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- Jul 17, 2023Updated review
We've been coming here for years, and the food is still consistently delicious! Service is usually very quick and friendly. Bring cash because it's cash only.
Dried cornish hen with tomatoe paste fried rice: the chicken was so crispy and perfectly cooked! The chicken is lightly seasoned, but they give you a lemon with salt and pepper if you want more flavor.
Cubed steak with tomato paste fried rice: this is always my go-to here. I love the tomato paste rice paired with beef. The beef is seasoned, but it also comes with lemon and salt and pepper, if you want it saltier.
I love that the dishes come with a little bowl of soup with some veggies. It definitely makes the meal feel even more hearty.Helpful 7Thanks 1Love this 7Oh no 1May 15, 2021Previous reviewWe love coming here for their red rice platter. Prices are good and food is plenty. They are located in the 168 plaza and there's plenty of parking. It's a small little place, but don't let that fool you! They are usually pretty busy.
#3 Red rice (Cubed beef with tomato paste fried rice): Their rice was very light, even though it looked pretty red. I like to squeeze the lemon into the salt and pepper and dip my beef cubes in it. The dish also came with a few slices of cucumber and a light broth soup with some veggies. It was a very generous amount of food and always feeds me two meals or easily sharable with another person. This dish is 5/5 for me. I highly recommend it. - Nov 12, 2023
We ordered hainan chicken rice at Dong Nguyen for to-go many times. It used to be 4 stars quality but now downgraded to 3 stars for me. They didn't give us much chicken meat this time and it was under cooked. Their fried noodle dish was salty and the beef quality was not good. Price was good and portion not small but it was hit and miss. I hope that they will improve their specialty dish (hainan chicken rice) quality.
Helpful 4Thanks 0Love this 3Oh no 0 - AJ A.Los Angeles, CA339Mar 25, 2024
French beef with tomato rice is all I get here. And it's consistently good every time. Large portions and a great price. They're also very friendly.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Tracy C.Monterey Park, CA34616Jan 28, 2024Updated review
It has been over 10 years since my original review and with changes in palate, experiences, and my relationship with food over the last decade, I wanted to come back to share that my thoughts about this restaurant have never changed. Dong Nguyen remains home to comfort Chinese/Vietnamese style cuisine. I still get the hainan chicken + pork chop rice combo. Staff still greet me with excitement and warmth.
Minor noticeable differences:
- The pork chop is no longer bone-in. I've notice in my last several visits that they've started to serve it deboned and cut up. Some inconsistencies in flavor and texture, but nothing significant.
- Because of the pandemic, they had to close down the restaurant for some time. This led to a restructure that affected staff and the way the business operated. Once reopened, service was take-out only for a long time. When the business finally introduced dine-in service back to the public, most of the staff did not return. This definitely changed the ambience of the dining experience as the once hustle and bustle of customers/staff and steady sounds of the door chime are now far and few between.
While it makes me a bit sad, I'd like to think all the changes in the last few years have shifted customers to adapt to phone orders and takeout and that the business is still flourishing. Please continue to support small businesses like this one. I would be heartbroken if this establishment were to ever close its doors in my lifetime.
One other thing that surprisingly has not changed -- CASH ONLY!
I'd also like to note that Dong Nguyen and Savoy have very different takes on their hainan chicken dishes and I've grown to like and appreciate them both. So if you are coming here expecting to have what is served at Savoy, don't. Each establishment has its own unique flair. Please disregard my original review, this is my public apology.Helpful 1Thanks 1Love this 4Oh no 0May 6, 2013Previous reviewI. love. this. place. Their hainan chicken rice is great. It's their sauce that really hits home. Unpopular opinion: it beats overrated Savoy's. I guess it really depends on a person's taste buds. But this is probably the only place I would go to if I wanted hainan chicken rice. I'm not sure about the other dishes. Except this beef thing I ordered before..that was pretty nommy too. I come here so often that waitresses know who I am and what I want the minute I walk in the door. Plus they start you off with soup! For my Chinese/Vietnamese homies out there, it's just like the kind of soup Mama bear makes at home for dinner! Needless to say, I recommend this place.
UPDATE: After posting this review two years ago, I decided to order the hainan chicken and pork chip combination. It has become my new favorite dish and I don't hesitate to order it every time I come. - Solomon C.Pasadena, CA44137326Mar 17, 2024Updated review
Their HaiNan chicken are the best too 3 I had tried. Very low key and quiet place. But you will love their food.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0Apr 18, 2020Previous reviewThis place must opened over 15 years or more. staffs are very friendly, Hai nan Chicken is the best. rice noodles are good.. Singapore style.. beef rice noodle are highly recommended. parking is good. inside decos are simple .. nothing too fancy but you get good and tasty food.
- 4701781020Dec 7, 2022
I'm sad to give this place 3 stars.
I've been here a few times way before the pandemic happened. I'd always get the hainan chicken rice and it was amazing every time.
I stopped coming after I moved to Hacienda Heights and this restaurant just wasn't really on the way whenever I was on this side of SGV. I had to run some errands and decided to stop by Dong Nguyen since i wanted to support the boba shop next door (Moo Tea) after seeing a post on the fb group SGV Eats.
Hainan Chicken: the rice is delicious, just as I remembered it. Lightly flavored with chicken broth. The ginger sauce is yummy as well. The chicken however... although tender and moist, the portion was quite small and most of it was just bones. The portion in general for this dish is just off- takeout box full of rice with very little chicken. There was about 3 pieces with decent amount of meat.
Cubed Steak: the tomato rice is good but not strong in flavor. The steak tasted just ok but the portion size made up for it I guess. I took maybe 3 scoops of rice before I noticed a hair hidden inside :(
Each dish had 4 slices of cucumber and they came with soup. The soup had lots of green leafy veggies and a very small piece of the end of a chicken foot. If you're not a huge fan of chicken feet, don't worry the toe/claw part wasnt included. Loved the soup :)
...but I won't be coming back for a long long time. It's just not what it used to be.
Restaurant is located in a big 168 market plaza. Won't have problems finding a parking spot.
Cash & to-go only.Helpful 4Thanks 0Love this 3Oh no 0 - 274123285Jan 30, 2023
The tomato macaroni with shaking beef (bo luc lac) was so good. I love macaroni in general and the beef was extremely tender. It comes with lime and salt to dip the beef in.
We also go the tomato rice with Cornish hen. The hen/chicken was p small compared to the rice ratio. But it was decent.
This place is located in a large plaza w a lot of parking. This place is cash only!Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 1 - 158159610Jan 27, 2023
This place was my go to spot for Hainan chicken in the 626 area and I have not been able to go to this place in the last couple of years. But when I finally got the chance to go I was disappointed.
It seem that they do not do dine in as all the chairs are stacked on the tables. Got my food to go and was excited to eat it and was a very disappointed The chicken hardly had and meat and mostly I was sucking the little meat off the bone. The rice was okay, but the chicken was not great. The sweet sauce did make the chicken any better.
I might come back to give them another try but it will be a while before I do soHelpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Gloria L.Glendale, Los Angeles, CA14229Mar 25, 2024Updated review
I've been a regular of this place for 20+ years. Quality never changed and remains as good as usual.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0Apr 11, 2021Previous reviewMy all time favorite! Prices are fair and food is delicious, especially their specialty dishes.
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