Che Hien Khanh — Restaurant in Rosemead

This branch of Thach Che Hien Khanh serves the largest variety of Vietnamese desserts in the San Gabriel Valley. It's located within a food court in Rosemead where the rent must be dirt cheap because most of the food stalls there charge no more than $6 per item.

Compared to the original shop in Westminster, this Hien Khanh location carries fewer items. For example, savory variations of sticky rice (xoi) are not offered here. Only recently has an item outside of dessert (chè), namely banh duc, been available.

Hien Khanh is still a versatile traditional Vietnamese dessert shop with hot and cold options, so it's different from the popular Bambu chain that mainly focuses on modern iced chè drinks. The dessert table displays sweet xoi, flavored agar jelly, cassava cakes, and beyond, which taste more like candy than Bambu's "slush". Most of the chè at Hien Khanh are eaten with a spoon, whereas the layered slush-like desserts at Bambu are typically slurped through a boba straw.

The serving size at Hien Khanh is smaller compared to Bambu's. Items are either scooped into 6 oz plastic cups or packed into styrofoam take-out boxes, so prices are manageable ($2 to $3 per item compared to $4 to $5 chè drink at Bambu). In addition, desserts at Hien Khanh tend to be significantly sweeter and more fragrant compared to the ones at Bambu. As I understand, this sugar level is more traditional and fitting to sweet-tooth Vietnamese palates.

During my last visit, I ordered the chè dau trang for $2, which was wet sticky rice cooked with black eye peas, served warm. It was accompanied with some warm coconut milk on the side, for me to spoon into sticky rice to make the dessert more soupy and to control the sweetness level. The chè dau trang was a simple dessert, the coconut milk softened the beans so the contrast between chewy and crunchy textures didn't seem to be a problem. I thought that the 6oz cup was perfectly portioned, because I could not imagine eating an entire cup of rice if it were Bambu-sized.

I prefer this type of warm dessert to the Bambu iced desserts because it required more effort in the preparation (cooking rice, soaking and then boiling beans). It seemed to be more genuine than scooping canned ingredients with crushed ice and coconut...

I recently discovered Che Hien Khanh on Eat LA and decided to visit today. This place offers the most comprehensive selection of Vietnamese sweet desserts in the entire San Gabriel Valley (SGV). For those unfamiliar, "chè" is a Vietnamese term for traditional sweet beverages, dessert soups, stews, or puddings. These desserts can be served hot or cold, often enjoyed with a spoon over ice in a glass. Chè typically has a gelatinous and gloppy texture, and each region of Vietnam offers its own unique varieties based on local tastes.

Whenever we visit Vietnam, we indulge in chè, especially with ice to combat the hot weather--it's the perfect remedy. Che Hien Khanh, located inside the Great Wall Supermarket food court, is one of the most popular dessert shops. During our visit, we tried the coconut jelly chè, mung bean dessert, and some chè mochi. The flavors were very authentic and reminiscent of the desserts we enjoyed in Vietnam.

The prices at Che Hien Khanh are reasonable, as we only paid $10 for two bags full of chè. Additionally, the staff were very friendly, making the experience even more pleasant. If you're in the area and craving authentic Vietnamese desserts, I highly recommend stopping by...

He must be the owner, tall, kind, gentleman, whom recommended the two drinks for my sons instead of their original ordered of Thai tea drinks because he noticed my two boys look under 16. "Caffeine is not good for your age, and I recommend you my two most popular drinks that young kids like, #22, 23." He even offered a complimentary drink since one of my sons was hesitant to try #23, the yogurt drink. My son did like it. Thank you! No one was has to do that but you went out of your way to tell them what's better for their age, and I great appreciate that. We will come back again. I like the pandan mung bean drink. And the Thai tea is very good too, for...