I really wanted to like this place. It’s right next to one of my favorite cambodian markets so I am in that shopping center often. I finally got a chance to try their lunch special today. :(Seriously sad face. The owner was super sweet and friendly and the prices were great. I know it is a mom & pop operation so I really wanted to support but I’m not sure I will come back. The other reviews seemed great so it’s possible I just ordered the wrong thing. I ordered the Hot & Spicy Chicken with vegetables — lunch special. It included soup and a fortune cookie. I also ordered the chicken egg roll. The portion was HUGE. It was basically big chunks of dark and light chicken which was dry and had very little flavor. There was nothing hot or spicy about this entrée. It was smothered in a thick and«gloopy» brownish-orange colored sauce. The veggies were on the side and just blanched. They appeared to be fresh and were comprised of coarsely chopped big chunks of cabbage and a few paltry slivers of carrot and a hint of broccoli. No seasoning. Sigh. I guess you could say it was a bit like nursing home comfort food — mushy, overcooked, no spices or seasonings. I threw the soup out. Why you may ask? Well, one whiff of the burnt garlic swimming in the chicken broth made me a little nauseous The egg roll was tasty and not greasy but… burnt on one side. The dipping sauce was bright fuchsia pink and sickly sweet. I have to admit I have a bit of a headache after that meal.
Robert Y.
Rating des Ortes: 3 San Francisco, CA
Located in the same plaza as the 99 cents store, I drive by the sign everyday as I head towards the freeway. Came in for a beef chow fun to go. While I was waiting, the cashier was very social and was chatting with me. After about 10 minutes, the owner came out with the food and began chatting with me also. The beef chow fun was pretty standard with the exception that they added cilantro to it. Otherwise it was decently average as I have had a lot worse in stockton.
Melinda H.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Stockton, CA
This is the only place that I think has the best chow fun with gravy. I use to come here every weekend with my mom in high school. Now it was my turn to take my kids. They had the phở which was decent. I had my usual fave. I highly recommend the chow fun with gravy. The owners are really nice and friendly too.
Jackie V.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Stockton, CA
This is a ma and pa place with very social owners. They willingly accommodate vegetarians, just tell them no fish sauce or seafood. It was very easy to ask for(some restaurants give me a hard time when I asked for a vegetarian version) the owner is the cook himself and he was very nice about it. We got the vegetarian version of the crispy noodles and I asked to add tofu in. The crispy noodles were simple but surprisingly really good. I would definitely come back to eat again, the tofu was also very crispy. When the owner served us the food he told us it was smart that we were vegetarians, so that was pretty nice haha.
Svetlaners B.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Oakland, CA
Kinda in a funky neighborhood but then again its stockton. The duck phở here is so good! Tripe stew was good. beef chow fun with gravy was weird, sweet flavored and had fried eggs in it which confused me. The décor is faded & outdated. What they lack in chowfun & cleanliness they sure make up for in hospitality! The lady owner is soooooo sweet. I realized when i heard her speak that she was in fact cambodian, which explains the yummy phở broth and odd take on chowfun! She brought us sweet sliced watermelon when we were done. It was about 109 degrees outside but she had it nice & cool in there! I’ll be back for more phở & to try other items and because that lady is so damn nice, i want to eat something better and give her more stars lol
Tray Z.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Seattle, WA
I havent been here since grade school. I remember coming here for Seafood Cantonese Chow Fun noodles(mekatang) with my Pa. The lady owner still look the same. Still talkative n friendly. The last time I had chow fun was @Mitapheap(Stockton, Ca) and it was so sweet and the service was slow n uhhhh not friendly. I recommend this place for good chow fun. I need to explore the menu next time when I swing by. 4 stars for service n cheap food.
Danny H.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Stockton, CA
Great phở! Try the duck phở and be pleasantly surprised to talk with the owners as they try and pass the time of a long work day.
Julie H.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Stockton, CA
I have been to this place one other time just last week. When I walked in today the owner Julie asked me if I wanted the same thing as before because she new I enjoyed the beef Phở I had last week. I told her sure and thank you for remembering. When my food came she saw me take a picture of the food, she asked me if I was taking a pic to show my daughter? My first thought was how do you know I have a daughter. Anyway I told the pic was to put on Unilocal,she had no clue about Unilocal so I told her a bit about it. Besides the lady’s that do my pedicures she is the most friendly Asain lady I have ever met. The soup was also delishes. Of course ill be going back~ :)
Andy J.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Stockton, CA
Every time I go to this place, I try something different and It’s always good. Also, good service and cheap for quality food.
Josh V.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Stockton, CA
It’s been a few years since I’ve been to New Kim Tar but I decided to pay another visit yesterday with my ladybooshabooki. We ordered the duck phở, the rare steak and meatball phở and the thai chicken fried rice. First of all the soup. I ordered the duck phở with rice noodles and it was absolutely delicious. The broth tasty, the duck was crispy on the outside and nice and juicy on the inside and a helping of it too. The bowl of rare steak and meatball phở was good but it was a very small portion. Beware they do not serve the«smedium» size that you normally get a Vietnamese restaurant. The small is SMALL. Great if you have a little one with you and don’t want food to go to waste. Last thing we ordered was the Thai chicken fried rice. It sounded great but was extremely disappointing. They put a lot of peanuts in the rice which I originally thought would taste good but I think it makes the dish taste bland and gave the rice a weird mushy texture. The chicken had a good spicy flavor but the rice lacked the same kick I was hoping for. I would have to say what I love at this restaurant the most is the service you get from the owners, they are extremely friendly and know their customers. I will be back again.
Jayne N.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Tracy, CA
This place is great for bun tom thit ngou. I would usually come here if I didn’t feel like driving to phở lucky. really great food.
Seaton T.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Union City, CA
My actual rating for this restaurant would be 2 stars, probably 1 for the quality of food based off of my own visit. Maybe I should have asked for suggestions, but I ordered one of the combo dinners. I’ve uploaded the picture. After receiving the dinner plate, I wasn’t sure what I had ordered. I ate about half of the«Chinese» dinner plate before deciding to stop. The broccoli and beef was kind of like biting into bubble wrap without the fun pop. The pork chow mein was supposed to be some sort of cha siu pork, but it looked like expired pork that had been dyed red rather than spiced. I don’t even know what my gelatinous fried meat was. Only the garlic fried chicken was palatable, and I probably would have been happier with a plate full of that alone. The owners are nice at least, and I feel guilty giving small businesses anything below three stars. I’d probably suggest getting rid of their Chinese fare(minus the egg rolls and other small foods that can be easily packed up and served) and sticking to phở(which seems to be more popular).
Skott H.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Torrance, CA
You know, service to me matters more than the food most of the time. The owners are very sociable, I walk in and after I order she goes, «Oh, you must be a college student!» I still don’t understand how she did that, but regardless she’s good. I ordered phở since I’m on a phở quest in Stockton, but to be completely honest while still being respectful — I’ve had better. I do believe that the meats and broth have been made many hours prior and simply heated up and put in a bowl. Bottom line — I wouldn’t recommend this to a friend, but I wouldn’t mind going back.
Alma R.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Sacramento, CA
Came here for lunch with a friend today. Not too busy, only a few other patrons other than the two of us. The owners are so cute! When they came to take our order, one of the owners immediately knew what my friend wanted, which I thought was really nice. Kinda shows how personal they get with their customers that frequent the place. As for myself, I have a tendency to be pretty indecisive and she noticed that look of «Oh damn, what do I choose?» on my face and recommended that I get the Pancit! haha I asked her«Why?» and she said because I was«Filipino.» How did she know?! I guess its pretty obvious. lol Anyway, I was craving Phở and she recommended I try the Seafood one, which was what I did. Ordered a side of tea and shortly after, our food was out, smelling delicious and quite hot. Also, a pretty decent price… roughly $ 6 for lots of soup. All in all, it was pretty good. I would rate this place a little higher, but I’d like to come back to try more of their menu!
Jonah S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Stockton, CA
I hadn’t been in here for a long time after frequenting the place and they still remembered me. I go here basically just for the chicken egg rolls so that is all I am reviewing in terms of the food. they are soooo good. As soon as I walked in she was like«How many rolls will it be today?» That is just awesome service. They are pretty big and a buck each. Well worth it.
Pigsy k.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Stockton, CA
the owners here are very very sociable. about the 1st or 2nd time i went, both of the owners, especially the cooked TALKED/lectured for SO long about his life. i guess they don’t get much customers? anyways they’re a great local place! i always order the crunch basket noodles… its my favorite there, but one time i threw up after eating it. O_O but i think its because i ate too fast because it was so good and cheap! i don’t think i have tried anything else that was memorable besides that. but their food is decent and good for its price. waiting time is also pretty short ! menu is nice because they actually have pictures of many things on their menu.
Abby l.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Vallejo, CA
great place for phở! i have the chicken phở here all the time and it’s always awesome. the best part are the couple that run this place; always so friendly and welcoming no matter who you are. sometimes their daughter will help out when it gets busy and she is a HOTTIEWOOO!
Don D.
Rating des Ortes: 2 San Francisco, CA
I ordered some Phở, it was alright. My buddy and I ordered some garlic fried chicken, and it wasn’t all that great. The chicken did not have any flavor at all. It seems like the chicken was boiled for stock for a long time. I almost want to say my experience was horrible. I don’t think i’ll go back. For I paid over 6 dollars for a bowl of Phở here, I think it was a medium size, and it appeared to be a small from other Phở houses. I’d rather go to Saigon bay which is a little cheaper and the food is great there. Service was great from the older couple, but the food and the cleanliness of my teapot just really brings down the place for me.
B W.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Stockton, CA
Got the duck phở, it was GREAT. Serve Chinese and Vietnamese dishes and they all look so good. Have only been a few times, but the servers are always smiling and they are helpful when you can’t decide. Have yet to try any of their Chinese dishes, but I bet they are great in a «poor Chinese food» city like Stockton. I’m chinese/vietnamese and I know what good chinese and vietnamese food is, so give this place a try you won’t regret it!
Ruth C.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Washington, DC
Aloof, albeit polite service. Carryout available. Vietnamese/Cantonese cuisine. Not the place to get phở. I almost feel guilty for this, because I know how hard it can be for new restaurants to get off the ground, but here’s the thing. Even if you’re barely making a profit margin for the first few months, I don’t believe in using old meat. Unacceptable. And you can taste it, especially if it’s in a broth. I’ll probably go back in another couple months to try other dishes, but the appalling flavor of week-old meat in my phở has repulsed me for the time being.