Quan Hop
The younger, less crowded sibling of central Vietnamese restaurant Quan Hy is also in Westminster
We’ve visited quite a few central Vietnamese restaurants in Little Saigon and neighboring parts of Orange County, some fantastic, others forgettable. Quan Hop in Westminster is one of the just okay options – a place that offers Banh Beo steamed rice cakes, potsticker-topped crunchy rice cakes called Banh It Ram, Banh Cuon rice rolls, Bun Bo Hue and dry noodle dishes. If you want something more familiar, you can choose from grilled salmon, beef, or other common proteins inside classic Bun vermicelli bowls.
If any of this sounds awfully familiar, that’s because Quan Hop is a younger sibling to Quan Hy, which opened in 1997 elsewhere in Westminster. They both have calligraphic (and nearly indecipherable) logos, very similar but not identical menus, and clean, semi-modern dining rooms.
Where they differ most is in execution. The flavors of items we tried at Quan Hop were flatter – uninspired soup, less meaty umami inside the Banh It Ram dumplings, and bland Banh Beo rice cakes. Bun vermicelli with grilled salmon was similarly as plain as could be, and although Quan Hop serves one of Quan Hy’s unique specialities, Banh Cuon with grilled beef, it was dull here. Everything we tried was OK enough that we were able to finish our meal, but nothing really stood out, and unlike Quan Hy, we had no desire to return again.
Although this isn’t intended to be a backhanded compliment, perhaps the best part of Quan Hop relative to Quan Hy (and some other plaza-bound central Vietnamese places) is its more open parking and comparatively less packed dining room. Quan Hy’s adjacent parking can get really messy during peak times, and lines can occasionally form, so there’s something to be said for a good enough place where you can easily park and go right in without a long walk or a wait. That’s Quan Hop in a nutshell.
Stats
Price: $$
Service: Table
Open Since: 1999
Addresses
15640 Brookhurst St.
Westminster, CA 92683
714.689.0555
Instagram: @quanhop.restaurant