Vietnamese SoCal: a guide to Little Saigon

Phở 79

Garden Grove · Restaurant

One of Little Saigon's longest-running phở (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) houses, open since the early 1980s and a MICHELIN Guide Bib Gourmand. A reliable, family-friendly first bowl for newcomers.

🗓️ Wed–Mon ~7am–9pm; closed Tue

💵 $ noodle soups

Little Saigon (Bolsa Ave corridor)

Westminster

The largest Vietnamese community outside Vietnam, centered on the Bolsa Avenue corridor across Westminster and Garden Grove. Families find phở and bánh mì shops, bakeries, jewelry stores, herbal shops, and Lunar New Year (Tết) celebrations within a few blocks.

🗓️ Open daily; shops generally 10am–7pm

Asian Garden Mall (Phước Lộc Thọ)

Westminster

Opened in 1987 as the first and largest Vietnamese American mall in the U.S. and the heart of Little Saigon. Two stories of jewelry shops, áo dài tailors, herbal stalls, and a Vietnamese food court, with major Tết and Mid-Autumn festivities.

🗓️ Open daily ~10am–7pm; summer weekend night market

A Dong Supermarket

Westminster

A Vietnamese and pan-Asian grocery directly across Bolsa Avenue from the Asian Garden Mall, with fresh seafood, produce, and pantry staples such as rice, fish sauce, noodles, and herbs used in Vietnamese cooking.

🗓️ Open daily ~8am–10pm

Our Lady of La Vang Shrine (Christ Cathedral)

Garden Grove

An outdoor Catholic shrine on the Christ Cathedral campus, blessed in 2021, centered on a statue of Our Lady of La Vang and honoring a Marian apparition tied to Vietnamese Catholics in 1798. A meaningful prayer and pilgrimage site for Vietnamese American Catholic families.

🗓️ Daytime, ~8:30am–5pm (call to confirm)

UVSA Tết Festival (Golden West College)

Huntington Beach · Festival

The largest student-run Vietnamese Lunar New Year (Tết) festival in the U.S., organized by the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of Southern California, with lion dances, cultural performances, food booths, games, and a flower-and-cultural village. Recent editions are at Golden West College; confirm each year's venue.

🗓️ Late Jan/Feb (Lunar New Year), 3-day weekend

💵 ~$10 admission; free in traditional dress (limited windows)

Chùa Điều Ngự (Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple)

Westminster

A Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist temple and community gathering place hosting worship, meditation, and observances including Tết and Vesak (the Buddha's birthday). Modest dress is customary and visitors typically remove shoes before entering the shrine halls.

🗓️ Open daily ~8am–9pm; busiest on Buddhist holidays