Thien An Sandwiches

10/31/08

PHO Hot Spot

by airherrera at Citysearch

Excellent Pho and great service just give your self some time cause it gets really busy during lunch

04/03/08

Best bet for yummy, cheap Vietnamese outside of Bellaire's Chinatown

by GirlYupgi at Citysearch

We drove by Thien An dozens of times on our way to Les Givral's (2704 Milam) without giving it a chance because it's forgettable from the outside, located in a tiny strip that we thought would forever be cursed with failed businesses (formerly housing a gelato place called the Italian Hut; I think the old sign is still there). But we're so glad we finally made the stop and have become regulars. The pho is excellent, satisfying and the broth not too greasy. One of the most popular dishes is the banh xeo and rightly so. It has nice crunchy edges (perfecting lacey crisp edges is the art of making banh xeo); it's a bit harder all around than I like to make mine but it is fragrant (mm, creamy coconut) and best of all, fun-sized - order it and your eyes will get big too! For fun, we once counted the number of times a plate of banh xeo came out of the kitchen while we were there for lunch - forgot the count but it was definitely in the double digits! Their Vietnamese sandwiches are okay but nothing special. We always forget to ask them to go easy toasting it - usually the bread comes out too hard. So we still like to go to Les Givral's for banh mi, if for no other reason than they are close by. Thien An stocks a small selection of Vietnamese desserts (don't think they are made on premise; I'm sure they all come from Chinatown) but I wish they kept more on hand for my che cravings. A nice surprise is they actually have good customer service, so rare in Chinatown! If only they weren't closed on Saturdays, oddly!

• Pros: Great value

01/08/07

Best com ga ro ty

by skylineb0i at Citysearch

Best com ga ro ty (roast chicken w/ fried rice) in town !!! pho is not so good, banh mi is also good. Cheap and simple Vietnamese

• Pros: cheap and good food
• Cons: cash only, parking