Bến Ngự Restaurant — Restaurant in Garden Grove

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...

I went to Bến Ngự for breakfast and ordered the Mì Quảng Special. I wasn’t too impressed with the customer service when they greeted and took orders. As for the food, the portion was quite large—I couldn’t finish it. The meat and broth were decent, but the flavor wasn’t quite to my taste; I found it a bit too salty. However, I really enjoyed the side salad, which had a good balance of fresh veggies for the bowl. The restaurant itself is...

We decided to try this place because it offered items I had never seen at Vietnamese restaurants before and was well-reviewed. There were three of us and we got to sample quite a bit of the menu. Everything was delicious and some items were outstanding. I will definitely be back. The service was polite and there was plenty of seating. The restaurant remained comfortable even in the heat wave...