Co Ba

My friend took me here and told me how good it was, and she was right! We had to wait about 15 minutes on a Saturday afternoon because the place is small. I got the dry egg noodles and pork. While I didn’t care too much for the pork (it’s thinly sliced so you don’t get too much of the flavoring from the red seasoning on the outside), the noodles were so good. They had a nice chewy texture and the sauce was like a sweet but light oyster sauce. Loved it! I’ve had something similar at Mi La Cay and another place in Westminster, but I think this might have been better. It was only maybe $ 5 – 7 for a small size, which was enough for me. It also came with a side of soup, which was really tasty. My friend got the noodle soup with thick vermicelli looking noodles. I’ve never seen soup noodles like these. The soup had a strong garlic flavor — it was super flavorful. I don’t know how they get clear pork broth to taste that good. It comes out piping hot, and I burned my tongue, so be careful. I’m definitely going back and bringing friends. It’s not suited for large parties, though, and only one person seems to work there, so don’t expect any customer service. Tried the iced coffee, which was okay — very strong.

This is a true hidden gem of a Vietnamese noodle house that’s nestle within a Korean district. I absolutely love the hu tieu nam vang kho (dry) while my husband enjoys the mi (egg noodle) version. The flavor tastes more fresh than other hu tieu restaurants where theirs can taste a bit too porky, like they didn’t wash the pork bones. Here it’s nice and tasty. If you don’t speak Vietnamese, good luck as most of the servers don’t speak much English. Maybe it’s sufficient to point at the pictures in the menu.

A tiny hole in the wall joint known for their Hu Tieu (egg/​clear noodles, in clear broth).
PROS:
–Food is solid. Soup is comfort food if you are into Asian soups. Most Hu Tieu broth is bland to me, but the broth here is surprisingly good & flavorful.
–You can customize your noodles to have egg noodles, white noodles, or clear.
–Cheap. About $ 8 for a bowl.
–Lots of condiments like vinegar garlic.
CONS:
–Menu is really confusing.
–Tiny inside. Might have a wait.
TIPS:
–Located in walking distance of Soju Belly.
–I’d probably bring cash if I came here.

Hu Tieu Nam Vang is probably one of my favorite Vietnamese noodle dishes ever and I have not found a place in LA or SoCal that does it right. After coming back from my VN trip I was really craving a bowl I decided o would venture to the OC for some.
The dish at Co Ba was pretty good. All the ingredients they use were similar to the traditional Nam Vang dish I’ve eaten before which incorporate more Cambodian flavors and toppings. The crunchy garlic is a must and I loved the addition of quail eggs. I got the Hu Tieu noodles but will try it with the tapioca noodles next time or egg noodles. I think the key thing with this dish is always the sauce that they use and this one was pretty good. I tried be popular Hu Tieu Trieu Chau and although the I enjoyed it, I think I like this one better since it more so resembled the authentic flavors of the dish. Trieu Chau had chicken in it which I’ve never had in my Nam Vang bowl. As always, I got it dry. Would come back!
The good: great flavors! Great service!
The bad: wish hey had a bit more on their menu in terms of appetizers
Tip: takes credit card. Ask for half and half noodles for variety. Get it dry! Soup on the side.
Side note: if anyone is looking for a good Hu Tieu Nam Vang place in San Jose I always go to Saigon Restaurant on Story — only place I like outside of the dish I had in VN

Delicious Hu tieu nam Vang! I usually get the dry noodles and the soup comes on the side! The noodles are perfectly chewy and soak up that sauce so well! And the broth always comes super hot, I recommend adding in some garlic slices and pickled jalapeños to the soup base to give it a little kick! Slurp some noodles and chase it with soup after and you got yourself some yummies for your tummies :)
Prices are pretty decent around $ 6 for a small and $ 7 for a large! Come here if you want some comfort food on a cold day!

I really enjoyed the food here although the service was a bit lacking.
My parents really liked the hu tieu here and invited our family here for a Christmas day lunch. We were a party of 14 and it seemed like they had trouble taking our orders, making our food, and seating us in the restaurant.
The food didn’t come out at the same time and they messed up some of our orders.
I ordered the «hu tieu dai & mi nam vang» which included glass noodle and egg noodle with various toppings and a flavorful broth. It was absolutely delicious and I will most definitely come back — with a smaller party next time.

The Worst service. I order their Hu tieu kho and they’re were no shrimps in my bowl. I flagged the waitress down and she came over and looked into our bowls then said «oh the shrimp is in ur mom’s bowl» then walked away. Am I supposed to fish it out of my mom’s bowl ??? Wow.
The food doesn’t Taste fresh either and overprice

This place is a total hole in a wall. I only heard about this place because it was next to my cousins hotel. The taste is super authentic but i do wish there was more meat in my bowl. I felt like they really thinned the slices of pork in mine to save on every dollar. Not cool! I also felt like one bowl wasnt enough to fill me up either. The portions were a bit small for me but overall it was delicious.
The service. Dont get me started. Super slow. My aunt had to ask for the plate of veggies but did i mention slow. The food is pretty simple but it just took a day and a life for my serving to come. Not to mention the rest of us did not get our meals out at the same time. They came out one bowl at a time 5 minutes after another. So if you dont care about the service, sure this place is a must anyways. Doesnt get any more authentic then that.

CO BA which literally translated means auntie three (second oldest daughter; oldest daughter would be auntie two, and so on; this numbering system is often used by South Vietnamese families) is one of my regular go-​to eateries in Garden Grove’s K-​Town.
Does size matter? If you’re impatient or slightly claustrophobic, then yes, size matters. This place is super tiny, it fits around 20+ish people that are packed like sardines. My record was roughly 45 minutes waiting in line to get a table for a party of 6 (I also noticed many to-​go orders; they charge 50 cents extra). Tip: Kill time in one of those Korean organic vitamin stores next door if you’re into Ginseng and other herbal supplements. There isn’t really anything special to mention about the interior, basically just like most Asian restaurants in OC: spartan decoration (not in a Zen way), a couple lonely food pictures on the wall, etc.
Don’t judge by appearance: CO BA lacks decorative features and space but succeed in food quality and taste. My favorite dry noodle dish on their menu is Mi Go, literally translated means noodle knocking (not that kind you’d read on urbandictionary). In Vietnam smaller noodle (soup) vendors would provide their food in little carts/​trolleys around the city. Whenever they arrive in a neighborhood they’d knock their slats on each other making a distinctive sound to attract customers, hence noodle knocking.
CO BA Mi Go’s version are dry egg noodles laced with a secret house-​made hoisin’ish sauce (not too sweet — yum) bedecked with lettuce, garland chrysanthemum, green onions, garlic chives, roasted onions and to top it all with flavorful bbq pork slices. Recommended: they also have some pickled garlic cloves on the table to add to your noodle mix in case you don’t mind the offensive breath afterwards. They also come with a small bowl of broth on the side to devour the noodles easier. Mine were firm to the bite and the portion was huge enough making me way too full. All in all a nice blend of ingredients. I yet have to try the soup-​based noodles.

CO BA is a rare find. I drove past here so often and never gave her a second glance. Somehow I decided to try it out today. It’s a very small hole in the wall food joint located in a small plaza on GG Blvd and Kerry St.
I tried the hu tieu nam vang (kho)-soup comes on the side. SO GOOD! The broth was tasty and flavorful. The sliced pork, shrimp, and ground pork, and quail eggs made this dish delicious. The house sauce mixed into the clear tapioca noodles was DELISH! Plastic gladly accepted with $ 15 minimum.

I love the simplicity of what they serve here. Egg noodles, rice noodles, or both? Dry or in a soup? The flavors are definitely there, maybe a little salty for my liking. They definitely don’t skimp on the meat. I found myself wishing I had some more noodles and veggies to be honest. All in all, I’ll come back here for to-​go if I’m ever craving noodles.

I dont understand the Unilocal love for this place. I love dry egg noodles and i love hole in the walls but this place is a meh. the egg noodles were meh. the fish fried rice was overpriced and bland, barely any fish in there.
the price does not justify the portion size. you can go down the street for bigger portions, better tasting and cheaper price.

Mì hü tíu Kho {dry egg noodle and clear noodle)
Taste just like in Saigon street noodle cart. 5 stars. Services just like in Vietnam very patient and pleasant waitress.

I gave this an extra star since its better than the first time I tried it. However I took away a star because they seriously took 15 mins for my Togo order and we ordered it at the same time when we ordered our food there. AND when we left with our togo they ran after us if we wanted to get seated… just WOW
I got the Hu Tieu Nam Vang with both egg and clear noodles. It was pretty tastey today after putting the garlic and jalapeños in with the hoisin and sriracha sauce and a splash of my delicious broth.
Food isnt too bad but service sucks really bad

The service at Co Ba is a breath of fresh air in comparison to other vietnamese establishments. The lady that takes order’s and refill’s drinks was very friendly and personable.
During my short dine in experience, I noticed that she greeted a family and commented how big their son has gotten and how she hasn’t seen them in awhile. Also, when my friend told her how he loved the herbal tea, she replied that she makes everything exceptional to keep her customer’s coming back. These details show how much she really values her business and appreciates her customers.
I have never a fan of «hu tieu kho» /​dry noodles because to me, noodle soups are always more warm and comforting. Nonetheless, I had to try out the «hu tieu nam vang» since everyone raved about this place! I don’t have much experience in comparison, but I would have to say it’s a solid dish. The person I dined with, a seasoned dry noodles veteran, thought this was one of his new favorite places to eat dry noodles. I would recommend the clear noodles /​clear noodles with egg noodles because they have a chewier texture than the rice noodles.
The herbal tea is slighty sweet and refreshing (with free refills). GET IT!

Located in a small strip plaza surrounded by Korean shops. I was craving some mi kho so decided to give this place a try. Parking wasn’t too difficult to find and it doesn’t seem like this plaza would ever get packed. Small place inside with maybe 8 tables?
What I got:
Small Hu Tieu Dai Mi Kho ($ 6.75): $ 1 more for a large bowl. So I got «hu tieu dai» which is a chewy clear noodle and «mi» which is egg noodle. I’d say just stick with the mi noodles, I got sick of the hu tieu dai noodles after a couple bites. Comes with a side of bean sprouts/“cai cuc” aka garland chrysanthemum (says wikipedia) and soup. I personally don’t like mixing those 2 veggies into my bowl, but give it a try. So this bowl comes with shrimp, sliced meats, fish ball, and other stuff. Mix it up well and eat! I thought it was just okay and not the best mi kho I’ve had and don’t think I’ll be coming back…
Service:
It was lacking. My BF and I came in before this other group of 2 ladies, but the server took their order before ours. But then… we got our food before they did so I guess it all worked out! They don’t really have a counter for you to pay at… so I ended up just standing by the water dispenser until the guy came back to give us our total. No receipt, machine, or anything so estimate your total before you go up to pay so they don’t overcharge you.

Is it Mì or this place has one of the best Nam Vang style noodle and vermicelli I have had in a long time. Not a fancy looking place, but all that a great bowl of noodle need is some tables to eat it on. Simple ordering «Mi Nam Vang Kho», small, fresh bean sprouts, iced tea. Five minutes later a hot bowl of noodle is at your table.
Clean, friendly, fast! Weekday lunch time experience.

My friend took me here cause I needed to pick up a cake in west minster for my aunt’s birthday. She was really excited to have me try out this place. It was located in a small plaza near the fwy. When I first arrived it was a hole in the wall and only seated about a couple of tables.
They don’t have much on the menu, expect for what they are known for. It was noodles with assorted meats and shrimp. I usually take my noodle dry cause I don’t like my noodles too salty. This place you can order your noodles dry or with soup. The dry noodles come with a sauce. I was kind of scared with what sauce it came with so I decided to get the sauce on the side too. We ended up getting our noodles pretty fast and I tried the sauce. It was so good. Everything about this dish was good.
I can’t wait to go back and eat it again and again.

Definitely a hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurant that specializes in Hu Tieu Nam Vang noodles! My new favorite place to go to when I have cravings for Hu Tieu Nam Vang (Vietnamese noodle). Prices are reasonable and portions are generous.
The menu is small (which is not a bad thing). Mainly noodles and a few rice dishes. I’ve only tried the noodles so here is the breakdown:
HU TIEU NAM VANG:
Noodles: egg noodle, clear phnom penh rice noodles or rice noodles (phở-​like).
Egg noodles a bit thicker than some other places. Owner said it was special ordered from LA. I’d go for ½ egg noodle and ½ clear phnom penh (chewy). The blend of the two textures were AWESOME. Extra charge ($) for noodle combination.
Dry (kho) or Soupy: I’ve tried both and both were good so depending on your preference/​mood. Broth is pretty good with a strong pork/​seafood taste.
Meats: Ground pork, pork slices, whole shrimp, dried shrimp, and fish balls. Good amount of meat/​seafood to balance out the noodles.
Sizes: Small: $ 5.75 and Large: $ 6.75. Go for the large, because small just isn’t enough.
Condiments: Fried garlic is a MUST and already added to your noodles along with green onions. Add bean sprouts and pickled garlic & jalapeño. The juice from the garlic & jalapeño gives off a nice aroma and gives your noodles a nice kick.
Water is 25 cents but it’s worth it!
Closed every Wednesday.
Bön Appetit!
Owners are really friendly. I’ll definitely be returning soon!

Definitely a hole in the wall Vietnamese joing that specializes in Hu Tieu Nam Vang noodles in the Korean district of Garden Grove! WTH? O well the place was busy, almost at capacity and they accept credit cards here.
Pick your style dry or with Broth — orders are cooked to order, so it takes longer but it’s well worth the wait. I heart all the different ingredients like quail eggs, ground and BBQ pork, your preference of noodles, and chives. and Prices are reasonable and portions are generous.
Expect to get on a waiting list during peak hours here. Owners are really friendly. I’ll def be returning again!