Golden Deli

Personal favorite: porkchop with broken rice with baked egg! ITS LIT
Also I’m not sure what’s in that sauce, but I cannot seem to find anything else like it anywhere else.

It’s just another phở spot. I thought to bring my mom here for lunch one day. The difference with this one from the San Gabriel location is that you order at the counter first before they bring you your food. The hot tea and water is self-​serve, too. I ordered the Phở with rare beef, brisket and tendons ($ 8), Grilled Pork Spring Rolls ($ 4.50), and Red Bean with Coconut Milk (~$ 3). My mom and I shared everything and was pretty stuffed, but I also wasn’t too hungry to start with. The ice was too chunky in the drink, which my mom didn’t like either. The bowl of phở was rather small and the spring roll wrappers were a bit tough to chew through. I liked that the space and service was clean and quick, but the food is simply mediocre.

This place has the best tasting phở I’ve ever had. Without even mixing in any of my usual mix-​ins (sriracha, basil and jalapeños) it’s flavorful and delicious.
Great Thai tea too!

I like this Golden Deli because of the egg rolls.
I got their phở and their vermicelli the last time I came. The phở was actually pretty big, but also a little more expensive than similar places in Alhambra or San Gabriel (~$ 9). The phở itself was pretty ordinary, nothing that special. I get it because Golden Deli is the closest vietnamese place to my house, so I consider it the price to not drive farther for phở. However, whenever I order a rice plate or vermicelli bowl, I always get one that comes with egg rolls. Their egg rolls are so good!!! I might just come back here and eat just egg rolls.
At this location, you have to order and pay first and they give you a number to place on your table, where they bring the food out to you. You also have to self-​serve yourself for water/​tea/​sodas. Parking is in the back or you can park in the front on the street. They also take credit card too.
Just come and get the egg rolls. You won’t regret it. I think the rest of the menu is just ok.

I really like Golden Deli phở. There’s just something about the broth that makes it more delicious than all the other phở places. Temple City location is nice because we didn’t have to wait for seating on a Sunday afternoon. Next time, I’d like to try the egg rolls to see if they’re just as crispy and flavorful as the San Gabriel location

The lesser known Golden Deli that’s also on Las Tunas.
Food is pretty much the same which is a plus. The only difference is the way you order and seat yourself. When it’s not busy (which happens to be the times that I’ve came), you just order and seat yourself.
When there’s a line, you have to sign in and order (or the other way around, I’m not sure) and then you wait to be seated. It’s a little bit complicated so I’m just glad I came during non-​peak hours.

Came here for lunch during the normal busy hours and it wasn’t super packed at all. Seems they have a very organized process to the whole ordering before seating. There are two entrances (front entrance from the streets or the back where the public parking lot is). From the back you enter and then have to walk all the way to the front of the restaurant to sign into the sign up sheet, then place your order at the register & pay for it and then receive a number. When a table frees up, they’ll call your number out in the order before they’ll assign you a table to be seated and then your food will be served.
It seems like a very organized process and basically just clutters the front of the restaurant with people if it does get super busy. We got seated probably 10 – 15 minutes after placing our order and then shortly after, we received our orders via drop off at our table where they’ve simplified the process to even let you know where you place your number stand on the top for them to spot it.
Food is okay, pretty yummy Vietnamese food in this part of the SGV where vietnamese food is aplenty. They have limited selections of their famous cupcakes as well (but you can tell it’s not super fresh since it just sits in the glass display refrigerator up in the front). Pretty clean location and all the condiments are fully stocked without those dirty dry rings you typically see at other restaurants.
TIP: When you order, make sure you’re specific to what you want as they have different versions options of the same food items at possible different price points depending on what you want in it. Also, a simple bowl of phở tai here is $ 8; so anything extra in it, probably price point goes up from that starting price.

I’m just another business transaction here but not big deal… food is good and relatively cheap. There’s a parking lot in the back and you can always park in the street too. It’s clean and they have a big menu-​a little bit of everything for everybody.

Tried a new Golden Deli location — different concept — order at the counter and then they bring your food to you. Guess that works pretty well. We came for lunch and luckily it wasn’t super busy. We both decided to stray against the norm of getting phở and both got seafood noodle soup.
You also get your own water and tea which also works, but you still end up tipping. So they get the same amount for less work? Haha
Anyways, our seafood noodle soup came out pretty quickly and it was quite tasty. There was a lot of seafood — fish balls, shrimp, a crab leg and bbq pork. Overall pretty good but kinda wished we ordered the usual. Their phở is always king!

This place use to get 5 stars but the price has gone up tremendously and I don’t cone here as often.
The egg rolls are still 5. Stars but phở is expensive for Vietnamese noodles. 8.50 I guess I am so use to getting three things for under 20.00 now I spend about 38.00.

Clean place, convenient and close location. Parking available in parking lot in the back and street parking. Pay at register then after you have a number you seat yourself. They have various baked goods from an outside baker. Today they had red velvet cupcakes. An order of phở is around $ 8. For a large it’s an additional 1.50 but they just give you more noodles. Bowl is kinda small though. They also have an order of 5 egg rolls with veggies for $ 8. Kinda overpriced for me. I ordered the bun instead because it’s less than 2 dollars more, you get shrimp paste, noodles, veggies, pork and 2 egg rolls. Soup has a nice flavor though! They have a self serve station with tea and water towards the back.
#2 phở tai
#44A bun with pork shrimp paste and egg rolls!

Maybe it is because the golden deli in SG is what I am used to or maybe they are slightly different. I like the other store the best.
If I had to pick, I’ll still drive to the one in SG.
The food is somehow more fresh. (Meat.)

There is a public parking lot in the back.
The seating area is self served. Order first and find a seat. If it gets busy, you have to write your name down.
Phở #10 has beef brisket, tendon and tripe. It is quite good with the veg sides.

One of the cleanest and freshest Viet spots I have eaten at.
I never tried the original location since this one is so close to me. But I should really go.
Service is quick and friendly. Your order at the register and they bring your food to your table.
Parking sucks!
Goi Cuon — $ 4.50 — Very fresh shrimp spring roll. Peanut sauce was on point. Add chili sauce to it and its perfect.
Phan Cha Gio — $ 8 — Stuffing is flavorful and meaty. Love deep fried wantons. One of the best egg rolls I have had in 626. Seems expensive but the egg rolls are huge. You can definitely share this with 5 people and be satisfied.
Ca Ri Ga — $ 8 — Perfect balance of coconut and curry. Chicken is so tender. They need to add more vegetables in the serving. I had like two pieces. Tip, if you want bread and rice, get rice with the dish and add bread. Rice on the side is $ 2 and bread on the side is $ 1.25.
Bun Thit Nuong & Cha Gio — $ 7.75 — Pork was flavorful and had a nice sweetness. Egg rolls were crunchy and stuffed.
Bun Ga Nuong — $ 6.75 — Chicken is nicely grilled. Decent flavor. Typical Bun you can get anywhere.
The phở here is legit here but I did not get it recently so I will not review it yet.

The GOLDEN DELI located in Temple City is very different than the original store located in San Gabriel. Instead of the traditional restaurant style environment, this location have a fast food style ordering system. You have to go up to the counter to place your order. The perks of this restaurant is that they do accept credit card with no minimum purchase!
The restaurant itself is not big, like I have stated previously, it have a fast food vibe to it, but it is nice and clean. The only thing that annoyed me was the excessive loud trance music. Don’t get me wrong, I love trance, but just not so loud that I have to question myself if I am eating phở or partying at a rave. They have plenty of staff working behind the counter and in the kitchen. From the time I placed my order, it took approximately 10 minutes for my food to be ready.
I have been here twice and ordered BUN RIEU ($ 6.25) during both my visits. Price itself is reasonable, but the portions are comparatively smaller than other Vietnamese restaurant in the area. I was not satisfied with the amount of serving they gave, but I guess this is a good option is you are not that hungry and looking for a quick bite in the area.

First and foremost, don’t be fooled by reviews and pictures before December 2015. Their phở bowls are now $ 8-​$ 10 and 5 egg rolls is $ 8. I know, insert gasp. For that price and their rating in the 626 area, I expected large portions and the food to taste heavenly. Which, as you can tell by the spoiler of my 2 stars rating, the food was just okay — nothing special. To top it off, J got one crab pincer and 3 shrimps in his shrimp and crab egg noodle pork broth soup. Certainly, we should not be as shocked since the bowl came out looking 75% green from cilantro and lettuce; but at least they can make it feel like there were more meat in it. J ended up having to make cup noodle when we got home so that he can feel full. Quite a disappointing dinner especially since we had to wait 30 minutes to get seated.
As others have mentioned, you order your food at the counter. If you want to sit in, you have to sign in on this waiting list. For fun and giggles, I used the name «Ksneia.» Of course, the server couldn’t pronounce it. He didn’t even tried looking for the group the name is for and I had to go up to ask him if he was looking for Ksneia. He proceeded to scold me by saying he couldn’t read my writing. Okay, sir, that was unnecessary and I am certain that my writing is quite legible. Anyways, I did not factor that in to my rating since I did this for fun; but he certainly did not please me.
If you want water or hot tea, it is self serve. They don’t tell you at the counter, so you either watch what other customers are doing or ask a server for water and they laugh at you and tell you you have to get it yourself. I don’t care that we have to get our own water since it is an order-​at-​the-​counter joint and I wasn’t going to tip them anyways. But laughing at customers (not me in this case but still) is rude.
Overall, I definitely would not go out of my way to come here as there are so many cheaper, tastier, and faster Vietnamese restaurants in the area. Good bye forever Golden Deli.

3.7 stars
Honestly, phở is not my personal go-​to choice for food. HOWEVER, Golden Deli is REALLY good and redeems my personal non-​preference for Vietnamese food!
All their phở options are good! Broth is very fragrant. And the side things you dump in (basil, mint, bean sprouts) are super fresh!
The egg rolls are also ammmazing (crunchy, greasy goodness) as well.
Even though the line may seem long, they have pretty good service and it goes pretty fast. The food also comes out relatively fast!

I’m such a fan of this place! Let me tell you why.
First, the place is cleaner than most Vietnamese restaurants I’ve been to. Everything is well organized, the menu isn’t confusing, there are sauces/​chilis at every table, etc. Second, the food always hits the spot. I always go here when I’m in the area or after dentist appointments. I’ve tried many things on the menu and I’ve liked them all. When I’m feeling like phở, I get the Phở Dac Biet and it always comes out perfect. Their broth is so flavourful and they don’t skimp on the toppings! Bun Bo Hue is also stellar. All their Buns (Rice Vermicelli Dry Noodle Bowl) come in huge servings so you definitely get your money’s worth. I often have leftovers. The fried egg rolls are always fresh and they’re happy to give you extra sauce.
The Com Tam (Broken Rice Plate) is my new favourite here. I get 89C which comes with pork chop, shrimp paste, and egg rolls. Again, huge serving.
The drinks are also delectable. Try the avocado and durian smoothies as well as Vietnamese iced coffee and Thai iced tea. Amazing. I’ll keep coming back.

I came to this establishment following my Mt. Baldy hike during the day. I was a bit surprised that a Phở restaurant would have a similar layout to a Chinese fast-​food take out place.
So the way it works is like this:
1) You choose what meat/​broth you want, and then you choose what noodle you have.
2) If you’re eating in you have to put your name on a waiting list so that you could find a seat.
3)You wait.
4) You get called and then you pay immediately at the cash register and you are then escorted to seat wherever they place you.
5) You are served your food as if it was like any other restaurant, except you pay before you eat.
Honestly I kind of like this model. One of the most annoying things is to wait to pay especially if I’m in a rush to just leave. I think as a business model this might also be great because the owners are making sure no one dines and dash.
Now on to reviewing their food.
I got the Phở Dac Biet (the Phở Special), because that is what I always get at every restaurant. The broth was really sweet, but it was kind of nice. The meat was pretty good.
The condiments they gave out was on a scale of 3 out of 5. Their basil which is the star of the phở broth was really lacking. I wish I took a picture of it.
Their Bun Bo Hue was pretty good. It had this chili oil sauce that Thai people refer to as «burnt chili,» which is sweet, salty, and spicy. I would recommend this.
At first I was going to give this place a 4 out of 5 stars, but because they offer you your own selection of noodles, and how convenient everything was, I decided to give it a 5.

I asked my auto repair man what he thought of Golden Deli since I was looking for food after dropping my car off. He said «cheap and healthy». So I went over and tried it myself.
The food is the most aesthetically pleasing Vietnamese food I’ve ever eaten. Whenever I’d eaten Vietnamese food it wasn’t ever as pretty as the food here it just seemed to be placed on a plate with no thought to how it looks. Or maybe it’s that other Vietnamese places were dimly lit. The lighting/​atmosphere in this golden deli was modern and bright.
You order at the counter and they give you a number to put on your table. Food came out quick. Cashiers and runners were nice. They cleaned out our plates quickly.
On to the actual food, it was tasty. Egg rolls were glistening with fried crunchiness. Vegetables were fresh. Shrimp and grilled beef was good. Rice was good. Avocado smoothie was thick, creamy, and made with real avocados. Water dispenser and cups out for self serve. I have no complaints on the food.
Parking lot is in the back. Street parking available in the front. Prices are cheap and affordable.