Com Ga Nam An

I don’t think I’m a huge fan of hainan chicken. I think I was expecting a different type of meal, but it was okay for what it was.
Get the hainan chicken with salad and noodles.
The salad was actually pretty good for being so simple.
I wish it had more flavor, but I guess it’s just the type of dish or something.

Very nice service and food!
I’ve been revisiting this place for many times!

It is rated 4 STARS with 285 reviews I got a chicken phở and the soup was bland and it had no flavor they only gave me 3 one inch size chicken pieces!

Bomb chicken! For my friends that see this place and think el sketcho, don’t worry, super clean and the chicken can be served deboned and deskinned. That’s if you order the house special chicken, which I do recommend.
The lemongrass chicken is really good, and the rice is on point. Haven’t tried the phở yet, from what I’ve heard just average but if you’re a chicken person, you have to try this place out.

Clean and fast, and yes, tasty. Tried the chicken with sticky rice as well as the basic phở ga (couldn’t rally for the giblets). Both were quite good — particularly the chicken broth — very light yet deeply flavored. The chicken itself was okay — not mindnumbingly tender or exploding with flavor, but decent. On my list of go to spots now, especially on these blustery El Nino days.

Placed an order through door dash. Food was really good. Only thing is a lot of it was cold like it just came out of the fridge. Not a big deal since we are eating at home. Also, wish they would give a larger portion of chicken because we ended up with lots of noodles and rice but no chicken to eat it with.

This review is for menu item #3– grilled lemongrass chicken with chicken rice.
! It’s my go to lunch when I’m craving a simple broken rice plate. The grilled chicken is always very juicy and tender and so delicious with the soysauce/​thai pepper/​lemony side dip sauce they give you. Make sure you drizzle this sauce all over your chicken and rice! The order also comes with a good size bowl of flavorful chicken broth. The location is a short walking distance from the SJSU campus, so it can be convenient for students and staff to walk to.

HAI-​NAN CHICKEN RICE!!!
Ever since I visited Singapore, I’ve been obsessed with hai nan chicken rice. Sometimes, we make it at home but it’s not the same especially when its just with normal rice! I found this gem of a place in San Jose — it’s definitely not the same as Singapore’s, but it comes pretty close. I think the chicken portion could be larger, but they were very generous with the rice, soup, and sauces that came with it. Hit the spot :)
The restaurant was pretty empty when I arrived, minus one table. They should really turn on the heater here for starters — but more people came as my party of 3 was about to leave. Guessing 11:30 was too early for lunch ;)
I ordered the hai nan chicken rice (of course) — with no modifications. I heard the table next to me order the same, but with all white meat which the waiter obliged. The customer service here is stellar btw — our tea and water was never empty! Good lunch spot, and cheap!

This place have pretty great tasting chicken rice. I have the #1 with dark meat and you get a small salad, soup, chicken flavor rice and a side of boneless chicken.
I enjoy going here because there are not a lot of places that serve this dish around town.
It is in downtown SJ, kind of in the hood, they do have a private lot for parking.
They accept credit cards and good for large groups, lots of seats inside.

Oh my god oh my god oh my god. Can I give +1 star for nostalgia? No? Well, whatever. This place is amazing.
Let’s start off by saying that, growing up, people used to tell me to drink Chicken Noodle soup when I was sick. Which I did, but it wasn’t the condensed, 890mg-​of-​sodium, mechanically-​separated chicken noodle from Campbell’s — it was Phở Ga. And oh man, does this place take me back. Far from the salty mess that some people mistake for «comforting,» Vietnamese Phở Ga (literally, chicken noodle soup) has rice noodles, huge chunks of chicken, a *MILD* broth, and (in my opinion) the most incredible ginger-​based sauce on the entire Asian spectrum of flavor. Slightly sweet, slightly spicy, slightly tangy, and SUPER gingery, it’s bar none the most perfect complement to the chicken it’s served with.
You can probably guess, then, why Com Ga Nam An is basically my new favorite restaurant. Literally 90% of their menu is served with this chicken-​and-​sauce combination. Sometimes with rice, sometimes with salad, sometimes with soup, and sometimes with all three. Probably the most amazing thing about this place though, is that all their chicken is DE-​BONED. Growing up, I had to pick those bones out and even though the ginger-​sauce made everything worth it, it was still pretty annoying (not to mention messy). The fact that CGNA does it for you is nothing short of brilliant, making sure that the journey from the ginger sauce to your mouth is unimpeded by chicken bones. It’s by far my favorite part of this restaurant.
Anyway, if you love chicken phở, and are *not* expecting Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Sodium, definitely give this place a shot. They’re fast, friendly, and under $ 10. I’ll be back.
—
sweet: fast, cheap, and tasty food. ginger sauce: A+++
bitter: kinda small portions.
Edit: I am dumb, they do serve their phở ga with egg. You just have to get the phở ga an nam

Pretty picey for just a few pieces chicken for their specialty. You won’t eat this and say it is the best chicken, you need the sauces. For 99cents you can add some chicken innards to your soup if that is your thing. The whole meal worth a try but not like I will be craving again.

A Malaysian friend from years past kept talking about Chicken Rice, as if it was the best meal on Earth. Since I never made it to Johor Bharu, and I saw this place the other day, this was the best choice for Chicken Rice.
As my (not a Malaysian) buddy and I looked at the menu, I never really got a sense of the Chicken Rice. I ended up ordering Phở Ga and my buddy ordered something different but they seemed to end up being the same thing in different configurations. Mine had the chicken on a separate plate, still with the «pimple skin» on it. It was atop a sort of salad that had been given a sauce. The phở looked similar to any other I’d ever had.
The taste was good, although the broth didn’t overwhelm, as I thought it would.

I came here with my friend, and we realized this place is located in a sketchy area of downtown SJ but that did not stop us from eating here. We both ordered their most popular item which was #1. HAINAN CHICKEN WITH CHICKEN RICE. It was soo good! You can choose to get the chicken with or without the skin but I got the skin. #1 comes with chicken broth as well as 3 dipping sauces because obviously the chicken has no flavor. The sauces are ginger & onion sauce, soy sauce, and a chili fish sauce. The fish sauce was my favorite. I also love how the chicken was already deboned so you don’t have to use your fingers. Our waitress was nice too and our food came within minutes. Can’t wait to come back here!

My friend Tiffany T. and I have been wanting to try Hainan chicken for the longest time. I am not exactly sure what is so popular about it but according to a lot of people, it tastes pretty good! Com Ga Nam An was the closest to us that offered.
I had no idea Vietnamese people ate Hainan chicken so I was surprised this Vietnamese restaurant specialized in it. Everything on their menu either had chicken or chicken flavor to their dishes.
Decided to get #1 with Tiffany. The dish was simple but everything about it tasted spectacular. The chicken rice, the chicken broth, and the chicken itself were amazing. We were given 3 sauces and my favorite was the chili one.
Our waitress was friendly and nice. Food came out pretty quickly as well.
Will be coming back!

Grilled chicken with lemon grass was not very fresh when I had it. Its tasted like they had marinated so long and it was about/​in progress to get bad!!! I could taste the oil/​lubricant taste that food usually has when it is left so long. Ewww… cant finish my dish!
I had com ga Hai Nam here before and I was amazed of boneless chicken meat on my dish. I had never had boneless like thag before in other places, which offered same dish.
Perhaps, I should be careful of what to order next time because not all dishes here are good and fresh!

Came here yesterday with my mom and grandma. We ordered chicken phở, chicken congee, and Hainan chicken.
The phở was alright. I’ve had better. Broth didn’t have that much flavour. The soup they brought out with the Hainan chicken was richer. They had wide noodles which were a little too soft and the herb plate served with the phở was smaller than I was used to. It’s fine to maybe fulfil a desperate craving but I would recommend other things on their menu before the phở.
The congee was good. Nice strong chicken flavour and also decently salty I usually prefer my congee to be thick and gloopy and the grains of rice melt in your mouth. Basically minimal chewing involved. The chicken served with the congee was nicely cooked, actually cooked better than the Hainan chicken we ordered. It was moist but not too fatty.
Hainan chicken which people seem to come here for was only ok in my opinion. A little too dry, I think. The chicken rice was good and the broth on the side, as I mentioned earlier, was very rich.
Overall would recommend. The sauces served with the chicken were great. They seriously made everything better. The green one with the Hainan chicken was my favorite. Not sure what was in there. Green onion, ginger, and garlic maybe? Either way don’t shy away from the sauce. Soo good :)
Oh yeah and service was fine. They were nice enough. I’m not too picky about service unless they were actually a d*ck or I’m specifically going to a place for their service. example: fancy schmancy Michelin star place or something

Who were the first ones here, we ordered the lemongrass chicken rice plate and chicken noodle soup. We thought the chicken noodle soup was a little bland. (Our baseline is turtle Tower.)
As for the lemongrass chicken with rice, The chicken was really delicious, not too much fat, good flavor simple dish. The chicken rice was really delicious too, I can taste the chicken flavor in the rice. Overall I enjoyed the lemongrass dish very well.
I would come back.

Came here for a business meeting and i got to say… i never realized it was a restaurant when driving by many times. There are limited seats and selection on the food but i heard that the white ranch chicken was their best seller so i had to try it out for myself. Prices are kind of high. 9.50 before tax/​tip for a small plate of chicken and rice that doesn’t really fill up the average college male.
let’s get down to the food. The chicken you can tell is good quality and the rice is soft to the taste. It comes with soup and the different sauces that they provide are also unique and taste amazing with the chicken. Although the size of the dish being small, the overall quality of the dish is pretty good. Hence probably why the expense.
I would say it’s a good place to try with some friends but i wouldn’t come here are a regular basis because of the cost and the limited selection. I have to give props to them because walking in… it looks like someones garage but little did I know… the great quality food it provided.
Also… if you check on Unilocal you get a free soda. Enjoy!

Came here for a Hainanese chicken fix. Hainan is a province in southern China, though this Hainanese chicken dish is popular in other Asian cultures too (Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean, etc.). There was plenty of seating on a Monday for lunch, its own parking lot, potted plants along the walkway.
Com=rice. Ga=chicken. Simple ingredients. Accompanied w/​a bowl of chicken broth, a savory ginger sauce, soy sauce, & a scallion sauce. Don’t forget the Thai basil — this makes each bite all the more enticing.
Overall a homey, casual lunch-​worthy spot.

4.5 STARS
If I had to choose 3 things that I have to eat everyday for the rest of my life they would be the following:
1) Rice. Specifically white rice because I’m a rebel and my triple muffin top don’t lie.
2) Ginger scallion sauce. My personal choice of crack.
3) Fernet. You know, to drown all my sorrows that I can only eat 3… ok, only 2 things everyday for the rest of my life.
See, I can be a simple girl.
Com Ga Nam An satisfies the simple girl in me.
The 15 item menu focus on chicken and only chicken: noodles soups, salads, porridge and their namesake: Hainan chicken rice.
It’s a tad more expensive than you’re typical Vietnamesey restaurant (most dishes are $ 9-​$ 13) but it’s reflected in the quality ingredients and use of no msg (I called prior to confirm). I’m intolerant to msg and had no reaction so they really don’t use it; unlike some Asian places. Some msg pheens may find the food bland but I liked it a lot because the food was clean and not masked by flavor steroids.
Com Ga’s parking lot was full and all but two of their 13 available tables were taken by natives which is always a tell-​tale sign of legit ethnic cuisine.
Hainan chicken rice is one of my fobby faves and Com Ga’s rendition ($ 9) was excellent:
. Solid Hainan chicken is nonexistent in SF and for me, this satiated my craving for SoCal’s infamous Hainan chicken rice at Savoy’s (they use a different chicken variety though).
You have a choice of dark or white meat and all the chicken pieces are deboned, even the mid-​wing section and drummette. It’s served cold, alongside deliciously rich (not too oily) rice that’s been simmered in chicken broth, pickled onions, crisp cucumbers, tomatoes, and ménage a trios of dipping sauces.
The chicken portion was small but they use yellow feather chicken (Wong Mo Gai) which is pricer because it’s free range chicken. There’s less meat but the meat is much more robust in flavor. What made this dish were the sauces: 1) ginger, scallion & oil, 2) sweet soy reduction, and 3) chili fish sauce (like a pungent sweet & sour sauce). You know La Vic’s orange crack sauce? Com Ga’s chili fish sauce is the Vietnamesey version of that crack sauce; so bold in flavor that it will jolt your taste buds.
I had a sip of their phở ga broth (Mr. NSS’ order) which had a great depth of flavor and a clean finish. They give more chicken with the phở ga than the rice dish which I found odd.
Wash everything down with the creamy and nutty pandan mung bean drink and you’ll have one happy tummy. In my case, one happy triple muffin top tummy.
Service was very friendly but forgetful (why do people think they don’t need to write orders down?). I told the owner lady that we came from SF and she told me that a lot of people from SF come there for their Hainan chicken rice. Please open a location in SF and I will be your duchess!
As we were finishing up and after Mr. NSS came back from the restroom:
Mr. NSS: «Hey, what happened to my plate of chicken!!!»
Me: «Umm, they took it away because they thought you were done.»
Waiter *brings bill*: «She love the chicken, she ate your plate too.»
Busted. =/​