Dulché

Having visited a fair number of Vietnamese dessert shops in Orange County’s Little Saigon area – Unu Cafe on the “wow” end, Sota-Mita and Thanh Thi in the middle, and Che Vi in “not great” territory – Garden Grove’s young Dulchè is somewhere between the latter two: a small chè-focused shop with friendly service and the potential to become good, limited by a small menu and some rough edges.

Minimalistically decorated inside with a few full-sized tables to accommodate guests, Dulchè offers a menu with seven chè variations, each essentially a cup of sweetened milk with a variety of jelly and pudding pieces inside, topped with sliced fruit, ground nuts, and/or ice cream. As the menu choices have names but no descriptions, you’ll need to ask what’s included in the “House Special,” “Tri-Color,” “Thai,” “Coconut Smash,” “Pandan Coconut” and “Corn Pandan” chès; the “Pandan Grass Jelly & Rubies” version is mostly self-explanatory. The House Special is topped with durian ice cream; coconut ice cream is on top of the Coconut Smash; others are either sweetened or coconut milk mixed with teardrop-shaped, cubed, and/or C-shaped gelatins. A similarly small selection of teas can be ordered with or without milk or fruit, and with several topping customizations.