Brodard Vietnamese Cuisine

With the largest Vietnamese population outside of the country of Vietnam, Orange County is lucky to have so many Vietnamese restaurants that even counting all of them seems impossible – any individual plaza in Westminster or Garden Grove can easily have five or more to choose from, each specializing in different or overlapping dishes. For nearly 30 years, Brodard has been a constant in the community, somehow managing to serve more dishes and customers than most of the county’s other Vietnamese restaurants, while at the same time remaining high on “best” lists across some of its key offerings.

Although it’s sometimes said locally that Brodard isn’t the best at anything it offers (except for its famous Nem Nuong Cuon pork rolls, which are a must-get every time), the more complex reality is that this one restaurant in Fountain Valley somehow manages to cover all the key bases of varied northern, central, and southern Vietnamese cuisines, and do a more than good job with everything it serves. For locals and tourists alike, it’s a one-stop way to learn about Vietnamese foods in ways that just aren’t possible across most of the United States.

As just one example, Brodard offers more than 10 different types of summer rolls, including:

• Their most famous roll ($2.75 each) is made with grilled pork and called Nem Nuong Cuon – a virtually perfect combination of grilled ground pork with vegetables and crispy rice paper shreds, wrapped in fresh rice paper and served at room temperature.
• The similar-looking Nem Nuong Bo Cuon ($3.25 each) features fermented beef instead of pork, and while it tastes very similar, it comes with a thin fermented fish sauce instead of Brodard’s beloved, mysterious pork dip.
• Roasted duck spring rolls (Goi Cuon Fit) go for $6 each and arrive with modestly flavored shreds rather than chunks of duck meat inside, plus asparagus, scallions, and cucumbers. A thick plum sauce is included for dipping.
• Bi Cuon ($2.50 each), Saigon-style spring rolls, are made with shredded pork, pork skin, and crushed rice powder, then served with a lime chili fish sauce – chili on the side.
• Both served with a mild soy vinaigrette sauce, Eggplant Tempura Rolls ($3 each) with asparagus and Vegetarian Spring Rolls (Bi Chay Cuon, $2.75 each) made with tofu and mushrooms are the only meat-free options.
• Characteristically bright yellow and green, Bo Bia ($2.50 each) include shredded egg, peanuts, basil leaves, and sweet Chinese pork sausage, served with a plum sauce dip.
• And Ahi Rolls (Ca Ahi Cuon, $6 each) include chunks of seared Ahi tuna with mango and avocado, arriving with an unusual mustard soy sauce.

Beyond the summer rolls, Brodard is well-regarded for its fried pork and seafood egg rolls, steamed duck buns, bun vermicelli, chicken curry, and spicy beef salad, which are all at least very good, and sometimes great. Lesser known street food items such as Banh Khot Tom shrimp rice cakes and Banh Xeo crispy savory panckes are more than competent here, as well.