**** Vien Dong has closed
The day after our aborted vacation, we decided to take a drive up to Garden Grove and check out a restaurant that was included on a list that the ever knowledgeable Wandering Chopsticks so very kindly provided for us. The name of the restaurant is Viendong, and is located on busy Brookhurst street.
The restaurant was fairly large, very bright, clean and roomy. With many large parties having a late lunch.
The menu was full of various dishes that I longed to try, from the Goi Mit(Jack fruit salad) to the Bun Bung.
We ordered some hot tea while we tried to decided what to order…now this is what I call a teapot!
We started with the Banh Tom($5.50):
We ordered this mainly because it was on almost every table…plus it looked really good. Some quick research showed that Banh Tom is "Deep Fried Sweet Potato and Shrimp Patties". Strips of sweet potato(think sweet potato fries) and shrimp are deep fried in a lacquer like batter, and served up with Nuoc Mam Cham and a generous amount of Lettuce, Mint, and Cilantro. We noticed that there were two different "schools" of eating; one set placed everything in a bowl, and ate the Banh Tom out of the bowl, another group did the "wrap" thing…so we tried a little of each. We found that the sweet potato had a very nice and delicate sweet flavor, so delicate, that it was lost when mixed or wrapped with herbs and dipped into the Nuoc Mam…though the textures were interesting. So we kinda just ate them like fries…..
The shrimp had a good crunch and flavor, though there really weren't many of them in the dish. the portion size was quite substantial…and the leftovers were still pretty good!
The Missus went according to character and ordered the Bun Rieu($4.95):
This was a nice looking bowl of Bun Rieu. The first thing we noticed was that the instead of a 
Crab/Shrimp "cake", the crab and shrimp were scattered about the soup. The Missus prefers the condensed flavor of a cake. The broth was very balanced, though quite mild in flavor, and needed the addition of lime and shrimp paste to bring it up. Not a bad bowl, but lacking in the depth of flavor that the Missus desired.
I ordered something I don't ever remember seeing before, Bun Gia Cay (Northern style Pig's Feet Stew – $5.50):
You can tell can't you? Man this was delici-yoso!!! Thick and rich, full of flavor, such a hearty stew. There was a generous amount of Pork Hock, and a plate of "Bun" (Vermicelli) was provided, along with a bowl on the side.
There was a mild curry flavor, and well…..it was just plain good stuff! I'll leave to someone else to describe. Let me just say, it made my day!
The service at Viendong was very good, friendly and helpful. I'm hoping to try some other items on the menu soon.
Thanks for the recommendation WC!
Viendong Restaurant
14271 Brookhurst St
Garden Grove, CA 92843
(714) 531-8253