Vietnamese ‘broken rice’ gets elevated at a new East Bay restaurant

A new restaurant in Hayward has declared it wants to make Vietnamese broken rice “as recognizable as pho.”

Com Tam Bros opened in early June at 28565 Hesperian Blvd. in a retail-shopping center next to a Costco. It’s a casual place, serving casual meals, notably com tam – a comfort food that has a sizable cultural significance.

Com tam began as a byproduct from milling rice on the Mekong Delta in the 1900s. Damaged grains that weren’t fit for the market were repurposed into making a humble dish for farmers and their families. Later in the 1950s and ’60s, it morphed into something of an urban street food, with vendors adding savory toppings and sunny-side eggs for the city masses.

“Originally made from fractured grains once considered less desirable, broken rice became legendary — paired with grilled meats, bright pickles, fresh herbs and a bold sweet-salty balance that hits every time,” the restaurant team writes on its website.

The owners of Com Tam grew up eating the dish after school and at family gatherings. Now they’re here to elevate and modernize com tam, they write: “We believe broken rice represents something bigger — turning what was once overlooked into something powerful.”

The menu includes pho with 24-hour beef broth, vermicelli bowls and small plates like Saigon crunch rolls and shrimp-avocado spring rolls. Com tam itself is served as an accompaniment to various proteins and comes with fresh veggies, crispy pork skin, scallion oil and house fish sauce.

Com-tam combo plates include grilled pork chops, grilled shrimp and chicken, Korean short ribs and cha trung, a traditional Vietnamese steamed-egg pork meatloaf with glass noodles and wood ear-mushrooms. And to drink, there’s Vietnamese coffee and fruit-forward drinks like flavored lemonade, as well as something icy and mysterious called the “Dragon Lady.”

Details: Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily at 28565 Hesperian Blvd., Hayward; comtambros.com