Blooming Vietnamese Cuisine — Restaurant in Cerritos

If I can rate this place any lower then one-star, I honestly would. Don't bother dining at this establishment if you cannot speak little to decent Vietnamese. Otherwise, THEY WILL GET YOUR ORDER WRONG.

I never write reviews on restaurants really, but today I just had to make an exception.

I was seated at a table, ordered my food (requested to be starting off with some water, not too hard of a request right? Wrong, I had to ask twice from 2 separate servers working the same area). Please do keep in mind that it's not busy whatsoever. I was offered to sit wherever I pleased, so I observe the surrounding and of course choose to sit in an area where there was little-to-no foot traffic, thinking it'd be easy for the server to work with me (being that my Vietnamese isn't the strongest), BIG mistake.

So I'm seated, I order my food and manage to finally get someone to bring me water. The water was bottled. I believe that's to be prevent possibilities of covid. I finish about 2 bottles, given 3 throughout the course of my meal.

On the dining-end, the food was decent. Nothing to complain about, just your standard run-of-the-mill Vietnamese cuisine. One flaw to note, they initially gave me the wrong food. They gave me someone else's order from the other side of the dining area. You'd figure that they'd divide the service in sections, but no. Seemed to be very unorganized.

But again, I can't knock them on the food, just their overall service. One last thing to note is when it came time to pay my tab, I was given the WRONG check. I was very close to paying for someone else's meal (which was ofc alot more then my check that was to be payed), thank goodness I had the sense to check the darn thing.

Oh, also about those water bottles. I was basically given 3 (the 3rd one not even being opened), I recall asking for a 2nd after finishing the first one and while halfway through the 2nd, the 3rd one was left on my table. A kind gesture I assumed, until I noticed it on my tab. $4 almost $5 for the 3 water bottles. Well, darn.

Lastly, before even paying my tab, I request for 2 items to take to-go for family back at home. Just a small side of eggrolls which are good, I must admit. Kind of hard to mess up egg rolls and an entree of fried rice. This is where I now drew the line to write up this lengthy review.

I specifically requested for no shrimp whatsoever, all the other meat options were fine. Just no seafood. My niece has very bad allergic reactions to seafood, especially shrimp. I made my request and even double-checked with my server and to no one's surprise. I get home, open the tray and there's fried rice with nothing but shrimp. Very disappointed.

Again, food was decent, your basic run-of-the-mill Vietnamese comfort food. It was overall just the service that was disappointing. Wrong food given, wrong check given, additional charges to total with the 'kind gesture' of being given and charged with the extra water. It is what it is, I guess. But I digress, what just pushed me to even write this lengthy review in the first place is the fact that the to-go order I requested was the complete opposite of what I wanted to get. I requested no shrimp, my niece cannot have seafood whatsoever, I even double-checked and made it clear to my server to the best of my ability to do so verbally, to then get the exact opposite of what was requested. Very disappointing.

First time and last time I'm ever eating at this place....

Sporting my lunchtime bloomers at Blooming

Blooming is an Asian Fusion (Viet/Chinese) restaurant, occupying the former home of Jeepney Asian Grille. As I walked in, I noticed the guy running Pho 4 U two suites down is also helming Blooming. He gave me a quick rundown of the menu, helping me decide what to get for lunch.

Blooming offers rice dishes, noodles, hot pots, curry, escargot and other items. I also noticed various macaroni dishes, too. I had 20% off my bill, so I wanted to make the best pick.

Filet mignon with rice entrée (default butter rice w/ steamed rice optional)- Quickly after ordering, I had my filet mignon with rice in front of me. Sweet, tender chunks of filet mignon literally melted in my mouth. Crunchy bell pepper & onion slices provided the texture to compliment the meat. Butter rice was creamy, yet fluffy. With a little dip in the accompanying sauce & sambal chili, I had a great tasting & well portioned lunch.

Service was good. I was checked on periodically, asking how everything was. I was told Blooming will start sending out circulars in the mail. I've passed by Blooming many times, as I make my way around town, but have never seen advertisements. Hopefully, the circulars will help with business.

Seating for days, with plenty of tables & a few booths on the side facing South St. There are also al fresco tables available, too. The restaurant is clean, and the color scheme is warm & inviting.

Parking is in a private lot, shared by Snowflakez, Subway, Sharetea and other businesses.

Blooming is a good food option in Cerritos, IMHO. I believe their menu has a lot to offer, including various offerings of smoothies & che. Blooming may have undergone some growing pains with their grand opening, pertaining to the wait for orders to be completed and such, but I had my food within no time & I really enjoyed it. Couple that with the 20% off I received, and there's no way I can't recommend eating here. With all the food options in Cerritos, don't let Blooming fall off your culinary radar as I think you'll find both the food & prices agreeable.

Highly...

I stopped by this restaurant for lunch while visiting my cousin. The place was busy, but the wait was only about 15 minutes, which was quite reasonable given the lunchtime rush.

Service: The staff were attentive and friendly, making the overall experience warm and welcoming.

Food:
We started with the egg rolls as an appetizer. Normally, egg rolls tend to taste pretty similar—especially around Bolsa—but this was the first time we experienced such a unique flavor. What set them apart was the use of vermicelli in the filling. It gave the egg rolls a wonderfully crispy exterior while keeping the inside soft, juicy, and flavorful. We also ordered the seafood egg noodle and the grilled pork with white rice.
The seafood egg noodle was a standout dish. Even though this is a Vietnamese restaurant, the noodles had a strong resemblance to traditional Chinese-style egg noodles. The broth was rich and savory, with a hint of sweetness, and it was packed with fresh seafood including shrimp,imitation crab stick, squid, and scallops. The combination gave it depth and a comforting warmth that reminded me of a good Chinese noodle soup, which was a pleasant and delicious surprise. The grilled pork with white rice was equally impressive. The pork was marinated just right—savory with a touch of sweetness, and grilled to perfection with a nice char on the outside while remaining tender inside. It was served with a side of salad, pickled carrots and broth, creating a perfect balance of flavors and textures.

Overall, the food was far more impressive than I initially expected—definitely a "don’t judge a book by its cover" kind of experience. I’ll absolutely be coming back for another bowl of...