Kat's 9 Lives

One word, Delicious! I read the rave reviews of this place on the internet. It was packed when I went. Expect a crowd at random times since it's located near UCI. There was little space to stand and wait for the sandwich. There were only four tables inside the store, definitely not a place for a lot of people to dine together. It was more like a quick grab and go place.
I felt a little rushed when ordering since there were some people behind me so I just kept ordering. I HAD to try the Chicken Garlic sandwich, 9 inches. It was delicious! The garlic sauce totally reminds me of Zankou Chicken! Simplistic but packed full of flavor. This was my favorite sandwich.
The web recommend the Chicken Mushroom and Broccoli sandwich, of course I chose GARLIC sauce! I guess I am a pure carnivore, I didn't like this as much. Just give me the chicken, garlic sauce, & cheese and I will be in heaven! If you like veggies then this sandwich would be a great combo for you.
I ordered the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich because I love cheese and chicken. Their sandwich also came with the wonderful garlic sauce, ham, and fresh tomato slices. For some odd reason I didn't like the sandwich all that much. It was good but the texture I felt was off. The ham was a thick slice, I think this might be one of the rare times that I say less meat the better. A thin slice wouldn't have taken so much away from everything else. It was still delicious, just not for me.
Unfortunately I decided to try the Special Meat with Paté sandwich. Thinking back, it really wasn't worth it. The sandwich was over $5 and only 9 inches. It was your typical Vietnamese sandwich toasted and maybe on better bread. Other than that nothing special. You can get the same sandwich at Lee's Sandwich, which was only a few steps away, for a much cheaper price and better! I only took one bite and gave it to my Mom.
People on the web also said that their Vietnamese Ice Coffee was good. It was cheap, $2, so I ordered one. You definitely get what you pay for. The size was very small, maybe 12 oz or less. It was good, not very strong, and sweet.

All in all I really liked this place. Loved the Chicken Garlic! I will definitely come back to try their other sandwiches, if only it wasn't so far away! The prices were reasonable and much cheaper than what I thought it would be. Not as cheap as Lee's sandwich, but a great value for the chicken sandwiches! I guess one of the main differences was that they use Vie de France bread. Definitely come check this place out for yourself and enjoy a nice hot sandwich, bring breath mints. I will probably dream about the garlic sauce, drool drool!