Cam Huong — Restaurant in Oakland

I've been coming to Cam Huong ever since it was located on Webster in Chinatown. I used to order food here for catering parties at Asian Health Services. I've always had a crush on the younger lady who I speak to now and then. The food reminds me of old Oakland Chinatown which used to have affordable comfort food including Cantonese and Vietnamese food now hard to find, so going to Cam Huong is like getting Soul Food to me. I've been coming here for 25 plus years.

So the reasoning behind a 3 star review is this. I bought what I usually get, prepared rolls, a dessert from the freezer, ice coffee and a vegetarian sandwich - bi chay. I waited and waited and heard the staff yelling at each other in Vietnamese about a vegetarian sandwich. And then I thought oh great, I hope they don't mess it up.

So it turns out after riding my food to the Lake on my bike to eat, after opening my sandwich- it was filled with CURRY TOFU???

I was so insulted. To make it worse, the one I have a crush on made it.

I hate when establishments think I don't know what I'm ordering and give me a bait and switch just to get me out the door. Made me mad that I gave them a good tip too as I usually do.

Have yet to go back as I'm...

While there are better banh mi spots in Oakland, Cam Huong on International has become my go to "I want a ton of Vietnamese food on the cheap" spot. When you enter there will be a center table covered with premade rice or noodle + proteins dishes, desserts, and other snacks. I'll grab these on a Saturday when I know I don't have a Sunday lunch planned out. Then you round the table passing more snacks and pre-made drinks in a fridge before coming to the main counter. You can order drinks, hot food, and eventually sandwiches. When it comes to the hot food, I like grabbing a small container of either the Chinese sausage fried rice, vegetarian pad thai, or chow mein with pork. A small will be at least two meals, so order accordingly. From there, I typically get a #6 banh mi - combination with pork cake. I have ordered the chicken and the sardine and both were solid. Before you pay, make sure to order some eggrolls - while greasy they are delicious - as well as meat pies, spam musubi, and other fried delights. Usually I'll end up with 2-3 meals of food for...

Ordered BBQ chicken Bahn mi, egg roll, and teriyaki chicken skewer. Everything was tasty and seemed fresh, but I wonder about it's cleanliness. Just as my food was being prepared, a woman working at the counter, and who also works in the kitchen, was sneezing! She sneezed three times. I'd already paid for my food, and was very hungry. I hoped it would be OK, but within 2 hours, I was vomiting, had diarrhea, and have been fighting flu like symptoms for over 10 days. This isn't the first time I've had a similar experience here, but I thought it might have been caused by other things. This has happened too many times, and as much as I like the people who own Cam Huong, I can't risk my health. As well, I recently walked past here; and the gates to their alley were open, I noticed that the back alley of the restaurant is absolutely filthy. All of these things make me wonder about the overall cleanliness and hygiene practices of...