Ben Ngu

My greatest discovery in 2016 — «bun mit mam nem» at Ben Ngu.
It’s a vermicelli salad assembled with shredded pieces of jackfruit, ground peanuts, and dried Vietnamese sesame crackers. Some typical Central Vietnamese herbs such as banana leaves, basil, and mint leaves were also thrown in the bowl. These toppings might sound simplistic, but once the accompanying mam nem (anchovy sauce) is poured in, the combination was quite addictive.
This bowl was a combination of several subtle elements — crispness and salt from the crackers, crunch from the crushed nuts, refreshment from the cold salad, warmth from the springy cooked vermicelli, thin ham-​like texture of jackfruit that easily soaks up the mam nem dipping sauce. The mam nem has very strong fermented flavors, it was sweet, slightly sour, very fragrant. The flavors don’t get any better than this for a dish that’s vegetarian for the most part!
Like most people have already mentioned, Ben Ngu is the sister restaurant of Ngu Binh but there are some differences between the two. First, the servers here are much more polite. They take your order and then sit at their table to read the newspaper. Second, Ben Ngu is not crowded so it is easy to get in and out during lunch. Third, the cooking philosophy between the two restaurants appears to be very different. For example, the Bun Bo Hue broth at Ngu Binh contains a heavy hand of chili oil by default, which unfortunately overwhelms the lemongrass flavor that the BBH is known for. Here at Ben Ngu, I peeked at the bowls of BBH from tables around me, and did not find the same chili oil situation. The bowls looked clean and the herb plate was just as big here as at Ngu Binh. Next time I will order the BBH to see for myself.

I am not sure if the previous reviewers ever had real authentic bun bo hue before but the 4 – 5 stars rating is way off. Came here with my father and his friends from out-​of-​town (thank goodness it’s their first time eating bun bo hue so they don’t know what’s missing). We ordered bun bo hue, banh canh tom cua, and #8 banh beo combo. The bbh that came out has no lemongrass and shrimp paste fragrance typical of bbh. The taste was definitely missing the lemongrass which is the main fragrance from bbh. There were plenty of meat, blood pudding, and cha. The noodle were cooked well. If they had added lemongrass, shrimp paste, and pineapple to their broth, it would be a good bowl of bbh. Otherwise, it’s nothing to be impress about. The banh beo combo was ok. I would not order it again. Their nuoc mam was bland. Banh canh was also nothing to rave about. Overall, the food was okay, not great. They have other items on the menu so it might be worth a return to try other dishes. Restaurant is located across from the Ramada Inn.

In the OC and craving bun no hue and just don’t know where to go? I don’t blame you! There’s so many places in the OC and it can get pretty overwhelming. I’m here to tell you… This place is worth a shot!
Ordered:
Banh beo chen– loved the tiny pork rinds on top. Just the right amount of shrimp on top. Fish sauce wasn’t too salty or bland.
Bun bo hue– surprisingly it was pretty good. Generous with the veggie plate. Broth wasn’t too oily and with a squeeze of lemon it was tasty!
Final thoughts:
It took a minute before the staff even acknowledged us and sat us down. Priced very fair. Food came out at a decent time. Portion size was just right. Chop sticks was a bit dirty so I was thankful that they had the wooden ones I could use. I would come back since the food was surprisingly good. So you should definitely give them a try.
Tips:
Shared parking lot with other businesses.
Indoor seating only.
Accepts cash and credit card.
There’s a TV.
Plenty of tables so good for big groups.

Good food. Similar to Ngu Binh but not as greasy. Will be back.

Parking is spacious here and so is the restaurant. You won’t have to worry about your car being dinged by a driver AND you don’t have to wait for seating!
Their prices are pretty good compared to other BBH restaurants. It is $ 6.90 for a small bowl of bun bo hue and it comes with a good of meat, pork blood, and the pork sausage! They have the chili oil on the tables with other condiments so you could add more spice to your desire. I love it!
Banh beo is $ 6.90 and I expected only 10 pieces on a plate but I was in for a surprise. I didn’t count how many but my bf and I were really full after eating the entire plate on top of our BBH bowls.
I love the veggie plates here-​instead of giving you shredded lettuce and a few sprigs of rau ram, they give you bap chuoi (the purple banana bud), a lot of rau ram and cilantro! Yes the noodles are a little overdone but I’ll try to ask for the noodles to be cooked a little less next time and see what happens. The broth wasn’t amazing but wasn’t bad either. I added a lot of chili oil and it was fine.
Our plate of banh beo and 2 small bowls of BBH came out to be $ 22 and some change. This is half of what I paid for at a previous BBH restaurant. My wallet loves it!

One time, my clients and I ended up eating here. Now, I can’t stop going back on my own! From what I understand, this is the husband’s restaurant and the wife owns Ngu Binh; so you’re getting the same kind of awesome food with several perks! For one thing, you don’t have to wait an hour to eat on a weekend and you definitely don’t have to deal with the crazy parking lot where Ngu Binh is located in.
The bun bo hue is amazing here! They’re generous with their portions of meat, noodles, and pork’s blood. A small bowl definitely fills my belly up in no time! I also think it’s less oily than Ngu Binh which is plus for me. I’m more likely to come here more often than NB because of all the perks! Woot!

Bún bò Hu is good and I can see why they’re known for it. I got a huge cube of pig’s blood in my bowl that I appreciated for the most part. I put in a little too much satay though. The spiciness didn’t hit me until a few soup spoons in. If I had room after my tô nh, I would have tried their $ 3 durian smoothie. That tall cool glad of odor will have to wait until I come back to try their bánh ít something something răm. I didn’t choose it at first because there were only 4 in the picture :(I chose happiness instead. This is why I have to watch my cholesterol.
Has anyone seen an avocado durian smoothie on a menu anywhere in CA? Please message me! I’ve been yearning for one for half a year now D:

If you don’t want to wait at Ngu Binh go here! Pretty sure it’s the same owners or they’re related.
Here were some minor differences I noticed between Ngu Binh and Ben Ngu:
1. No wait, you are seated right away
2. Easier parking
3. Larger portions
4. The bun bo hue is not as spicy and has more hint of lemon grass than Ngu Binh
5. No peppers at the table, but they will give you more if you just ask
6. The fish sauce that is provided with the banh beo is not as salty but you can add more because there is another bottle at the table
Overall the food is just as good as Ngu Binh and no wait.

Really not sure why this place has so many people. The food isn’t that great for he most part, but the portions are large. If you want anything get the young jack fruit

This restaurant has delicious Hue food. I got the banh beo and the mi quang. The banh beo had a generous amount of ground shrimp and fried pork skin which was really nice. The mi quang had lots of shrimps and was the noodles were flavorful. I can’t wait to come back and try the banh it ram. My mom and dad got the bun bo hue large size and it was huge! They said it was pretty good and liked that they were given a lot of banana flower and cabbage to put in the soup.

Here goes another hidden gem on GG Blvd. This restaurant is located in the plaza off of Brookhurst Way. This spot serves dishes from central VN. I dig the Bun Bo Hue Dac Biet. It’s a beef spicy rice noodle soup. The flavor and spices are always on point. I never have to add extra fish sauce. Just lime and sate chili sauce.
–Hue food tends to be on the spicy side. If you can only handle the mild stuff like myself, I would order non-​spicy. You will still taste a little kick and won’t burn your taste buds!
–The combo #8 makes a good appetizer or a single entrée. It comes w/​banh beo, banh nam, and banh bot loc. Pictured below…
The waiters are nice and prompt. Parking is plentiful. Cards are gladly accepted. Overall, I frequent this spot when I crave something other than Phở.

I’ve been here several times and love coming back. It’s clean and away from Bolsa’s crowd & traffic. They open early at 9am so it is a perfect alternative to «Quan Hy». Menu is authentic to Hue’s cuisine, short and simple. Pricing is very reasonable. Service is great and quick. My husband like the combination plate with Banh Beo, Banh Nam and Banh Bot Loc. It is a such great deal. I like their Bun Bo Hue. It is comparable to Ngu Binh in my opinion.

I am a frequent eater at Ngu Binh so was curious to see if this place compares. And the verdict is… IT DEFINITELY DOES!!! I will no longer go to Ngu Binh unless I know for sure there is no line there. There is no wait at this spot and the food tastes just the same! I came here with my hubby and mom (who also frequent Ngu Binh) and they were all on the same page. The Banh Beo was great and so was the Mi Quang. In fact the Mi Quang’s noodles tasted much better than Ngu Binh’s. I’ll definitely come back for the food, spacious parking and no lines!

Away from the city crowds, easy parking. Restaurant is nice n clean. banh beo was decent. bun bo hue was missing that lemongrass taste but not a lot of oil so still okay. Would come back.

This place is a fantastically good eat.
The food at Ben Ngu is comparable to Ngu Binh, both of which are the best Hue style vietnamese cuisine in Orange County. The bun bo hue and mi quang are extremely flavorfu and meaty. The banh beo in individual dishes and banh it ram make for great appetizers.
I saw the previous review about too much msg. There was no excessive msg use. But just as an aside, there is no such thing as an allergy to msg. Msg is monosodium glutamate. Sodium is table salt and what makes you thirsty when you eat msg. Glutamate is a naturally occuring neurotransmitter that exists in practically all plants and animals. It makes foods taste more savory because there are special receptors on the tongue that get get activated. The Japanese discovered it as the 5^th sense of taste a couple decades ago.
Sorry for the digression, but the food does come with great big portions and very reasonably priced. The service is fast. But best of all, this place is a hidden gem located on the outskirts of little saigon… ie no waits and no traffic.

I ordered banh bro chen as appetizers and it came out as room temperature cold. Disappointing
For the main course, I had the bun bo hue which lacks depth like other places.
The place is nice and clean but the food was not to my expectation.

Don’t go here if you’re allergic to MSG. I’m surprised with the amount of MSG they used, the broth wasn’t still flavorful. Small bowl of bbh is $ 6.50. Easy parking. Large and clean restaurant but I don’t recommend. Nothing special or memorable.
I think people only like it for the spice level. They offer the spicy broth and you can add more spice of course. But what’s the point of eating a bland spicy broth?

It’s pretty difficult to find authentic Bun Bo Hue in LA so every time I get the chance to go home to the OC I try to get my fill of it! Recently this has been the place that I’ve been going to a lot. I typically order the Bun Bo Hue Dac Biet (basically just a larger size, nothing extra special about it) without the pork blood and ankle meat (I’m not really into that stuff).
The Bun Bo Hue here is beyond savory and decently spicy as it should be! They are pretty generous with the beef and sausage as well. The slices of beef are pretty lean and lack a lot of fat and tendon which I prefer. The portion size is definitely larger than other places and the pricing is comparable as well.
Another thing worth trying on the menu is Banh Nam. Its a good thing to order to share with everyone. I not really sure how this dish translates in English but its almost like a flat rice cake with minced shrimp that is steamed and served in banana leaves, which is then eaten with sweet fish sauce. Its a kind of savory and sweet dish and it unique to the central part of Vietnam.
My main complain about Ben Ngu is the amount of MSG they use in their food. Sure it makes it taste better but it makes you feel like crap afterwards, and can be headache-​inducing at times.

I don’t understand what the hype of this restaurant is about…
I came here with my mom for lunch and, as a typical asian restaurant, they don’t give you much time to look at the menu before coming to take your order. And as usual, we have to ask for more time.
After placing our orders in, they came out in a fairly time manner, however it wasn’t what I was expecting… My mom ordered bun mit mam nem, and there was barely any meat!!! It was basically noodles and vegetables… wtf??? I ordered Mi Quang, and oh dear, this must have been the WORST mi quang I ever had because it was just WAY too watery. What I have been told is that mi quang is not suppose to be too watery… but this place was just way too much… We also ordered the combo banh beo, banh bot and banh nem… I would say I had better.
On the plus side, the dishes are huge portions that we ended up taking them to go. And BOYYYYYY… when I had asked the server for 3 boxes to go, he stared, and asked for what??? Obviously, there are three dishes that looks like it hasn’t been touched at all! Hello, can’t you decipher what needs to be boxed?!
Anyways, would I come back to this place? No, I would not.

Saw on Unilocal that Ben Ngu just opened, and I love me some Vietnamese Bun Bo Hue! It was delicious and tasted so good in mah bellehhhhh. Spicy just the way it’s supposed to be.
What won me over? So every time I’ve tried the banh beo it was in the little small plates. However this is the first time I ordered the combo banh at any Vietnamese restaurant and I LOVE THIS WAY MORE! I’m not a banh beo expert or anything, but I always thought it was missing something… more meat? more substance? Anywho, GET THE COMBO! UGH DELICOUS!