Duc Huong Cha Lua

The food itself is good. My son likes cha que (fried cinnamon pork) and we often made late stop in the afternoon. There are 2 cashier men, the older one is friendly and reasonable but the younger is holly rude. I brought in some coins for the change but that man denied to take them. I mean it’s ok not to take the small coins but he did not need to aggressively shout at my face and claim his right as a seller not to accept that, and as a customer, we only can pay by cash in the kind they prefer. I said money is just money, does it sound bad enough to get the holly rude attitude? My son asked why he was so rude? Well, I told him we would never step in if that man is still on the cashier chair. As a customer, we have choices, and our choice will go to where we get the appropriate respect. There are a lot of good places for cha lua, cha que and things like that out there. This may sound funny for Vietnamese people who get used to this type of service but hey, it’s America, they should learn to respect their customers to maintain their business. Nevertheless, my son got headache after been there 3 minutes because of the harsh cleaning chemical smell that overwhelming in the store.

Love this place. They have the best ch lua. every day fresh and new. I haven’t see any ch lua better than this. The price is cheap too. I would come back for more. The people who work there is nice n friendly too.

Super friendly, super fresh, best cha lua. My mom requested for me to grab her some before I head back to San Diego. I got here at 4pm later in the afternoon so I had to wait 15 mins til the next batch came out. When I said fresh it was really fresh and still burning hot. The guy at the register was friendly, everything in there was fresh too because I touched the other items and they were all hot too. Definitely give it a try!

This place is really well known for selling delicious Cha gio or Cha lua. They make it fresh everyday. It can be kind of pricey but you’re paying for good quality!

They always have fresh cha lua, vietnamese ham, for $ 4.75 for the 1lb size and very crispy banh Da, sesame sea crackers. CASH ONLY.

Cash only, call ahead a day to order if you want frozen orders (for travel), if you’re coming far… Call ahead and make sure they didn’t run out of cha que (super popular).

Yummy! Never seems to disappoint. This is the only place I buy cha lua and banh gio at! They’re made fresh here and it is even more delicious when it’s still warm and hot! The only place I trust to buy cha lua at! If you do not know what cha lua is, it’s like pork loaf and they’re usually in Vietnamese sandwiches. :)

The Cha Lua (pork loaf) here is made fresh! I love buying it when it’s still warm and hot! This place makes the BEST Cha Lua in OC. It’s just the right amount of flavor, it’s juicy, and you can taste the freshness of it.
It’s great to make with Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwiches), Banh Cuon, Banh Uot, or just to eat by itself! Yummy.

Authentic and delicious food. I always get the Cha lua. Be wary of non-​Vietnamese writing reviews.

Granted this is a deli type service, but my gosh, the guy at the counter was Hella rude and the meats look really questionable.

Cha lua is great here. You can tell they don’t use a lot of flour/​filler like other places.
I also like their cha chien, banh Chung, cha song, and I am planning to buy their nem chua as a gift for my pops next time I go back to NorCal!

Got the cha lua (gio lua) with whole black peppercorns, very tasty. I came at about 11:15, and they were just rolling out their fresh made batches. As others have noted, they cook it with real banana leaves so you avoid plastic carcinogens when you buy here. Before this, I’ve always bought cha lua in grocery stores and I was wondering why it tasted so average. It cost $ 4.75, pretty much the same as the grocery store, so no reason not to buy it here (except for the crowded parking situation, ugh).
They also have some dimsum-​like stuff that I bought too. I don’t know the proper name for it, but it had diced whole cooked shrimp on the inside, and was made of rice paper stuff and was glutinous on the outside. $ 2.25 for a package of 9 small little tasties.

The gio cha lua was OK, a little too firm. The nem chua roll was not too good since the texture was not right and the taste was not natural fermentation

This is my go to place for Cha lua. The plaza is a pain in the ass to go in but it’s well worth fighting for parking to get some delicious cha lua! I’ve always been met with great customer service and it’s always hot and fresh out the oven.

New price $ 4.75 for a roll of Vietnamese gio‘ lu. a net weight 1 pound.
Parking near the Boiling Crabs is a pain. Drivers are stupid, rude an offensive, sometimes stop/​park their cars on the driveways, blocking traffic.
The quality of the meat loaf here is about average. I’ve had other brands which have better tastes and smells of fresh, lean pork.
They roll the meat in a couple layers of banana leaves, so it has the authentic smell of traditional rolls made in Vietnam. The banana leaves are most likely imported from Mexico, should be organic and free of pesticides because the tree has a lot of pungent sap, not susceptible to pests.
A few other stores wrap their meat in plastic wrap then boil. Carcinogens in the chemical leak out under heat and can cause cancer. I try to tell these stores but they are stupid and greedy.
Burned and overheated plastics will release a lot of carcinogens.

This place is awesome! The guy that works in there speaks my dialect (Bac) so it was easy to understand him considering I am not fluent in Vietnamese.
I came in searching for banh day and cha lua to bring back to Arizona for my family. I had searched at all the bakeries in the surrounding area and no one had them. This place had them and they were hot out of the oven/​stove/​pot, what have you. I bought 8 banh day’s and 2 cha luas.
When I arrived back in Arizona, my parents ate them and they really liked the cha lua. We’ll definitely be going to this place as our #1 stop when looking for gio, cha lua and banh day.

5.0 Stars — My children love their Cha Lua (Pork Roll) and my husband loves their Nem Chua (Cured Pork) that are freshly made at this specialty store. We haven’t been able to find another place that makes them this good so we’ll continue coming here whenever we get our cravings, which is more often than not.
Tip: Cash only!

where i get my Cha Lua fix.
i always buy 5 and bring some up to NorCal cause it’s delicious and theres nowhere else that can compare. seriously.

As one can see from my picture, you will come out completely satisfied.
What is Cha lua?
Cha lua is basically made of pork and the best translation would be Pork Roll. Traditionally, cha lua is made of lean pork, potato starch, garlic, ground black pepper and nuoc mam (fish sauce). The pork here is pounded really well until it becomes a paste and then rolled in banana leaves to be steamed. It is also important to note the pork has to be pounded until it becomes pasty; it cannot be chopped or ground. There are also many types of cha, including my favorite cha chien, which is fried, and cha hue which includes whole black peppercorns.
Even though this place is a small mom and pop 10×10 store, they specialize in cha lua, cha chien, and many types of cha. It goes well with banh cuon, white flour crepes, or com tham (broken rice dish), in a banh mi sandwich, with rice, or by itself. A good snack overall. The prices are decent as well as friendly and fast service.
Right next to BOILING CRAB, but a BIG hassle to park on weekends. Park in the back if you don’t want to waste time looking.

My mom says this is the place for Cha Lua. I am so american that I have no idea how to order. I just walk in and say give me that meat wrapped in the green leafy stuff…