FOCUS : LITTLE SAIGON: CITY WITHIN A CITY

Bolsa Avenue, Little Saigon’s “main drag,” is deceptively ordinary. Rows of strip shopping centers face each other across the busy avenue. They house the usual bakeries, markets, fabric shops and dentists’ offices. Take a closer look though, and you will soon see that this is no run-of-the-mill Main Street.

In 1975, when Tony Lam, his wife and six children fled the chaos of Saigon and arrived in Westminster, the area that would become Little Saigon was not much more than a series of vacant lots and dilapidated buildings. In the intervening years, Lam and his family have been a part of the area’s astonishing growth, reaping benefits far beyond their workaday dreams.

The Lams own the Vien Dong Restaurant, located just outside the perimeter of Little Saigon, where specialties such as barbecue pork noodles have kept the place popular and created a tidy source of income for a large family. In addition to his duties as restaurateur, Lam is the first vice president of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, an organization that promotes Vietnamese industry in places such as Little Saigon. Efforts by the chamber and others have paid off over the years, putting Little Saigon, if not on the map, at least on freeway markers.

In a ceremony attended by Gov. George Deukmejian last summer, it was announced that signs would be installed on the San Diego and Garden Grove freeways marking the exit ramps for the Little Saigon area. Rarely is this honor accorded a community and usually only in areas designated as of special cultural interest.

Lured by the new signs, intrigued motorists may be struck not only by the concentration of more than 800 Vietnamese-owned businesses but also by a realization the community has not forsaken its Asian heritage for trendy Southern California glitz.

Pop into the Lien Hung Supermarket and you won’t find a large selection of fat-free, boil-in-a-pouch dinners. What you will find, though, is a seafood section that probably dwarfs in size and variety any other purveyor of fresh fish you have ever seen. Looking for mudfish, sheephead, milkfish or mullet? How about baby octopus or freshly severed catfish head for that midwinter chowder? Sure, chicken thighs and Bud Lite can be found here. But the impression is inescapable that the duck feet, pork tail, black chicken and soybean juice move a lot faster.

For those interested in sampling the cuisine and culture of Vietnam without leaving Orange County, the Tet Festival, an Asian celebration of the Lunar New Year, may be the perfect opportunity. Cultural ceremonies, food and entertainment will be offered Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Little Saigon.

Population Population: (1988 est.) 21,325 1980-88 change: +3% Median Age: 34.6 Racial/ethnic mix: White, 78%; Latino, 12%; Black, 1%; Other, 9% By sex and age: MALES Median age: 34.0 years FEMALES Median age: 35.2 years Income Per capita: $15,583 Median Household: $43,527 Average Household: $43,630 Household Distribution: Less than $25,000: 21%

$50,000-74,999: 25%

$25,000-49,999: 41%

More than $75,000: 13%