Gourmet Vietnamese inspired food - South OC. REALLY GOOD.

By ChowHound

Posted date: 9/28/2007

Just had lunch today at an amazing place. It was terrific. If others have heard about it or posted already, sorry for being late to the game.

Break of Dawn in Laguna Hills. Just off the 5 and El Toro back behind Trader Joe's, behind the Laguna Hills mall. Yes it's a bit off the beaten track. The location itself is tucked away, but it is really just a trivial trek... and most of all, COMPLETELY WORTH THE TRIP.

Had lunch today, ordered a bunch of stuff, and it was fabulous.

Pho - Beef
Shrimp Noodles (wide fresh rice noodles, sauteed with several veg and shrimp)
Cheek and Tongue - braised beef cheeks and beef tongue. AMAZING. Might be the best tongue I've had in the past 5 years or more.
Braised Pork - perfect and I mean, PERFECT braise. This also came with two poached eggs that were tempura fried. Holy Chicken Batman! Those eggs were crazy good.

Turns out that this unassuming little casual breakfast and lunch restaurant is owned and operated by a really amazing chef. This guy used to be the exec sous chef at the Ritz Carlton, and the man has serious skills. Serious skills.

Here's their website:

http://breakofdawnrestaurant.com/inde...

Definitely high on the recommended list, and easy on the wallet. Go check it out. Stop reading. Go now.