The late American celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain was a fan of Vietnamese cuisine . He even invited former US President Barack Obama to appear in an episode of his food and travel series Parts Unknown in Hanoi in 2016.
Like the chef, Hong Kong – famous for its love of international cuisine – cannot resist the allure of Vietnam and there are many successful Vietnamese restaurants in the city, according to SCMP .
Vietnam has a diverse culture, which contributes to a sophisticated and enduring cuisine - something that Hong Kongers love.
That's also why Raymond Wong, who opened Bep Vietnamese Kitchen in Central in 2014 but has been running a Vietnamese restaurant in Hong Kong since 2003, "has a deep love for authentic and original Vietnamese cuisine."
Wong's Black Pepper Shaking Beef Rice
PHOTO: BEP
The commitment to quality at Bep – with other branches in Sheung Wan and Tai Kok Tsui in Hong Kong – is evident in the import of ingredients such as chillies, herbs and fish sauce from Vietnam.
The restaurant's beef pho broth is made from simmered beef bones and two types of beef brisket for richness, while rice dishes include black pepper beef and grilled pork ribs, says Wong.
Kenny Tse, who co-founded Pho Viet Authentic Hanoi Cuisine in Mong Kok in 2017, echoed Wong's sentiment: "Although Vietnamese cuisine doesn't always use high-end, 'fancy' ingredients and isn't as popular as Thai cuisine worldwide, the more I travel to Vietnam and experience the cuisine there, the more I realize that the cuisine can be refined."
Before opening the restaurant, Tse spent more than a decade working in Southeast Asian and Vietnamese restaurants in Hong Kong. That work took him to different regions of Vietnam, where he learned to appreciate local cuisine.
“The lack of good Vietnamese food in Hong Kong is one of the reasons my business partner Julie and I opened the restaurant,” he added.
Banh cuon dish at Pho Viet Authentic Hanoi Cuisine
PHOTO: SCMP
Tse said that every three months, the couple returns to Hanoi, Julie’s hometown, to try new restaurants. This is also where they source 70% of the restaurant’s ingredients, creating a distinctive flavor that reflects regional dishes.
"Many restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City have been 'renovated' to serve tourists and business travelers," he said, adding: "In Hanoi, the cuisine and tastes are much more traditional. Sometimes, you will see shops that have been owned by families for generations but specialize in only one dish."
One of the seasonal highlights at Pho Viet Authentic Hanoi Cuisine is the famous bun cha dish featured in Bourdain's Parts Unknown episode with Mr. Obama.
During Hong Kong's hot and humid summers, the restaurant focuses on refreshing dishes like bun rieu (a tomato and crab broth with rice noodles), Vietnamese banh mi and variations of bun thit nuong.
Vietnamese sandwich at An Choi restaurant
PHOTO: SCMP
In Sheung Wan, An Choi is a restaurant opened by Kay Mai, a Vietnamese, and her husband, chef Lewis Dai, a Hong Kong native who trained at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Los Angeles.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, she began exploring Vietnamese recipes in her and Dai's home kitchen in Hong Kong, and the two co-founded An Choi in 2023.
"Hong Kong people often think Vietnamese food is cheap and low quality," she added, "But making a good Vietnamese dish takes a lot of time and effort."
Mai revealed that many Westerners in Hong Kong believe that pho should be “sweeter and more aromatic, with star anise or cinnamon” and thinner, because that is what is served in Vietnamese restaurants in the West. However, she opts for the typical Vietnamese flavours and textures, which are “always clear, light and balanced with a little bit of spiciness”.
“We take our bread very seriously,” Dai shares. “It’s made entirely in-house, twice a day, to our own recipe. We also hand-prepare different pho broths every day. Our liver pate, egg mayonnaise, pickles, chili sauce, and all our dipping sauces are also made in-house.”
For those looking for a more upscale experience, Sep Hong Kong is a contemporary Vietnamese and Indochinese restaurant, opening in 2022 by Hong Kong chef DoBee Lam, who spent seven years living in Vietnam, his wife's homeland.
Hong Kong chef DoBee Lam and his wife, a Vietnamese
PHOTO: SCMP
“We specialize in Vietnamese cuisine with a unique wood-fired cooking method that adds depth and character to our dishes,” Lam shares.
One of Sep's signature dishes is smoked snakehead fish, a smoked fish dish that combines cod from the Kerguelen Islands - located between Africa, Australia and Antarctica - with tamarind fish sauce from Phu Quoc, Vietnam's first and largest island municipality.
“In Vietnam, local ingredients play an essential role in creating rich, fresh and delicious flavors, creating a unique culinary identity,” Lam shared. “My approach is not fusion, but rather blending the essence of Vietnamese cuisine with high-quality ingredients from around the world.”
Kiki Phung inside her shop
PHOTO: SCMP
Besides Vietnamese restaurants owned by foreigners, there are also many restaurants and shops created by Vietnamese people. The owner of the Banh Mi shop - a Vietnamese dish loved all over the world, owned by Kiki Phung, a Vietnamese-origin woman currently living in Hong Kong, is an example. She opened Banh Mi Nem shop in Wan Chai in 2024.
"My mother is a very good cook and used to run a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, so I am very picky about food. When I moved to Hong Kong, I started learning my mother's recipes," Phung shared.
Although her takeaway shop in Wan Chai opened only a year ago, it has expanded to another branch in Central, serving city dwellers and office workers in two of the busiest commercial districts on Hong Kong Island.
As of 2024, according to the Migration Policy Institute, an American research organization, there are about 12,000 Vietnamese people living in Hong Kong, accounting for 0.16% of the city's total population.
Thanhnien.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chuyen-ve-nhung-nguoi-nuoc-ngoai-ban-mon-viet-o-hong-kong-185250726080604166.htm
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