Cao Nguyên Restaurant — Restaurant in San Jose

Update: May 5, 2023. I liked their home style food so much that I returned for take out. For this trip, I ordered 3 items: hu tieu My Tho, butter chicken wings and combination chowfun. The chicken wings's oil were well drained and not greasy at all which made it so crispy and light. The skin was still crispy after I get home. It was fried to just the perfect golden hues and crispiness. I appreciated that the chef was so mindful about making the wings not oily. I can't count the many time I ordered fried food at restaurants that the chef didn't wait to drain the oil that food were drenced in greasy oil and soggy. The wings came with a small container of salt & peppers, piece of lemon and fresh sliced jalapeños. Yum! This is one of my favorite snack/appetizer but the Vietnamese refer to this as drinking food. Pair well with a cold drink for those that do consume adult bev. An original coke would work equally well for me. Lastly, the hu tieu My Tho came with the clear, chewy noodle. Spot on. I had a feeling the chef are from the Southern region so they specialized in the various Southern style noodle soup.

The combination chowfun literally came with so many toppings that I was so delighted. Assorted fresh vegetables and plenty of various protein like pork, beef, shrimp, calamari and even fried fish cake.

Originally dined here late on Sunday April 30, 2023. Haven't dine here for ages although we frequent Pho 21 often in the same plaza.

If you're looking for authentic Vietnamese cuisine, home/family style, this is your restaurant. They are known for typical Vietnamese home style fares such as caramel fish, sweet & sour soup, etc...It was a cold, windy night so I was craving for something hot and soupy, a la hotpot.

I personally preferred the Vietnamese style hotpot over the recent trendy Chinese ones.

We called 2 appetizers and 1 hotpot. They were exactly the taste I'm looking for and I'm glad Cao Nguyen restaurant came up during my search and they were still open after 8:30 pm on Sunday evening.

Since it was almost closing time, a few appetizers I wanted to try on the menu is not available. We managed to order an available appetizer: spicy Thai calamari salad. They had the sweet, sour from lime juice and salty umami fish sauce flavors I was craving. On top of that, the freshly chopped Thai basil really enhanced the freshness yet crunchy texture of this calamari entrée. Of course, they're not spicy at all to my standard for those non spicy dinners.

Our 2nd appetizers was baby clams aka hen xuc banh trang. It came with toasted rice cracker which you use like chips to scoop up the clams. Unfortunately, I would rate this dish as average as I felt our family version of this entrée is much better.

Lastly, we ordered the seafood, Thai hotpot (tom yum inspired), the large size. Loved...loved this broth version of the hotpot and the assortment of seafood and Thai herbs/ingredients. I can taste the natural acidity from pineapple but I also see kaffir lime leaves, various seafood like prawns, mussels, Vietnamese style fish paste, squid, etc.... The hot pot came with free rice vermicelli. I liked that they gave you real seafood unlike others places that give you those subpar seafood balls to give volume but not much "real" seafood.

I don't know why we stopped going here for the longest time but these are the old Saigon recipes and flavors I had while growing up. I'm going to return more often from here on.

I felt many recent Vietnamese restaurants in San Jose imitate recipes from the current Vietnam that I no longer associate as the Vietnamese food I know growing up. They had so much Korean/outside influence that they modify the recipes so much that it had lost the original signature Vietnamese recipes and heritage which is a little disappointing.

In the mean time, I'm going to keep patronizing restaurants like Cao Nguyen so they can continue to churn out time honor family recipes to share with us all.

The owner was so sweet. She even asked me how was the food and my dining experience. Such...

Cao Nguyên Restaurant offers traditional Vietnamese dishes, with highlights like broiled catfish and seafood hot pot. The flavors are fresh, and the portions are generous, making it a solid choice for family-style dining. Service is friendly, though wait times can be long during peak hours.

The dining area is simple and functional, lacking in decor but focusing on authentic, well-prepared dishes. Prices are reasonable, and food quality remains consistent, making it a reliable option for Vietnamese...

Great authentic Vietnamese dishes. I come here weekly for my Thai seafood,sour soup and catfish or pork stew. The lotus roots salad with shrimp is very refreshing with vinergret dressing. Their Thai fried rice is the best. Though some dishes are a hit and miss so I usually stay with my favorite dishes. If you like fish, you should also try the whole steamed striped bass. It's served with a plate full of fresh vegetables and rice paper so you can make your own rolls and dip...