Com Tam Thien Hao: Experience Authentic Vietnamese Broken Rice Dishes

We came during tet weekend, so it was extremely crowded! Major props to the whole restaurant for keeping everything organized and clean. We had to wait about 30 minutes, but again, they were basically the only com tam restaurant open nearby, so we expected a lot of people. Everyone was nice, and the food came out right away. The meat is flavorful! It's top on my OC com tam list now :)

I ordered. #40 after being to finally released from UCI Medical. I chose #40 because it was especially curated to my liking. Yes, there was a 10 minute wait.

The food was amazing! The soup that came with the combo was delish but could be warmer. The service was great. The ambiance was clean but a little cramped. The only downside is that the combos don't have eggs. We had to pay extra $2 for eggs. For the price, eggs should've been included. Averaging $17 per plate. To be fair, the portion was a bit generous

Had the food here with my family today and it was so good. What drew me in was the smell of Vietnamese pork chops grilling coming out as smoke through their roof. I was exiting Costco and could smell it through my car. And I looked to see where it was coming from. You can see a smoke stack coming out from the top of the restaurant. Kinda took me back to the streets of Vietnam. The service was quick and the portions were huge. I would stray away from the Pho but the rice dishes are on point. I order the combination plate with pork chop, fried bean curd fish cake, shrimp meat ball on sugar cane, shredded pork skin, and egg meat loaf. Meats were all tender with lots of flavor. The smokiness from the meat and the nice char gave it extra flavor. You can tell they grilled the meats over an open flame. Definitely coming back here. Only complaint is they forgot to give us water and our drinks until after we were finish eating. I forgot to take pictures because I was so hungry.

Popular among the locals, this place serves really really good com tam (broken rice). I was recommended this place by my Vietnamese friend. This place was still super busy on a Wednesday later lunch (around 1pm), where I still needed to wait 15 minutes for a table. Just note that the restaurant is mostly 4-top tables, so if you are a solo diner, you may be paired up with someone to share a table, which is not as awkward as you think as they will set it up so that it is two 2-tops separated by just the napkins and utensils. As long as both parties consent, this will drastically reduce wait times, which was what I did. I got the #41 combo which is super large portions. You could have 1.5 nice meals from just that, but because I was extremely hungry, I got super full from eating the entire plate. The combo also comes with soup and fish sauce. As is the case for most com tam plates, it comes with shredded pork skin, egg cake, and vegetables, on top of BBQ pork, grilled shrimp on sugarcane, fried shrimp cake. The BBQ pork is very flavorful, though kind of slightly charred which is easy to remove those parts. The grilled shrimp is very good - it is like a shrimp paste, and similarly goes for the fried shrimp cake which is a little bit heavy. The broken rice is fairly flavorful. The egg cake and shredded pork skin adds depth and texture to the dish. Service is fast and fairly hands-off, which is very okay for a casual lunch. You pay up front, noting your table number, or in my case because of a shared table, the table number and specifically what you ordered, so they ring you up the correct amount. Overall, this is one of the better com tam restaurants in the Garden Grove / OC area!

Whenever I visit OC, l would order to go and it only takes them 10-15 mins. (order in advance). l don't think I'll be eating at the restaurant anymore (ONLY TO GO) because l just realised they automatically charge 15% gratuity of 5 or even when your child doesn't eat. l can't justify that cuz Viet/Chinese restaurant don't have good service, they take your order and bring the food that's all !! l usually don't write about service at any asian restaurants unless it's fine dining asian restaurants, but automatic gratuity with shitty service gets me. The restaurant is small and typical ugly furnishings, but good Com Tam.

Cơm tấm bì, chả, sườn nướng, chạo tôm, tàu hủ ky - (5/5) Food: The restaurant is known for their Cơm Tấm dishes. The dishes come in big portions and packed with flavor. Service: Customers can expect steady and reliable service, although there might be a wait, especially during peak hours. Ambiance: The small size of the restaurant contributes to a consistently bustling atmosphere. Knowing Vietnamese can enhance the overall ordering and communication experience.