Hai Nam Restaurant

Coming from a family with a Hainanese background, this place is mehhhhhh.
I’ll give them a second star for effort. But overall, I don’t believe that this is authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice. First off, it’s served with a pickled cabbage, that almost tastes like kimchi. Er, not even from the same country.
Parking in this plaza is extremely hard to find during the weekends due to the abundance of businesses in the plaza.
Maybe I’ll come back and give it a second shot, but really, I’m better off cooking the dish at home.

My favorite chicken spot! The workers here are so adorable and sweet! The portions are big and everything is so flavorful. You have to try the chicken salad, mi ga/​mien ga, and the roti chicken. It’s always a tough decision picking just one every time I come here :)

The restaurant is small, more like a place to order take out. Com ga Hai Nam was delicious, just like home made meal. However, fish sauce and the cabbage had too much sugar!

I like the fact that this place keeps things very simple. All the dishes have good fresh chicken and the menu has only about 10 items. Although I’ve only tried 4 or 5 dishes off the menu, they were all very tasty and flavorful. You can easily tell the chicken is natural, unlike in many restaurants where the chicken has no texture or flavor.
Price is pretty much under $ 10 and the service is excellent. Parking on weekends can be tough since it’s in the same shopping center as many other very popular Vietnamese restaurants and dessert places.

⁴⁄₅ stars
I came back to purchase take out. Thought it was a bit pricey for the amount you get, considering how many Vietnamese restaurant are within 1 mile radius from here. However, the food was good and the rice was absolutely delicious with the grilled onion.
Would have loved if the two orders below gave more of that delicious red rice in each dish.
Ordered:
1) Roti Hai Nam Chicken: This dish is with the soy sauce prep, where the chicken is a darker color. Honestly, I would order this dish over the one on the bottom b/​c it is a bit tastier :)
2) Hai Nam Chicken: Pretty similar to the dish above, but without the soy sauce chicken prep.

WARNING!!! Please double check before Togo your food. I ordered 2 Togo items and once I came home I smelled something sour and realized my hai nam chicken was spoiled. I called the restaurant to let them know so they can make sure other customers won’t get the spoiled food and get sick. Instead of a «thank you» the lady over phone yell and say we sell only fresh food and pass on the health department inspection. After that I was furious and told her if I get sick I will call the health department and she said she dare me to. I would never recommend anybody to this place, they don’t care enough listen to improve their business.

I ordered the Hai Nam chicken plate Togo. When we got home the chicken was spoiled and had a foul smell. I called the restaurant to let them know the chicken was spoiled. My intentions of the phone call was to prevent other customers to get sick. But the owner over the phone told me «we do not sell spoiled food!». Not even a sorry about the spoiled food and she screamed «we passed our health inspection!». I WILL NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE to eat at this restaurant unless you want to get food poisoning from rotten chicken. They must have bribed the health inspector if they passed their health inspection. BEWARE IF YOU EAT HERE!
Regards,
Concerned consumer

Phở was decent as well as Com Ga Hai Nam. The place is very small and some what dirty. The walls had sauces or dirty spots all over them. Can use some cleaning to make the place look more presentable. Service was not great at all. The moment we walked in the girl screamed «FOR 2?!! SIT HERE» like damn calm down and be a little more professional will you. I gave this place a 3 because the food was not that bad but they do need to have better service.

I was in the area for work when I first discovered this place! This is one of the best restaurants in this 3005 Silver Creek plaza! I was surprised to see such high reviews from a few Unilocal friends so decided to give it a go for lunch which is perfect. Com Ga Roti was plastered all over the Unilocal pages with glee as the single best dish here. I have to mention that I was just a little bit shocked that it seemed like a hole in a wall type place or was just a lot smaller than i had expected, but it looks like the back kitchen takes up a whole lot of space for the whole restaurant.
At $ 9, the Com Ga Roti was deliciously fresh and cooked perfectly and is served with some special pickled Asian cabbage, chicken broth, colored rice, and fried onions and fresh onion slices, there is also this asian herb that I love but don’t know the name of. Broth is tasty and I like to spoon some on my rice, hehe. The chicken roti is perfect and very easy to eat, you can use a spoon to help separate the meat from the bone its so soft. Generous portion for lunch and I think it’s reasonable for such quality food. Best chicken dish in the plaza probably!
My service was good, just ask for anything you need and they will help. Remember to pay at the front when you’re done dining in or maybe just pay at the front if you want something to go. They also have a few good soups here as well, but I’ll stick with the com ga dishes for now. I also had the Hai Nam Com Ga as well where the chicken is yellow… I know a lot of you may have tried this already. If you haven’t, its the next best thing here! They do have a decent bathroom here on the left side if you need to wash up before or after eating.

Who ever thought that something so simple could pack so much flavor? When your Vietnamese parents thank you more than once for introducing them to a place, you know it’s real. Not only are all the dishes here delicious, they are also cheap! I find it insane that their phở is made by the same chef that used to be at Phở Ga An Nam and packs the same flavor, but is also half the price tag. Also, I don’t remember An Nam being quite so generous with the contents! Each bowl feels like they just dropped a whole chicken and a bunch of its baby eggs into the broth. Never have I ever had the problem of having too many eggs in my broth, but it sure is a nice problem to have.
The shining stars here are the Roti chicken, the Hai Nam chicken, and the Goi Ga (Chicken Salad). Hard to pick a favorite, but I think it has to be the Goi Ga. This dish is so flavorful and so healthy at the same time, while also filling you up with hearty portions AND remaining dirt cheap? I THINK I FOUND THE UNICORN OF FOOD.

Don’t get the ga roti. I saw the reviews, ordered it and it was blah. More bones than meat if you asked me! And the flavor was lacking… maybe it needed to marinate in the sauces more?
Get the hai nam chicken for sure! I would ask for all white meat. The meat was very moist! The soup that comes with the plates are superb! Best I’ve had anywhere!
I would definitely make this my to go place for hai nam chicken.

Love the simplicity and the expertise in their product! Chicken chicken chicken.
Had the phở and it was a bone warming experience. Flavors were great — didn’t feel the msg, if there was any at all? Nice large hunks of chicken and gizzards!
Also tried a flavored chicken with noodles. It was also quite good.
Wouldn’t hesitate to come back.
Parking can be a beeeee in this area though.

So simple, yet SO DELICIOUS. When I first saw the chicken in the Com Ga Hai Nam, I thought how the plain looking chicken can taste good. The meat is much more chewy than normal chicken. Until I tried it with the special ginger-​y sweet fish sauce… AMAZING. My taste buds got excited! The sauce is what makes the difference. It has a ginger sweet and tangy flavor, it’s hard to explain. You would have to try it for yourself!
My mom got the Com Ga Roti, and it’s pretty much the same with Hai Nam but the meat is softer with a different seasoning on the outside. The dipping sauce is different for this dish. It’s a soy sauce base with chili peppers in it. Both dishes are equally good!
The older gentleman running the place is very nice and friendly as well. This is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in San Jose.

A hole in the wall place in a strip mall.
Pretty yummy salad that comes topped with hainan chicken. The dressing was light and fresh.
The Hainam chicken with sticky rice was pretty good for the price. The rice could have been more flavorful and stickier but it wasn’t bad. The chicken was moist and I enjoyed the «kimchi». It gave the dish a nice balance by providing a little bit of acidity.
I wish they gave you a small bowl of chicken broth with it.

They should rename the restaurant to Crack Chicken. I tried out the place with a co-​worker and I came back here for three days straight. There’s only two things on the menu — boiled chicken or rotisserie chicken. That’s it! But man oh man are they good.
You get a choice of rice and some sides like pickled veggies and chicken broth soup and that’s it. Service is very fast and the owner doesn’t talk much, but he’s very attentive. When he saw me coming back several days in a row he gave me that nod and a smirk.
Hai Nam is just this quaint little family operated Vietnamese restaurant that sells one thing — chicken with rice — but they do it extremely well. No frills or thrills, fancy décor or hot waitresses, but they deliver on every level on their food. Check them out.

According to Mamda Bear B., the chef of Hai Nam Restaurant was once chef at Phở Ga An Nam. Damn, I LOVE THAT PLACE (not so much lately for their watered down broth). Luckily, I randomly found this place.
Location (⁵⁄₅): The restaurant locates inside the Silver Creek Plaza (in the same plaza with so many great food places like Thien Long Restaurant, Cool Tea Bar, etc). There are plenty parking spaces. During weekend, this plaza can get crowded but there are always parking spaces.
Service (⁵⁄₅): Every I come, I always see an old couple. The man works at the front, and the woman works at the back. They are the nicest couple on earth! Regardless if I have rice dishes or phở, they always give me extra toppings such as Vietnamese kimchi, fried onions, etc (only if you nicely!!!). The traffic of this restaurant is not very busy. That’s why service is quick :)
Food (⁵⁄₅): I LOVE their phở ga (chicken phở) and com ga Hai Nam (Hai Nam rice dish). I tried their grilled chicken (ga roti), but I don’t like it as much as their Hai Nam chicken. In most dishes, they serve these dishes with fried onions and ginger fish sauce. In every serving bowl, the flavor is packed intensively with so much chicken meat. I rarely drink ALL chicken soup, but I usually do when I come here. Yup, can’t get enough of it!
Anyways, COME COME! Get yourself a bowl of chicken phở, or Hai Nam rice dishes with a small bowl of chicken soup. I highly recommend this place when it gets cold outside!

Ever since I visited Portland, I’ve been on the hunt to find the best Hai Nan Chicken in the Bay Area. This place may be it!
For only $ 9 you get a whole plate of Jasmine Rice (cooked with chicken broth), Kim Chi, 5 – 6 pieces of Hai Nan Chicken (Big pieces!), and Vermicelli Soup on the side. IT IS WORTH IT & SO FILLING. The dark pieces of chicken are cooked to perfection and tastes great with the ginger dipping sauce. I also really loved the Jasmine Rice since it was so flavorful and had some kind of addicting component to it. Amazing!
My boyfriend and I have visited this place twice in two weeks and seriously can’t get enough. The food is simply delicious, really filling, and inexpensive for how big the portions are. The staff is also really friendly and attentive (A+ for the servers constantly refilling my water). AND they also take credit card which is a great plus! Will be making more trips here in the future!

Lunch time and I was hungry after hiking Mission Peak. Thankfully there’s plenty of restaurants open in the area. Hai Nam wins for accepting credit cards.
I ordered the chicken phở. Service was speedy. The broth was very chicken-​y. Not salty like from pre-​made or canned broth. No this was liquid chicken with lots of rice noodles at the bottom. For some reason this didn’t blow my mind in terms of new flavors or unique ingredients. Still, I was hungry and my bowl was empty much too soon.
Is there a reason why this place didn’t have enough napkins for any table? If Hai Nam is your food choice you can’t go wrong.

The one thing I avoid ordering when dining out is chicken. The other is butterfish/​escolar/​walu. Well, unless I want to ignite the toilet with explosive fireworks (
). May I suggest feeding this to your enemy? *evil laugh*
Anyhow, unless it’s showered with blank truffles or stuffed with the forbidden fruit (foie gras), a chicken is a chicken is a chicken. I’m looking at you, Zuni Café and your boring, roasted chicken… for $ 60. Blasphemy.
However, there is one chicken I do seek out. It’s as comforting to me as a bottle of Hendrick’s Gin.
What is it?
Hainan Chicken.
Bland to some, the simplicity of the poached chicken in aromatics served alongside flavorful, «oily» rice is addicting especially when dipped in the robust sauce (s).
I’m constantly seeking it out as nowhere in SF seems to do the national dish of Singapore right.
Hai Nam is non-​descript and I would have never known about this chicken haven if it weren’t for Ken K. who gave me a heads up about this place. Thanks to his review, it was reassuring to know that I could eat at Hai Nam despite my msg allergy as long as I stayed away from the soup.
There’s only 11 items on the menu and as you’ve guessed… it’s all chicken dishes: salads, soups, noodles, and rice. Everything on the menu is less than $ 9. CC’s accepted.
I ordered the Hai Nam Chicken Rice ($ 8.50) which was a Vietnamesey version of hainan chicken:
. The chicken was perfectly moist and tender (even the white meat) while the rice was subtley flavorful. The accompanying sauce was a chili and garlic mixture which was pungent and robust. I slathered it all over the chicken and rice and it was deliciously satisfying.
Mr. NSS could are less about hainan chicken so I suggested that he order the Roti Chicken ($ 9) which is like a soy sauce chicken served with tomato rice, and a sweet soy w/​jalapeño dipping sauce:
. His chicken was much drier than my hainan chicken (reheated too long?) but had a nice, sweet and salty «glaze» on the skin. Loved his tomato rice. It was unique with a slight tangy and sweet essence.
I didn’t touch the complimentary bowl of soup but Mr. NSS, the msg pheen loved it. We were on our way out, and he went back to our table to finish my bowl.
The older gentleman that owns and runs Hai Nam is an absolute sweetheart and full of warm smiles. It does take a bit to get your order though; 20 – 25 minutes.
There’s just 9 tables to accommodate 25 people. It’s bare bones but very clean.
The shared parking lot (inside a plaza) is a c-​o-​m-​p-​l-​e-​t-​e clusterf*ck with AZN drivers… you would think they were bumping to E-40’s Gas, Break, Dip but they’re NOT… so stay clear, y’all!

Once again, Unilocal has helped me find another go to spot. If you love broiled chicken, this is the place to go.
I was in the mood for a Vietnamese dish that I haven’t had in a long time, so I decided to go on Unilocal to help me find a place for it. Lucky me, it was super close to home!
My boyfriend got the goi ga (broiled chicken salad), and I got the com ga hai nam (broiled chicken with brown rice). Both dishes came out fairly quickly and both were absolutely delicious. The chicken was juicy and tender. It also comes with this sweet gingery fish sauce that just completes the plate.
Great price, great food, and decent service!