{"id":498561,"date":"2026-10-16T22:42:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T22:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/498561\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T22:42:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T22:42:13","slug":"san-joses-lion-plaza-hosts-a-rollicking-vietnamese-sidewalk-cafe-pop-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/498561\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jos\u00e9\u2019s Lion Plaza Hosts A Rollicking Vietnamese Sidewalk Cafe Pop-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

C\u00e0 Ph\u00ea & B\u00e1nh brings Vietnamese coffee, matcha and pork floss croissants to Lion Plaza.<\/p>\n

Oct 16, 2026<\/p>\n

Updated 2:51 pm PT<\/p>\n

\"Asian<\/p>\n

Andrew Hong, aka Droo the Baker, talks to a customer during a pop-up event at Nisei in San Francisco. Hong’s pop-up bakery, Gong Dessert Shop, is one of several up-and-coming Vietnamese American pop-ups that will be featured at Lion Plaza’s first ever Ca Phe & Banh event.\u00a0(Courtesy of Andrew Hong)<\/p>\n

These days, Lion Plaza<\/a> doesn\u2019t get nearly as much hype as San Jos\u00e9\u2019s<\/a> newer, splashier Vietnamese malls<\/a> like Vietnam Town and Grand Century. But OGs know the Tully Road strip mall as the heart of the South Bay\u2019s original Little Saigon<\/a>, and the plaza has never lost that grassroots community vibe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Case in point is this Saturday\u2019s C\u00e0 Ph\u00ea & B\u00e1nh<\/a> pop-up, which aims to recreate the feel of a Vietnamese open-air sidewalk cafe right out in the strip mall\u2019s parking lot.<\/p>\n

Organized by the Tully Road Eastridge Business Association<\/a>, the morning cafe pop-up plans to deck out the parking lot with the iconic plastic red stools<\/a> and tables found at coffee shops and street-side restaurants all over Vietnam \u2014 a point of nostalgia for so many Vietnamese Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to bring a little bit of Vietnam here,\u201d Andrew Hong, one of the food vendors, tells KQED.<\/p>\n

\"AOne of several drinks vendors to be featured at the event, Caffeine Depot will be selling both matcha drinks and Vietnamese coffee drinks.\u00a0(Courtesy of Caffeine Depot)<\/p>\n

Hong, aka Droo the Baker<\/a>, has curated a lineup of seven up-and-coming Vietnamese American beverage vendors and pastry chefs<\/a> to headline the event. South Bay crowd favorites include Nha the Cafe<\/a>, Caffeine Depot<\/a> and From Em<\/a>. Caffeine hounds will have their pick of matcha Einspanners, pandan milk tea and probably a dozen different twists on a classic phin-style Vietnamese coffee. Food-wise, there will be uber-trendy salt bread sandwiches, coffee-flavored Biscoff cookies and more.<\/p>\n

The one pop-up I\u2019m personally most excited to try is Hong\u2019s own pop-up venture, Gong Dessert Shop<\/a>, who will be selling pork-floss croissants (one of his signature dishes), p\u00e2t\u00e9-stuffed puff pastry and what looks like a Vietnamese American take on a McDonald\u2019s Filet-o-Fish sandwich (!).<\/p>\n

\"AGong Dessert Shop\u2019s fish sandwich is like a cross between a Filet-o-Fish sandwich and Vietnamese Choc ca La Vong.<\/p>\n

\"CroissantThis pork floss croissant is one of Droo the Baker\u2019s signature items.<\/p>\n

Hong says the original inspiration for that particular stroke of genius came when he had the recently viral $3.50 fried fish sandwich at San Leandro\u2019s Chinese Bakery & Deli<\/a>. He loved it, but his first thought afterward was, \u201cThis would be so great if it was the [Vietnamese] dill-and-turmeric fish,\u201d aka Ch\u1ea3 c\u00e1 L\u00e3 V\u1ecdng, which is often made with grilled catfish.<\/p>\n

Tweaking the original by frying the fish with panko breading, adding his own signature umami mayo and putting it all on a homemade milk bread bun is exactly the type of next-gen twist that makes San Jos\u00e9\u2019s Vietnamese pop-up ecosystem so exciting.<\/p>\n

\"MainLion Plaza was at the center of San Jos\u00e9\u2019s first Vietnamese shopping district. A new wave of food entrepreneurs are hoping to bring back the crowds.\u00a0(Courtesy of Andrew Hong)<\/p>\n

No one knows better than Hong that business is slower is these days in the plaza, despite the fact that the food court<\/a> remains one of the best in town. About 12 years ago, he and his sister moved to the Bay to take over the Lion Plaza location of Van\u2019s Bakery<\/a>, one the South Bay\u2019s most famous and longstanding traditional Vietnamese bakeries, from their aunt and uncle. Hong says everyone he talks to about his day job tells him, \u201cOh, I know Van\u2019s! My parents used to get my birthday cakes there all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what about now?\u201d Hong says. \u201cOur goal is to have them come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than anything, then, he hopes C\u00e0 Ph\u00ea & B\u00e1nh is the first \u201cbaby step\u201d in that process. He doesn\u2019t necessarily want to reinvent Lion Plaza, he says. Lion Plaza has always been great. But now, he says, \u201cWe got a fresh coat of paint\u201d \u2014 literally.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same but also better,\u201d Hong says about the strip mall. \u201cIt\u2019s not stuck in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

C\u00e0 Ph\u00ea & B\u00e1nh<\/a> will pop up in the Lion Plaza parking lot (1816 Tully Rd., San Jos\u00e9) on Saturday, Oct. 17 9:30 a.m.\u20131:30 p.m. Free admission; all food and drink will be sold a la carte. The event will also feature DJs and family-friendly craft activities.<\/p>\n