Het Say

I was walking along the Alameda when I noticed a colorful sitting area just down Hanchett street. I wandered over to see what it was and discovered the Het Say cafe, serving Vietnamese specialties right next to the soon to be open Beautiful Way pocket park. I ordered the Vietnamese coffee which is a strong brew meant to be sipped slowly. It came with a tiny piece of chocolate to nibble on between sips I will be back soon to try the savory food dishes! Logistics:- a few outdoor tables for seating - currently open limited weekend hours, with potential for some weekday service once the park opens - accepts cash and card

This place deserves so much more. I have been wanting to try this place since I moved here from Santa Barbra. There menu is quite different from want you expect from a Vietnamese restaurant. They are definitely a gem and true to every bite. I loved the way they didn't do just a traditional banh mi but their own version like the dipped banh mi and bone broth. The bread really stood out for me. Crispy exterior and soft and chewy in the inside. It really compliments the broth for dipping. The sandwich itself was very good and very filling, great for sharing. They had an assortment of other dishes like the sweet sticky rice & wild mushrooms. Little pastries and house drinks as well. The service was really nice and came out in a beautiful tray which was perfect to take amazing pictures of their food. Really smart actually. Will definitely be coming back and highly recommend to friends and family.

Het Say is a food trailer with popups at various farmer's markets in the area. I decided to try them out after seeing pictures of the food on Instagram and really wanted to try their banh xeo.The menu rotates weekly so I wasn't able to try it, so I opted to try the iced coffee, chicken congee (comes with salad) and the pandan waffle. I placed my order online since there was a long line at the farmer's market for a weekend morning, but we waited 20 minutes before checking in with them and turns out they weren't even looking at online orders. Then we proceeded to wait another 20 minutes for the order. The operation seems quite disorganized; if you're not going to check online orders, why have it up in the first place? The chicken congee, which tastes like it was made from chicken broth, was a good pairing with the refreshing salad, but I wish the congee was a bit thicker. I watched them make the coffee and it was a giant chunk of ice with 1/3 cup of liquid in a small cup. It was good, but definitely expensive. The pandan waffle is a no-go. I couldn't taste pandan and it was bland; the only flavor was from the banana in the middle. I always like supporting popups, but for the long wait, small portions, and expensive prices, the food here is not quite worth it. Would give this place a 2.5/5 stars, rounding up to a 3.

five stars bc food was amazing, staff was friendly and sweet, and loved the vibe it rlly brought me back to my vietnam trip! we also really loved their coffee drinks and i will be returning with my other friends for sure!

This under-the-radar gem is a stunner with some of the best high-quality Vietnamese cooking in the South Bay. It's pricy, sure, but the quality of the ingredients suggests you're getting a steal. I had been once before (early on in the pandemic, when they operated out of their garage). The team is now working out of a food truck near Valley Med, with menus posted every week (and available for pre-order, though walk-ups are also accommodated). I had the Banh Mi, which is often viewed as a cheaper eat. It cost $15, but was among the best sandwiches I've had this year (my only con was the bread). But the aromatic mix of flavors had me repeatedly just "mmm" and "aaaa" as I stuffed my face. There's so much ambition here... and it really is that good. If this were Michelin, this is a very easy Bib Gourmand.

I don't normally review farmer market vendors but, this place gets one today. When I order a dish then immediately order the same dish for more that's something. The crab and chicken rolls were so flavorful and fresh. The lettuce to wrap the roll in was from other local growers and the pickled carrots and cabbage we perfectly crunchy. Great job guys! I've also tried their Bahn Mi at the farmers market at Valley Med in San Jose on Wednesdays. I'll give them 5 stars on their take on bahn mi. They are pretty innovative when it comes to food! Bravo

Everything I've ordered from Het Say has been amazing. Flavorful and more homecooked tasting which makes them a favorite for me for takeout. I find most places too salty, oily to revisit. Their cookies are out of this world. And along with Lion Dance Cafe, my two favorite discoveries during the pandemic.They have a food truck at the SJ Rose Garden, but it's better to pre-order for pick-up there because they do run out of things.They have a rotating menu of items so its fun to check out what they have each week.----Also going through the pandemic has made me more thoughtful about how I do and do not support the local food community. It's wonderful to support small, asian-owned resturants v. some big corporate chain because I do not want to live in a Bay Area where the only options are big corporate resturant chains making souless food.Het Say is absolutely run by two very thoughtful wonderful people cooking from the heart, and you can taste it in the food!

Great pop up restaurant style service. I just checked them out at farmer's market on Wednesday in front of Building M Valley Medical Hospital. Great Healthy foods

Food is outstanding. It's fun that they have a rotation of dishes they work thru.Chocolate cookie - intense flavor. I can only take one bite before having to take a cookie break Braised pork banh mi - I like that the meat is "saucy" compared to most banh mi that I have. Something different. I'd say this is competitive with the best banh mi in the bay, but not absolute best. Wish it had more veggies.Coconut sticky rice with rice wafer - I kinda thought it would be more sweet than it was, but it's quite savory! Loved the contrast, really fun to eat. Savory sticky rice - loved the contrast of flavors and texture. I haven't tried anything like this air dried sausage. Big peppercorns made a fun bite.Banh Xeo - the star dish, probably my favorite banh xeo I've tried Stateside. Great crunchiness, and excellent filling. I think I liked the mushroom filling _more_ than the shrimp/pork! I didn't expect that!Watermelon coffee - I won't say I disliked it, but I definitely wasn't ready for it. Glad to have tried it, but not for me in the future.Very very very excited to return to try whatever new pops up in their menu!

They are one of many makers in my weekly food shopping consolidator's website. Here is some background about their business (https://www.discoverpastel.com/blog/het-say-vietnamese-pop-up-san-jose-bay-area). I've studied their menu weekly on Pastel with mostly offerings of their sausages and sauces. Their cuisine is clearly rooted from the Mekong area of South Vietnam.One week, my friend asked me to order their oatmeal and dry mango cookies (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=9xeK6cB8jwuCS-hV6OuqPg&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q) which she generously shared with me; their description for this is: Chunky style cookie of oatmeal, Xoài cát Hoà Lộc | Mekong Delta mango variety, and pistachio. It was certainly interesting and flavorful and actually ate more like a mini muffin for me, given its size and cakiness. Then just before or around Mother's Day, they offered a chicken porridge (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=yu1ZtnyYAeWjOjv3joyd4g&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q) which I immediately ordered; here is their description: Mekong style chicken porridge/chao made with creamy 'Soc Trang' rice, deep chicken stock with a side of goi/cabbage slaw with hand shredded 'ga di bo' (free range walking chicken), 'rau ram' herbs, onion, and crispy chicken skins crackling. Eaten with a sauce of ginger 'nuoc mam cham' fish sauce dressing. Yes, that is a pretty long description of that it was. All I can say is "GET THIS" if they offer it again. This was the BEST bowl of chao, jook, porridge that I'd ever eaten and that's not an exaggeration. As I heated it on the stove and spooned the remaining contents from the bottom of the plastic container, I licked the spoon and was amazed by the flavor from that. Think having a refreshing taste of slow cooked chicken broth. This paired perfectly with the provided chicken salad with the hot and cold contrast. Literally licked that bowl clean. The only minor flub is that I don't remember seeing or getting the cracklings unless it was because the chicken skin changed form since I ate it about a week later I picked it up.After this experience, you can be sure that I will be checking their weekly menu for this or any similar menu offering that they may have. Thank you for this homey, tummy warming meal. By the way, I can't remember the last time I've been to San Jose... Hugh Jackman?!