Hoang Gia Cafe & Catering

When it comes to Vietnamese nem nuong spring rolls, virtually everyone in Orange County agrees that Fountain Valley’s Brodard serves Orange County’s best version – a soft rice paper wrapper loaded with grilled pork paste, a block of crispy egg roll skins, and vegetables, plus a mysterious dipping sauce made from ground pork, fish, and seafood ingredients. But in Westminster, Hoang Gia Cafe & Catering has entered the fray with its own excellent version that goes toe-to-toe with Brodard’s.

Although there’s no way that Hoang Gia can hope to match the volume of nem nuongs Brodard now sells through multiple locations every day, this small restaurant with a larger catering business uses fresher-tasting pork nem nuong and crispier rice paper to make its rolls punchier. It even has a version of Brodard’s magical dip, which originates in Nha Trang, Vietnam, and while we’d still give Brodard the edge on sauce, Hoang Gia’s rolls are superior before they’re dipped.