flavor-​wise.
The servers at Tien Giang are very nice and attentive — more than most of the other places I’ve been to in the area — but i will admit the servers at Tank Noodle have more of a personality, which was nice when I was in the mood to be chatted up.
The only thing that isn’t my favorite is the bubble tea. While Tien’s is ok, Tank’s is in a whole other league of delicious.
In the future I will go to Tien for my usual (#35) and stop at Tank for bubble tea on the way home.

No restaurant’s comfort food is EVER like how mom prepares it. However, if your mom lives 5 states away, what do you do? So many options available in this little neighborhood, I frequent this itsy-​bitsy restaurant:
a. whenever I feel like a cheap lunch all by my lonesome.
b. because their phở and other noodle soups are always consistent.
c. to practice my first language.
d. because service here is above par compared to the other neighborhood restaurants.
e. mainly for their Phở Dac Biet. It’s my go-​to dish, but their Mussels are to die for!
f. to pop the cherries of phở virgins.
One more thing — if they prepare their soups with MSG, I can’t taste it. I may feel it the next day when I bloat to the size of the Pillsbury doughboy. I don’t care, it’s worth it.

I am a frequent customer at this local vietnamese restaurant. The service is excellent (very attentive when refilling drinks). I always get their Phở, rice dishes, and crispy noodle dishes. The pricing is very cheap (about 7 dollars for a bowl of Phở) which is not very bad when you’re on a college student budget or just grabbing a quick lunch. Highly recommended!

This is true Viet food over here! The food tastes just like my momma made it. I love that their pork chop rice dish comes with a side of soup and the chicken in their phở is so soft and tender (just like how momma makes it!). Café sua da – yummy!
The restaurant is fairly empty which is perfect because we never have to wait.
I’m a fan and I’ll definitely be coming back to this place many many more times!

This was a wonderful experience for the first time. Ive tried all types of food but not vietnamese. Not sure why it’s taken so long but I am glad that I had the opportunity to eat great food.
Tien Giang has a neighborhood feel nestled in the heart of Rogers Park on Broadway. I will say that you must pay attention when you are driving because you may miss it. Parking is limited so keep your eyes open for a good spot.
I had the rice noodles with veggies and chicken. The noodles were freshly made and the veggies were yummy. One of my friends had the fried pancake with shrimp and pork. They kept giving it rave reviews.
My friends dared me to bite into a chili pepper. Be forewarned for those that are not spicy-​a-​holics, this will make your mouth numb.
Overall, Tien is definitely on my list to go back again.

I try as best as I can to refrain from writing a review for any restaurant my family or friend owns. It’s not that I will be driven in a bias path to write a fantastic review for something I feel that is sub-​par, but simply stated, I tend to have my hit or miss days with the restaurant just as an ordinary individual would have to.
With that being stated, Tieng Giang is a family friend owned restaurant. Their original restaurant was located on Argyle Street and was burned down which resulted for their closure. Sadly, when their restaurant closed, my desire for a quick Vietnamese food fixing had slowly evaporated as well. Almost a whole year later, they surprisingly, reopened their restaurant on Broadway, across the street from Furama. It’s a small, nostalgic homey feel restaurant compared to their previous one. Upon entering the restaurant on a weekday in the afternoon, I was taken back by the same good hospitality service offered at their old restaurant. I believe condensing the restaurant size gives it a more intimate feeling and the owners/​waiters/​waitresses are able to service everyone without feeling overwhelmed and rushed.
On to their food, Oh, I sure have missed it. I’m glad we’ve reunited.
Remember my previous post about Phở Tank having mildew smelling spring rolls? Yes, I know, gross. Well at Tien Giang, they make their spring rolls fresh, on order, meaning it’s not premade sitting in the fridge with a musty towel covering it to keep the rice paper from drying out. Their Vietnamese crêpe is delicious (Banh Xeo). It’s not meager with meat and an abundance of bean sprouts. The proportion of meat and bean sprout ratio is on point.
Their bun rieu (crabmeat noodle soup) and bun bo hue (spicy pork noodle soup) is just awesome. The broth is just bursting with all the right flavors. The vegetables condiments are always fresh. Whenever I’m too tired to slave at the stove all day, literally, just to make this soup… Tien Giang’s bun rieu satisfy my craving. My whole family (daughter, spouse, siblings, cousins, etc. — the WHOLE family) LOVES, loves, LOVES their phở. I can’t personally tell you that I love it, being that I hardly order that when I’m there. However, if the family loves it, then they must be doing something magical in the kitchen. =)
Family style meal is always a pleasure there. Their catfish hot pot, stir fry mussels, and beef noodles stir-​fry is very fulfilling and delicious.
I love their iced coffee. It’s not sugar down sweet; it’s just perfect and always done right.
Can you recall earlier in the post, I stated that there are hit and miss days? Well, in all honesty, I usually assume on a weekend, any restaurant in uptown will have great food, however… that isn’t always the case. Like anything restaurant in life, sometimes, a certain food or drink may not come out the way you expect it. I can understand that. It has happened to me while I was a Tien Giang last week. However, that didn’t put a dent into my day. Because, I just asked politely to the servers if they can take it back because something wasn’t right. And you know what? They happily obliged. My case in point, if you’re going to have a bitch ass attitude about the way something taste, and want to rant/​behave like a kid about it, of course you’ll get that same gratitude back. However, if you put it to their attention nicely then they will reciprocate the same gratitude. It’s not always about the food for me, it’s about the service and hospitality as well. Tien Giang gets four stars for having all of it.

They reopened finally. Same great food, smaller space but it works out well.
Forgot what I had but it was good, basically wide noodles with veggies and beef also had the hot and sour soup which i was found of =)
Cant wait to start going again.

I was sad when the original establishment burned down as I wanted to dine there for sometime, but only had enough time to get a bubble tea. I didn’t know they reopened in a much smaller spot, but same neighborhood.
Went to do my grocery shopping and thought, bubble tea! Why don’t I get it from that new little restaurant rather than the big busy ones and support a new family run business! The little waitress was adorable, such beautiful hazel eyes, anyhow, the restaurant was empty, but they must be doing well judging by the nice benz that was in front earlier which some of the employees were outside loading (or unloading) stuff out of and chit chatting (although it was in Vietnamese, so who knows who it was) anyway…
Back to story. I went in for bubble tea, and opened the menu and realized it was that restaurant that burned down, but resurrected! So I placed an order for some items. The waitress was so gracious, had us take a seat, give us some water while we wait.
What took the stars down severely was my «bubble tea» with no tapioca. I had to ask «where’s the tapioca?» «Oh sorry, we’re cooking it, so we don’t have any.» «Oh, uh, well that’s really the only reason I got it.» «Oh, sorry.» I can buy my own fruit at a fraction of the cost, throw it in the blender with ice and serve it. I wanted the full deal, not some crushed ice with some fruit thrown in. The real kicker – they charged the full price! WTF??? You didn’t give me what I asked for, you didn’t tell me before hand, and then you don’t even discount it? If I knew there was no tapioca, I would’ve went elsewhere! Are you kidding me? And in the end, the drink wasn’t even good (as it sits melting on my counter) more ice than fruit. What a waste of $ 4. Never again.
I had the papaya salad which was delicious, but expensive.
Will I go back? No. I can get an equally delicious goi with a more generous portion at Hoang long. And bubble tea? I can get that at 10 different places close by, for less, and with actual tapioca and fruit!

I stumbled across this place to try out some boba tea, and it’s actually pretty good here. I decided that I had to follow-​up and try some phở here, and finally had an opportunity after a long awaited craving. It was worthwhile as I do like this place better than Tank, and it’s less crowded. The Vietnamese coffee here is a 100 times better too! The prices are competitive, and the service a little slower. The food is very tasty though. I’d like to come back but I heard that this place is now burnt down… It’s so sad that a tasty place like this no longer exists, but it won’t be forgotten.

Um, what is this trash.
Sorry to be the cloud of gloom but I didn’t enjoy the phở. It’s not even a question of authenticity but whether it’s tasty or not and it’s not. The broth sucks ass. Compared to your usual can of soup, sure it might be an epiphany for you. Now before you call me a hater, I can lower my standards, all the time actually and I’m not asking for an orgasm at the table or something but I’m sorry, the instant phở I made in college was better than this. Garbage is garbage. I should of gone with something else on the menu. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here again.

So after I ordered my buhn w/​pork and eggroll dish I ask Stacey P, «Well, this’ll be enough for two meals, right?» She nods. What the heck was I thinking?! Enough for two meals? Yeah right. 30 minutes later, there was hardly a noodle left in my bowl.
I like this place more than Tank. shh.

Decent to good food.
Comparatively expensive.
I’ll pass.
It’s not like there aren’t other options a few feet away…

I live about a block and a half from this place so I eat there fairly frequently. I love the Congee (chicken and rice soup). I swear it’s a cure all. No matter what malady I’m experiencing it makes me feel better.
But if you’re calling in a pick up order they don’t always understand what you’re saying. For instance my boyfriend is highly allergic to shellfish. We found a dish that we really wanted to try if they could just hold out the shrimp. After a few minutes of explaining «no shrimp, food allergy» we thought they had it. But when we opened the container it was loaded with shrimp. If we weren’t so hungry we would have gone back. Luckily we ordered several dishes so I just ate the shrimp and gave my boyfriend the congee.
I love the Vietnamese iced coffee. It’s slightly stronger than Thai iced coffee and really affordable here ($ 2.50)
If you come uptown you should check it out. When you’re done you can shoot across the street and find any number of Asian bakeries to satisfy your sweet tooth.