VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnamese community in Vientiane have plenty of options when they’re pining for some grub from the old country.
 
Late one evening in Vientiane a Vietnamese man quietly reassures me that I can easily find a nice, bowl of pho in the morning. Now, in my defence I didn’t ask for this piece of advice. The man just presumed I’d appreciate the tip and the comforting notion that I could find a taste of home in a foreign land.

Not that anyone should be surprised. With the Laotian capital’s population now home to a significant number of Vietnamese, pho could very well be one of the Vientiane’s most popular dishes. Wherever you find overseas Vietnamese communities you will find pho. Near Chaleunxay Hotel on Khounboulom Road, one popular pho restaurant is owned by Nguyen Thanh Minh, a 52-year old Vietnamese woman who moved to Laos four decades ago. Previously she worked in a local market, but 12 years ago she started selling pho.

“Initially, I had a small roving kitchen and I only sold pho in the morning,” says Minh. “Later on when I had enough money, I rented this spot and set up my restaurant. As the number of eaters increased, the shop expanded and now I sell pho around the clock.” Minh’s business sense is not entirely opportunistic. She hails from a pho-making family – her parents once ran a restaurant in Vietnam — and she is proud of her authentic recipes. Word of Minh’s wonderful broth has also clearly spread. Her clientele is a fascinating mixture of Vietnamese, Laotians and foreign tourists.

While Vietnamese people want to eat a classic or traditional bowl of pho, Laotians often like salted egg-plant or eggs added to the broth. “Initially, I had to take time to learn how different people liked to eat pho and create different recipes for them, although the broth is purely Vietnamese in style,” she says. The price is also attractive. She charges just 12,000 kip ($0.68) for a small bowl or 15,000 kip ($0.85) for a bigger serving.

A Vietnamese crêperie

On Chao Anou Road, Pham Thi Ly runs a restaurant specialising in banh cuon – the rice crêpe shop filled with pork and wood ear mushrooms seasoned with black pepper and served with fish sauce on the side. From 5am to mid-afternoon this small 20sqm restaurant is packed with hungry punters. Ly and her daughter have made banh cuon for more than 30 years. Her father comes from Ninh Binh province in Vietnam but Ly was born in Laos. There is nothing is different from how the banh cuon is prepared and served in Laos.

Sitting in her restaurant listening to her shout out instructions in Vietnamese to her family, I feel as if I am around the corner from my family home in Hanoi’s Thanh Tri district, which is famous for its delicious banh cuon.

Feeding the masses

Nguyen Thi Diep owns Dokkoune Restaurant on Road Thatdam in Chanthabouly district, a recently opened establishment that offers seafood as well as meat cooked in Vietnamese style. The theme inside is clearly Vietnamese with traditional pictures of beautiful maidens in ao dai and farmers in conical hats harvesting rice. In the kitchen the chefs are all from Vietnam.

“After paying the rent and other overheads, I make $550 - $600 a month, which is enough for my family’s life here,” says Diep. “My customers usually come here in the evening after work,” she says, glancing at a table of young men drinking beer. “It’s too bad I have no bia hoi for them!” Elsewhere in Vientiane you can also find the Lao-Viet Restaurant, Vietnam Food Restaurant and Dong Xanh (Green Fields) amongst many others. In the morning, you can even find banh my (bread) for breakfast at PVO restaurant by the Mekong river. You can order banh my pâte or banh my trung and coffee to kick start your day.

The Vietnamese in Vientiane still maintain Vietnamese ways and cuisine is clearly central to the process of identification for this overseas community.  

VietNamNet/