Nem

This review is for Grilled pork roll aka nem nuong.
First of all, I would like to say their grilled pork roll is pretty good, the taste and their replica of the dipping sauce is very close to Brodard restaurant. But… yes, there is a but to this, NOoOo way… oh yes way… let’s continue reading shall we???
LOCATION: In the CVS Pharmacy/​Payless Shoe/​El Pollo Loca, behind Jumpa Thai restaurant plaza on Brookhurst & Chapman Street.
SERVICE: service was nice and friendly.
FOOD — PROS:
***Less wait time for the roll than Brodard.
***Grilled pork roll made to order, which is great! :)
***Price — $ 1.50/each (As of February 2016)
***Taste – very much like Brodard
***Dipping sauce – a great replica of Brodard also, but I didn’t see the ground pork in this dipping sauce or maybe I am blind? Someone tell me you agree and tell me I am NOT blind here. :) …But the dipping sauce tasted good too.
FOOD — CONS:
****PLASTIC WRAP**** so here is where this but had arise. I, of course knew they wrap their rolls individually with plastic wrap (which I think it is unnecessary), but I think this is their way of making the rolls not get stuck to each other and rip/​fall apart from the rice paper.
While I was changing, my mom not knowing that the roll had been wrapped with plastic had eaten ¹⁄₃ of the plastic on the pork roll itself. She didn’t know until I came back and told her to take off the plastic wrapper first. (You might think is funny right??? But if you think about it, what if this happens to your own parents, grandparents, friends, or your kids???)
So there is my BUT to this review, I hope you will take precautions and take off the plastic wrappers before you munch on these rolls. (This applies to TOGO orders on the grilled pork rolls – Nem nuong.)
***TO THE MANAGERS***
—you should create some sort of sticker and stick it on your TOGO rolls so people will know to take off these plastic wrappers OFF before they consume them.
—OR better yet, can you stop wrapping them individually in plastic wrappers, because this is a hazardous here.

I’ve been here a couple of times and each time I’ve gotten something different. However, my favorite has to be the combo with fries, a drink, and two rolls of nem nuong. I do really like the bo bia roll too!
Let’s start off with the pros. This place is a relatively quaint place, not too big, not too small, and it’s normally pretty quiet. Then again that’s probably because I come when it’s pretty empty. If you’re into those typical, ascetic-​vibes restaurant, then this is the perfect place for you. The rolls aren’t too pricey too, and they have other options on the menu if you’re not into rolls! The sauces that they give you are pretty decent as well, but taste a little different from the typical sauces you get at Brodard Château; the peanut sauce that came with the bo bia was a little weird, but that’s probably because I’m used to a different taste. The waiters were also very nice and gives you lots of napkins and attention, but then again, that’s probably because I typically come when it’s now as crowded.
Now to begin with the cons. I’m not sure if it’s just the timing or the days I come on, but the place is always empty and there are hardly any employees working so it looks really desolate and sad. The portion sizes are also disappointing when you consider the other options besides rolls. It’s obvious that they, being a nem place, would of course focus more on the rolls than the other dishes they offer. At the end of the day, these factors would make it 4 stars for me, but the fact that it’s just a typical Vietnamese rolls place with nothing special and no wow factor really makes it a 3 stars.
Overall, they attempt to offer a very Asian-​fusion vibe going into it, but leaving the place, I realized that there’s nothing special or superb about the place. The food is good, portion sizes are a meh, and place is clean.

We came here because my uncle saw their TV commercial and we were scrambling to find a place to eat for lunch before my cousin left for Chicago later that evening.
It’s in a nice quiet area of Garden Grove, where all the other food places are at. It’s right next to the Mongolian Hot Pot place and Claws, the Crawfish Place. It’s still kinda brand new so when we went, there weren’t that many people. Plus, there’s lots a free parking.
The menu was really limited and I was surprised how little options there were. To be honest, there was like at most 3 or 4 authentic Vietnamese dishes whereas the other dishes were pretty Americanized and really catered to everyone else (who probably don’t know Vietnamese dishes).
I ordered the garlic noodles with beef, which I thought was alright. Plus, it was nothing too special. My cousin had the Hawaiian fried rice, which I thought was nice and light and wasn’t too oily like most other places. I tried their nem rolls and their snails, which I also think wasn’t too special. My aunt ordered their soup which came with noodles but she was complaining how little noodles they gave her to eat LOL
Service was slow. Probably won’t come back.

Forget Brodard, this is the best go to place for nem cuong. Equal taste/​quality for a lower price and without the long wait. They currently have an awesome deal, 20 nem cuong rolls for $ 25, which is $ 1.25/roll. Brodard is way over priced at $ 1.75/roll. Competition is great for us footies.

The nem nuong is a very suitable substitute for Brodard. Nearly identical really. The sauce is also very similar but Brodard still sets the standard. Nem is super convenient for those times when you don’t feel like driving all the way to Little Saigon to satisfy the craving. I’ll swing by every so often to pick up some nem nuong and their bay leaf chicken wings. Although I’m not sure why they call them bay leaf wings because I’m pretty sure they are made with basil.

I come here to grab a quick lunch. :) I’ve only tried the nem nuong rolls — they’re on the smaller size but yummy! I usually order 5 rolls to go (which is exactly $ 8.10, including tax). They accept card here! The sauce always comes out nicely warm. I don’t like driving all the way to Westminster for Brodard during lunch time. Here, I always find parking. The place is clean, never crowded (I literally wait like 5 minutes for my food), and the employees are friendly and actually smile. :)

I was wondering around trying to figure out what to pick up for dinner. I remember a fellow Unilocaler have checked in here. So I called them thinking I don’t want to wait.
I ordered 2 orders of Nem Nuong Rolls (4pcs) it was as good as Brodard. but smaller in size I think. I like Brodard ’ s Nem better.
Ordered 1 order of bbq shrimp rolls (2pcs) it was meh… nothing like brodard’s.
Ordered 1 order of summer rolls (2pcs) I am kind of torn in terms of liking and unliking this. Like the egg, chinese sausage and jicama. But what I don’t like is basil and how small or thin slice of the chinese sausage.
The bay leaves wings, OMG the smell of them on my 5 minute drive home was torture… in a good way. it made me want to just race and drive super fast to go home and get my claws on them wings.
But when I actually ate them. They were just ok. perfectly cooked yes. But not what I had picture what a bay leaf wings to be… i suppose I had pictured it to ve marinated coated with bay leaves mixture… but it was just deep fried accompanied by bay leaves.
Will I come back? Sure. if I don’t want to wait for brodard and want to save $ 2.

The nem nuong or pork roll is delicous. But it’s not the typical way serve. Here the dish is 2 rolls not 3 or 4 like other places.
The food here is also good. But the name of the restaurant is name after nem so it’s better to get it specialty. But that my opinion. You can try other items if you wish. They also got a combo. Pretty good deal.
It is very clean here. Not that noisy either.
It has like a new generation pop vibe.
The waiter and waitress is very friendly also.

This is one of the best nem nuong place. Same recipe and price as the Westminster location.
Parking is better here and there are tables to sit. This location is new so it’s clean and the sink is outside the restroom — makes washing your hands easier without opening any doors.
Nem nuong is really good and so is their sauce. This place is just as good as Brodard without the wait. Call in first and pick up your order if you don’t want to wait for them to make the rolls.
They accept credit card!

I came with my boyfriend to try a different restaurant that we haven’t been to. We came here and tried the snails, Chinese sausage roll and pork roll. Everything was decent.
The snails had a very bitter aftertaste and seemed to be cooked with some type of Asian mint which didn’t taste good to me since I hate that mint.
The sausage rolls were good but had that Asian mint which I absolutely hate so that ruined the roll for me.
The pork roll didn’t have the Asian mint which is a plus for me. And the taste was good.
Lol can you tell I hate mint? I wish Asian restaurants including this one made the mint an optional thing rather than taking it upon themselves to just add it and assume everyone likes it.
I ordered my food to go and the girl who was taking my order was getting on my nerves. Employees shouldn’t hover over there customers while they are trying to figure out what to order. She was nice but geez give your customers some space!
The restaurant was clean which was a plus since most Asian restaurants don’t seem to put a high emphasis on this. The waitresses were dressed too casual for what the restaurant looked. They looked very unprofessional.
Overall I won’t come here again but always nice to try new places even if those restaurants aren’t to your expectations.

My husband and I recently ate here, the Nem rolls are really good, especially the sauce’s so delicious. We shared 2 Nem rolls, hawaiian fried rice and Hot pot, the food came out very fast and fresh .
Nice decoration, nice service .
We will come back again to try more food here !!!

BF ate already so I wanted something light and since we were in this plaza already, I decided to give this place a try. Walked in and it was completely empty. We were the only customers the whole time we were there to get my food for takeout.
What I got:
Summer Rolls aka Bo Bia ($ 3): favorite type of spring roll! So of course I had to try it here… it has chinese sausage, jicama, egg, basil, and dried shrimp? That’s what bo bia should have anyway… could have added more chinese sausage and egg since it just had a strip of it on the outside of the roll. Dipping sauce was like a warm hoisin sauce, which could have tasted better.
Nem Nuong Rolls ($ 3): had to try it since it’s their name basically… you have to eat it fresh so that the crunchy part stays crunchy! Nem slice was a little thin in my opinion. Dipping sauce for this one wasn’t that good though. I couldn’t really taste anything.
Service:
Nice girl. BF and I stood there awhile because I couldn’t decide between the spring roll, bbq noodle roll, or the nem nuong roll. It’s made to order so they won’t wrap it until you order it! TV’s had the Discover Channel on so I thought that was kind of cool and better than just playing music. I’d probably come back to try the other rolls if I was in the area again.

Every time I go to Jumpa Thai I think, I should really try Nem right across the way. But I always forget, and it’s really hard to change my mind once I’ve settled on Jumpa Thai. Then one day, as we were driving around aimlessly, not knowing where we should eat, my GF finally exclaimed «how about Nem?» Perfect, can’t go wrong with a light Asian meal.
Let’s face it, everyone knows Brodard has the best nem nuong rolls. Their sauce sets them apart. But I have to say, I enjoyed Nem as much as I did Brodard, just comparing rolls of course. Nem has a limited menu, but what they do have, they do it well.
Sauce — I really loved that it was served nice and hot. It was almost like a soup, with strong flavors of crab and shrimp coming through. The consistency was just right.
Nem nuong rolls — BBQ pork had a balanced sweetness and grilled flavor. The egg roll wrapper had the perfect crunch and gave a nice contrast in texture.
BBQ shrimp rolls — essentially a shrimp patty that resembled the BBQ pork. The shrimp was a nice alternative, having a softer texture and a hint of spices.
BBQ noodle rolls — nem nuong rolls with vermicelli instead of the crispy egg roll wrapper. There was also bean sprouts (a little too much for my liking). This was served with a peanut hoisin sauce. A lighter alternative to the many rolls we had.
Spring rolls — same as above, but boiled shrimp and pork replace the BBQ pork. The meat was moist and created an even lighter and healthier, as you will, option.
If I’m craving spring rolls, I no longer have to make the trek to Westminster. All the ingredients Nem uses in their rolls are fresh and well balanced. I really hope people will give this place a chance!

So I understand that most people who come here are probably comparing this place to the famous Brodard. While I enjoy Brodard myself, I would say that Nem is just as good. The menu is pretty small. They have rolls, fried rice with fillet mignon, vermicelli with grilled pork, and some appetizers.
Food: I tried the nem nuong, BBQ noodle, BBQ shrimp, and spring rolls. The BBQ shrimp rolls are 2 for $ 3.50. The other 3 are 2 for $ 3.00. The meat is really good quality. My favorite was the shrimp roll. Very well flavored. The sauce that you dip them in tastes like a shrimp/​crab soup, not at all fishy. It was really delicious.
Service: There were two people in the restaurant. They were both incredibly nice and polite. They asked me if I had been there before and thanked me for coming in. The woman told me to check in on Unilocal to get a 10% discount. Just based on service alone, I would come back. I really appreciate with the business takes time to converse with customers.

Brodard spring rolls without the Brodard madhouse craziness. No crazy wait, no hoards of people. In. hungry, out. satisfied.

I like this place because you can get brodard-​esque spring rolls in Anaheim, without having to encounter all of the crowds and terrible drivers that a trip to Garden Grove entails. Everyone will say that the nem nuong here is not as good as that one place. But frankly, they are very very similar, even down to the crispy eggroll wrappers that they put inside. The only noticeable difference for me was the dipping sauce, which looked similar, but tasted pretty awful. The spring roll had similarly fresh ingredients and was equally satisfying.
I’m not too sure how well they will do with such a limited menu, but I appreciate the fact that I can swing by after the gym to pick up a quick, cheap and relatively healthy snack.

I think this is pretty cute and modern with it’s atmosphere and presentation.
The rolls here are pretty decent, with proportions of ingredients slightly different than what I normally see. Nothing new, but I would say they’re just slightly dressed up from the average roll. Each roll came with their own respective kind of sauce, and we’re pretty yummy.
Basil fried chicken was also yummy! I like eating the basil leaves =P
Nothing spectacular, but a pleasant spot to hit up for a lunch date. Prices are similar to others, but I’d say pretty good for the atmosphere.
The server was also very nice and generous with the compliments XD.
I’d come back.

Pretty good food. I hope the quality stays the same! I came here with two other girls and we ordered a combo, garlic fries, bay leaf wings, and another order of the spring rolls. Everything was pretty good! I really like the bay leaf wings because they’re not stingy with their basil and I love basil! Will definitely come back here to eat :)
Probably something they should do is to hire a someone who can speak English and maybe write a description of what is in the springs rolls. Also, service is a little slow.

We saw the Grand Opening sign and decided to skip out on our usual Jumpa Thai dinner and check out what Nem had to offer.
We sat immediately and ordered one of each roll to see what it was all about. We also ordered a filet dish with rice.
The rolls came 2 per order and were served alongside a dipping sauce. My favorite was the nem nuong and the summer roll. But if we’re comparing apples to apples and pair up the rolls to Brodards I’d have to give Nem only a 3-​star. Decent rolls, but nothing to rave about at all. I wouldn’t crave it but if I were in the area and wanted to grab a quick bite of a roll it would suffice.

A place for nem nuong? Sure, I said. After the gym.
Got an order of nem nuong (2 rolls) and an order of summer rolls (or bo bia, and also 2). Rolls were fast, good, and inexpensive.
Service was friendly and the place is new and clean. Waitress was busy explaining what a nem nuong was and I had to stop her, lol. The rolls aren’t quite as good as Brodard, but they were excellent regardless.
They say the menu is expanding and I am excited for that. In the meantime, it satisfied my nem nuong craving.
Thumbs up!