Popular Modesto pho restaurant opens 4th location in another Stanislaus County town
There are two foods that can bring me out of a negative mood: tamales, and grilled pork spring rolls from Saigon in Modesto.
When I heard that the owner of Saigon, Quan Nguyen, was opening another restaurant in Ceres, the first thing I did was tell my sister, who lives a couple of blocks away from it. The second thing I did was visit so I could share the news with you.
Saigon 2 opened at 2531 E. Whitmore Ave. in the Dollar General shopping center on Jan. 2. It is Nguyen’s fourth restaurant.
He opened Saigon at 2601 Oakdale Road in 2012, Saigon One at 901 N. Carpenter Road around 8 years ago and Gialai at 950 Oakdale Road nearly two years ago, he said. He wanted to open a location in Ceres to make it more convenient for customers who live in that area.
“We might be opening another one later on, but we don’t know the location yet,” Nguyen said. “It might be by the mall or something.”
The menus at each of the four restaurants are essentially the same, with Gialai’s having more choices since the restaurant is much larger. Gialai’s also has a bar.
Nguyen said the most popular dishes are beef noodle soup (pho), vermicelli plates and Chinese-style plates such as kung pao chicken and roasted duck. As I mentioned earlier, the pork spring rolls are my absolute favorite.
A medium bowl of pho is around $13 and a large bowl is $14 to $15. Prices vary by meat options and the options include steak, tendon, brisket, flank and beef balls.
Also on the menu is banh mi (beef, pork or chicken for $9) and smoothies ($5.75 plus 75 cents to add boba pearls).
Saigon 2 is open Wednesday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
This story was originally published January 6, 2026 at 11:01 AM.
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