Tu Thanh

my favorite place for bun rieu, surprisingly. although the bun mang vit is what they’re known for, the bun rieu hits so close to home. they make it just like my momma makes it. lovely comfort. but ordering can be hard since they dont speak any english and the menu is mostly in viet so you better know what you want

No frills hole in the wall place that specializes in one thing — bun mang vit. Even though the other items are pretty good, too, most folks order the duck. Combined with the refreshing salad and fish ginger sauce, the duck is what people come here for so don’t come here to order something else then complain about it. If you do, you’re most likely the type to go to a steakhouse, order chicken, then complain about it. Genius. /​rant
The chicken is also pretty good but not always available especially later in the day. Stick with the duck. Stick with the duck. Noodle soup, bamboo, duck. No surprises.

This place is know for their duck bamboo noodle soup and it was yummy. Many local Vietnamese like this place and often times there will only be Vietnamese there.
If you speak Vietnamese that will be very helpful.
I found myself wanting a little more flavor in my soups but maybe it’s because I’m used to the msg filled ones from other places, so there’s that.
It’s all very healthy tasting and these are very very traditional Vietnamese dishes. Can be hard for westerners but definitely an off the eaten path spot if you’re up for it.

Found this place because of Unilocaling on duck. Specifically bamboo duck soup. Duck was cooked tender and not stinky meaning it was cook perfectly. The soup with noodle and bamboo was brothy. It comes with cabbage salad. The fish sauce mix is a bit sweet for my taste but it’s fine. They have other noodle soups and porridge but I only came for their duck. This is a legit place for bamboo duck soup. Parking is a pain to find. And they are not very good of fast service but be patience.

Im sure glad my mom in law showed me this small corner of eastside. It really should be exploited to all those viet foodies. The staff and owner are very polite and professional. Try and tell me Im wrong, don’t be so skeptical by the outside either.

I don’t think you would spot this place if you drove past it, but if you were to Unilocal some vietnamese dishes, it might turn up. Parking is somewhat difficult but if you are observant, there is a tiny parking lot to the right of the right restaurant past two other establishments. Seating is ample and the food is pretty good. All meals come with a vietnamese salad that consists of some shredded banana stumps and cabbage. It’s pretty tasty if you eat it with the nuoc mam (fish sauce with chili, sugar, lemon, and garlic). I got the banh canh and it wasn’t too bad. It’s better than the banh canh at Minh Ky and Que Huong, but Hoai Hue does this dish better. We also got the bamboo broth soup thing that I forgot the name of.
They were sadly out of bun rieu the day I went, so I’ll be returning next time to check it out.

If you’re sick or have a hankering for some porridge, this is a great place to go. It’s not fancy, it’s family owned. They do it simple, which is what I like. I got the chicken and duck porridge here. The meats were the right consistency. You can tell that the prep is fresh due to the chew. If you’re not used to this kind of texture, just forewarning. The duck is more chewy than the chicken but you can tell its quality stuff, not overpowered by spices, cause you dip it in some fish sauce that has a good amount of ginger in it, real good! The porridge is a big portion! The side slaw brings it together as its lightly coated with dressing for that subtle touch. The place is fairly small but shouldn’t be a problem.

Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a good bowl of noodle soup. They are known for their bun mang viet which is arguably very good. But I like the fat noodle with the chicken, bamboo, and fish cake. I’m kinda going off menu, but the sweet owner lady is always so good about accommodating me. Oh, and I always order extra salad as its only $ 1 and soooooo yummy.

My co-​worker recommended Tu Thanh when I told her I had a hankering for rice porridge. The location isn’t conspicuous and it’s really easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it. This is definitely a mom and pop establishment… don’t expect frills or star service. When I entered, an older female was swatting flies which had the misfortune of finding their way into the restaurant. Fly swatting would deter some people from eating at a restaurant but not this girl-​I was determined to get my rice porridge! I got my order to-​go and the porridge came in a separate container from the meat. The porridge itself was a thick consistency and very bland. The duck meat was a hefty portion and came paired with nuoc mam and greens. If you want a more basic rice porridge I would recommend Tu Thanh but if you’re looking for something more flavorful, I would look elsewhere.

Old school traditional Vietnamese family shop. Street parking only. Lots of delicious items on the menu with no prices. Came here early on a weekday to settle my craving and they weren’t ready for me. A lot of dishes weren’t available that day she told me. So she just made me what ever was closest without telling me. Basically I got a large bowl of chicken noodle soup with obese noodles.
The soup was excellent. Nice chunks of fresh chicken in some of the best chicken broth I’ve ever had. Can’t figure it out. Seemed so simple, yet a lot of great flavor. Noodles were pretty good. Couple spoonfuls of chilli really complements this bowl incredibly. Coming back to try some porridge from a recommendation Angel L. No refills or checking up on you. Their too busy eating their delicious food at the other table.
When I get up to pay, that’s when the charm gets poured on. «You find us on Unilocal?«Yes». «They give us 5 stars.» Maybe when I go back and try some more dishes and see more dishes available, I’ll bump it up to a 5. If you go in just looking for delicious food and nothing else, you’ll love this place. If you need great customer service and fluff, this ain’t the place for you.

Great food. Not so good customer service especially the guy who always at the wall with a laptop, I been here one time and sat on a wet chair.

OMG best viet food in SD!!! It’s literally 2 grandmothers cooking for you. The restaurant has 8 tables. Thought I was in Saigon at a humble mom and pop, specializing in bamboo duck noodle soup. My first thought was «MUST take the parents here when they visit».

I loooooove this place. I love their chicken porridge here. It’s the best in sd. I’m glad they moved to a bigger place. Everything else is good and the service is so welcoming and friendly

Store front is clean and well-​lit.
Parking is a bit tough, street parking in the residential area.
We ordered waaay too much food.
1. Fried Fish cake: they took the shapes of potato wedges, crispy and a good starter.
2. Sausage: it’s not a very salty sausage at all, it is stuffed with lemongrass and so unusual for a sausage.
3. Bamboo shoots noodle with duck salad — noodles sit in the clean broth, side with shredded cabbage, banana flowers, this unknown herb, and steamed duck that came with a ginger sweet and sour sauce. Such a refreshing combination, and what a pleasantly surprising flavor! The duck is juicy and cooked just right, not too fatty at all.
4. The bun rieu cua (crab and shrimp soup noodle) is practically 2-people’s portion. The broth is clean and you can taste the crab and shrimp flavors well. We ordered 2 of this and I feel super horrible to have left behind the 2^nd bowl… noooooooooo!
This also look like a good take out place. I picked up their Vietnamese-​only to go menu, which has a lot more items than the display in the store. Let me go run this all through google translate, lol.

We had an incredible noodle soup, duck, and fried chicken wings. Gets a little hot in here but don’t let that bother you. The fresh bamboo they use was so good I ordered a bowl to go and ate it for 3 days. This is homestyle cooking at its finest… The last time I had food this memorable it was deep in the Asian countryside after travelling all day… And now I just have to drive 7 mins!

Drove 25 miles to try this hole in a wall family owned restaurant. It’s definitely authentic Vietnamese food per hubby. Very generous portions and inexpensive. My bun Rieu was very flavorful, the duck was well cooked and the cabbage salad perfectly seasoned. We will be back.

Epitome of a hidden gem. More people need to find out about this place. It’s simply amazing. A family owned restaurant bringing authentic Vietnamese food to the community.
I used to have to go to OC to find decent «bun mang vit»… But the best has been right down the street!
A big generous bowl comes with perfectly cut pieces of duck or chicken (very moist), a side of fish sauce for dipping, and vegetables all for $ 7.50. What? Yes.
Their duck and broth is the best I’ve ever had. It’s light and refreshing. And they have other soups as well!
The shop is quite limited and has no AC. And you might get hit with the smell of bamboo as you walk but don’t be afraid. Anyway, I recommend either getting it to go, on a cold day, or go at night.
I highly highly HIGHLY recommend. You’re missing out if you haven’t tried it!

I don’t know why my friend wanted to eat here on such a hot day! It’s over 90 degrees out! Their specialty is soup and their menu is very limited, so I had no choice but to get the vermicelli bamboo chicken (bun mang ga)! The duck version is more popular though. Their menu is just on a board in the back of the resto… my friend got the thick rice noodle with shrimp and crab soup. Our bowls were huge and they give you a lot of chicken pieces! I love the spicy ginger fish sauce it comes with. Service is quick and food is very authentic. They used to go by another name in a different location. There is also parking in the back and they take credit cards! I just realized that they forgot my bamboo shoots. :(

The food was delicious and very authentic. Wish I took pics so I could post the yummy noodle soup with duck n veggies on the side. The menu is very simple because theres only a few entrees to order from. I would not be able to order anything without my Vietnamese friends explaining the menu to me. We wanted dessert but they didn’t have anything sweet but the nice sweet lady/​owner offer us her cookies. :)