Thanh Binh II

by Julie M.

Had the combination fried rice plate (beef, shrimp, Chinese sausage) for to-go. I ordered that cuz it was the first thing I saw on the menu and I ordered under duress. I didn't come prepared! I hate walking into a crowded restaurant (it was my first time so I didn't know what to expect) and standing awkwardly by the small cash register amidst the diners hurriedly looking at the menu to hurriedly place my order. So needless to say,I ordered the first thing I saw under rice plates. Oh, and a Thai tea boba! Total came to about $8 and I waited outside in their "patio dining area" - basically two sets of plastic lawn tables and chairs.My order was ready in 10 mins and I drove back to the safety of my workplace breakroom to eat it. Man, talk about a massive plate! I had enough to eat for lunch, and then take the rest home to have two more meals out of it! It was tasty but I think the next time I go back (dammit, I forgot to ask for a take-out menu!!), I'll order someting else since fried rice is not very adventurous.

by Laura V.

this place has something like 300 things on the menu.  it RULES!  i love their tofu summer rolls with that scrumptous peanut sauce.  i usually get vegetables and tofu chop suey with rice or noodles.  when i'm not feeling too calorie conscious i'll get the crispy noodles.  big, thick rice noodles fried on the outside so that the inside is all delicious and gooey.  probably terrible for you but i guess that's why they say things are "to die for".  and let me tell you, it is... to die for.  and fun to eat!  they do tofu really well.  very firm but not too fried - i like that!  great range of veggies.  always lots of bok choy (and i'm a whore for bok choy).  the people that work there are really friendly, the food comes out fast, and it's cheap.  the only thing that's a bummer is the seating situation.  sometimes you have to share the long table with another group of people... which can be awkward.  but there is outside seating if you feel too crowded inside.  lunch gets busy, i find the best time to go is early dinner!

by joseph k.

Went there for lunch to satisfy my pho craving. I've been to five other pho places near Irvine area and this place hit the nail on the head. I ordered pho number 2. There some important factors when it comes to pho.1. Greasiness of the soup2. Temperature of the soup.3. Tenderness of the meat.4. Noodle texture.This place has done every perfectly. The soup didn't have any oil floating around. The soup was steaming hot. The meat was oh so tender. The noodles were every soft and separated easily. The friendly service was an added bonus. I can't say much about any other dishes but the pho was excellent.

by Robert C.

Nestled in a Stripmall next to Sushi Restaurant, a Hookah Bar, and a Texas BBQ, is this small little Vietnamese Restaurant. It's a quintessential little family owned Asian Restaurant; Menu in 2 languages posted on the window, small tables, cramped conditions, handwritten checks, and pretty good food.Well, mostly good food.I've been eating pho since my freshman year of college, and in terms of pho restaurants, the food here is ok. It's not the best pho I've had, it's not the worst. The serving sizes are average (small, medium, large), the spring rolls are diverse (but they have mint). In short, if you're looking for pho, this is as good a place as any to get it, if you're just in the mood for pho.And I like it. I'm not in love with it, but I will go here again and again and again, 'cause it's close. It's not pretentious. The thick stiff round plasticy black chairs go well with the Pink walls - Lolita's dream maybe? The servers will ask you if you want a fork if you're white. They will nod appreciatively if you try to do your best to order in Vietnamese, than ask you which number you want. Oh yeah, the menu's numbered. They will force together tables to accommodate large groups, making one long table. The wait staff wears Nike shoes and sweatpants.In short, it's good Vietnamese comfort food in the middle of a stripmall in the middle of orange county. It's the same food you can get elsewhere, but somewhat rarer in what is technically south county. You can put this restaurant in Garden Grove, Walnut, Westminster, anywhere, and it'd be exactly the same. What more can you expect?

by Anita L.

You know you're not in Westminster anymore when the staff go out of their way to appease fussy clientele. I listened while this man at the next table described a dish he's had before to the man taking the order. Obviously it wasn't on the menu but the man spent a good 7 minutes listening and then finally, agreeing to make this dish for the diner. I was impressed.Then, another group came in and they were difficult too. No problem. Another member of staff patiently took their requests so everyone was happy.Had this been in Westminster, I know what would happen. You'd get a 'don't have' or just a plain "NO" and that's the end of that. However, the clientele in this restaurant were mostly non-Asian, let alone Vietnamese (there were only 3 Vietnamese people in the restaurant when I was there and it was packed) so I'm guessing good service is essential to stay in business.I wanted something hot and soupy so ended up getting the #38 (Mi Ga  Ca Tom). The description says fish, chicken and shrimp egg noodles. Fish did not sound appetizing to me so I asked the man if it was fish cake. He said it was fish balls -- good enough! I'm happy with fish balls. The only condiments I got was a plate of bean sprouts, some sliced chilis and a wedge of lime. Hmmm, what happened to the rest of it?My noodles were just okay. I mean, I wanted something hot and soup, that's what I got. I guess I should've specified that I wanted something with flavor as well? The first thing I noticed was the pungent smell of ammonia in my egg noodles. This is very common with egg noodles and is a vital component of the rubbery texture. While Chinese noodle houses provide you with vinegar to cut out that nasty ammonia smell, I didn't see vinegar on the table at Thanh Binh. I guess they should've rinsed the noodles out a bit more before using.The noodle to ingredients ratio was good. They weren't stingy on the chicken that's for sure, but the chicken was very dry and were thickly sliced, not shredded like you usually get with mi ga. The portion size was smaller than what you'd get in Westminster in terms of the amount of noodles but I liked the sizing here, it was more than enough for me and I don't feel like I'm wasting when I don't finish the noodles.So while it's not unimaginable to crave Vietnamese noodles down this end of OC it is definitely much harder to find something comparable to what you'd find in lil Saigon. I wasn't impressed by the food, but the service blew me away.  If it's superb service you want, or something of your own creation you'd like to try out on a restaurant, then this is definitely the place for you. Otherwise, for a far better bowl of noodles, go to the other side of Lake Forest Drive to Pho Bo Vang (http://www.yelp.com/bi...).1 star for the food2 stars for the superb customer service.OH --- wait a minute --- MSG alert -- just a bit, but still enough for that tingly sensation on the tongue effect.

by joseph k.Jason K.Reinier D.Martin K.QueerInMySoup C.

Went there for lunch to satisfy my pho craving. I've been to five other pho places near Irvine area and this place hit the nail on the head. I ordered pho number 2. There some important factors when it comes to pho.1. Greasiness of the soup2. Temperature of the soup.3. Tenderness of the meat.4. Noodle texture.This place has done every perfectly. The soup didn't have any oil floating around. The soup was steaming hot. The meat was oh so tender. The noodles were every soft and separated easily. The friendly service was an added bonus. I can't say much about any other dishes but the pho was excellent.I've been to a number of Vietnamese Pho places, but this is still one of the two places I go to whenever I come home to Lake Forest (the other being Asian Pearl Chinese restaurant in Mission Viejo).  My family has been coming here for years and we love it each time.As far as Pho goes, it's pretty good.  I am not Pho expert, though.  I really like this place because of the many many other entrees available.  Things like rice and noodle dishes that aren't in soup.We always get the fried egg rolls that you wrap in lettuce and dip in fish sauce.  I don't eat pork in general, but this is one of my treasured exceptions.Some of the beef/chicken quality can be a little questionable in some dishes, which is why I get the shrimp pan fried noodles every time (without the mushrooms and celery).  The noodles are super crispy and the sauce is very flavorful.I'd give this place 4 stars because of the quality issues with some meats and the on-the-high-side prices ($7-$8 for an entree with no leftovers), but the enjoyment I get from the egg rolls and shrimp pan fried noodles is something I have not been able to find in any other Vietnamese restaurant, which is why it stands out as being 5 star worthy to me.I love Thanh Binh 2. I try and order something different from there menu all the time.I much prefer this place than there sister company Pho the Bowl. Waiters here at Thanh Binh 2 are so polite and pleasant to be served by.My recommendation No. 95. Or go with the fail-safe superbowl No. 1. Any kine there delicious. I highly recommend this place since there isn't too many Pho places in South County this has to be the best one.Went today (Sunday) for lunch.  The place was pretty busy, but the service was outstanding.  We received our Cha Gio and Pho in record setting speed.  Had the special combo #1 (all types of meat) pho.  The meat was of good quality and the large bowl was very filling.  The broth was not as flavorful as some other places, but the overall effect was very positive.  Definitely nice to have a good quality Pho place in our neighborhood.  Prices are good.One of the oddest things happened to me last night: we actually got good service at a pho restaurant.  The server greeted us with a smile, obsessively made sure all was ok and he even finished my sentences:  ME: Excuse me. Can I have more . . . SMILING WAITER: Water? ME: Yes, but how did you ... wow. After several episodes of Vietnamese abuse in Little Saigon (that's Westminster for all you non-Southern Californians), I thought bad service was a requisite of getting really good pho.  And, guess what?  I think it is. The dish we received (http://tinyurl.com/ybu...) was just about average, nothing special.  It was comfort food at best.  Sure, the beef was good quality, but definitely not high grade.  And something about the rice noodles wasn't the same as we would get at eateries where we would normally get ignored.  So, although it was good, I wouldn't go out of my way to bring out of town guests here.  So lesson learned: the next time a waiter at the local Pho restaurant smiles at me like he just got laid, it might be a distraction.

by laura j.

The #11 is really good!!!! Crispy rice noodles with veggies (cabbage, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, baby corn) and choice of tofu or meat.  I shared the tofu one with my sister when she took me here for lunch the other day.  I have never had the chow fun type noodles pan fried.  They were nice and crispy, all stuck together, so you need a fork to eat it.  We also ordered the beef spring rolls.  We liked them because they didn't put shrimp in the rolls (although you can order a shrimp spring roll) and the beef had a nice flavor.  The dipping sauce which I think was supposed to be peanut was dark compared to other places I have had, and it didn't have a strong peanut flavor.  Those two items cost $12.  Good deal, for lunch for two people.

by Joan Kartwright K.

The staff here speaks best English out of all the pho joints that i've been to. If you tell them that it's your first time trying Vietnamese food. Or if they notice that you're struggling, they will help you out. They also come to check on your table to see if you're doing okay, which is rare for a pho place. They give you reasonable quality/amount of food for reasonable price. They get very busy during lunch hours so be prepared to sit three inches away from total strangers. Service is fast though.4.0

by Vera V.

This place is awful.  I was craving Pho and unfortunately Pho Bo Vang is closed on Sundays.  So I went here to order a small number one and the vietnamese egg rolls.  Well, I think it's just the fact that they don't have the ratio of noodles to broth right.  It felt more like noodles with broth, but with hardly any soup!  I honestly couldn't even get half way through the thing.  Then the egg rolls were just okay.  Something didn't taste right there either.  I know I may be judging them too harshly, but I assumed they would have made a better pho than that.  I haven't tried any of the rice dishes and maybe I am just ordering the wrong thing at this point.  I just don't feel like pho is their strong point at all.  Though I guess to find good pho the place has to have the word Pho in the name of the establishment!  They also totally forgot my drink and when I brought it up to the cashier to remove it from the bill he insisted in serving me my iced coffee to go. So service was mixed.  The girl taking my order even repeated my coffee drink back to me.  I always ask for it in Vietnamese so there is no misunderstanding!  Not sure how she would forget there...The cashier at the end went out of his way to wrap my egg rolls up to go.  As I was driving out of the parking lot I saw the Taco Bell across the street and felt I should have just eaten there instead.  I thought to myself how sad I would prefer Nachos Bellgrande to what I just ate!

by Melissa C.

Came here 'cause I knew they catered more to white people than any Viet place I'd ever eaten at. My boyfriend loves Bun Thit Nuong... as long as there's only rice vermicelli and BBQ Pork in it. The moment you add peanuts or sprouts, he's not as impressed. Of course, the downside here is that the food is not of as high a quality as up the street at Pho Bo Vang. My boyfriend hasn't ever really eaten Vietnamese food, but comparing the same dish at both places, he said that he liked that he got his veggies on the side with extra vermicelli at Thanh Binh with no problem, but he was disappointed that the BBQ Pork wasn't "red" like at Pho Bo Vang. He suggested that next time we go, we stop at Pho Bo Vang for BBQ Pork and then tote it down the street and dump it over vermicelli at Thanh Binh. Some day I'll find a compromise with him!I tended to agree-- the BBQ Pork is better at Pho Bo Vang, but at Thanh Binh, the stuff is also quality-- good texture, not fatty, etc. It's more beef-like in texture, though. The eggrolls at Thanh Binh are pretty greasy, and they aren't so much at Pho Bo Vang. Unfortunately, since Thanh Binh caters more to our finicky palates, me and the boy will most likely come back here more than we'll go to Pho Bo Vang.Skated out of here for $17 with tip for two #60's and two waters.