Recently, many Vietnamese restaurants in New York have been introduced and praised by the media for attracting a large number of customers, always full of seats. Among them is a restaurant called Banh Anh Em , located in the Upper West Side.

This is a place that is said to have "a very rich, sophisticated variation of famous dishes from all over Vietnam", such as Nam Dinh beef pho, Hanoi rice rolls, Hai Phong baguettes, Buon Ma Thuot rice paper rolls with fish sauce, vermicelli with fish sauce, sticky rice, banh can or fried banh chung.

VIETNAMESE RESTAURANTS IN THE US
Vietnamese restaurant packed with customers. Photo: The New Yorker

This Vietnamese restaurant was founded by two chefs, Nhu Ton and John Nguyen. They opened a broken rice restaurant in New York in 2018, then continued to open a restaurant with a variety of Vietnamese dishes, especially cakes.

Sharing with New York Eater , Ms. Nhu Ton said: "When I first came to America, Vietnamese cuisine seemed to mainly revolve around pho and banh mi, with flavors completely different from home. That's why I decided to open my own restaurant, with my own vision."

The restaurant owner has dedicated an area with a glowing charcoal stove to prepare typical Vietnamese dishes. The charcoal will make the dishes emit a fragrant aroma that stimulates the sense of smell and in fact, this kitchen is always overloaded.

Hanoi rice rolls are served piping hot. Photo: Banh Anh Em

At the restaurant, diners have the opportunity to enjoy unique dishes rarely found in Vietnamese restaurants abroad.

For example, the chef has added fried banh chung to the menu - a traditional dish for the Lunar New Year, removed from its fragrant dong leaves and fried until golden and crispy, creating a flavor that is both familiar and strange.

Also selling banh mi - a famous Vietnamese dish, but the chef added a version of baguette - a specialty of Hai Phong.

The bread is small in size but skillfully stuffed with fatty pate and spongy pork floss. The crispy crust and fragrant, soft filling of the bread will become more attractive when dipped in Chi Chuong - a special chili sauce of Hai Phong people with a light consistency, bright red or orange-red color.

Baguette, a Hai Phong specialty, has a crispy crust and soft pate filling. Photo: Anh Em Bread

There are dishes that diners must enjoy hot at the restaurant, for example, Banh Uot Chong - a dish prepared by chef Nhu Ton with the flavors of his hometown Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak. The dish is impressively presented on a vertical stand with many plates stacked on top of each other. Each plate is covered with a layer of soft Banh Uot, sprinkled with golden fried onions.

The cake is served with charcoal grilled pork, fermented pork rolls, pickled cabbage, fresh cucumber, green mango, herbs and fish sauce. The cake is made and sold as it is made to ensure the best flavor.

Banh uot chong makes international diners curious. Photo: Banh Anh Em

La Vong fish cake is also a dish that diners can only fully experience the flavor when enjoying right at the restaurant. Similar to restaurants in Hanoi, the chef also brings diners a frying pan and gas stove right at the table.

The fish pieces marinated in turmeric and elaborate spices are placed on a hot pan, topped with coriander and green onions, to give off a fragrant aroma. This dish is accompanied by vermicelli, roasted peanuts and of course, shrimp paste.

The restaurant's promotional channel reported that they chose shrimp paste from a 3-generation family-run shop in old Nam Dinh (now Ninh Binh).

The restaurant does not accept reservations. When the restaurant opens, customers register and wait. Sometimes they have to wait 1-2 hours for their turn. But according to the reporter for The New Yorker , most customers find it worth the time, they are attracted by the vibrant atmosphere here.

Vietnamese restaurant makes international guests wait to enjoy. Source: Banh Anh Em

The couple brought vermicelli with shrimp paste to New York, and the restaurant was packed with customers, and the American newspaper praised it with great praise . "Diners sat on the sidewalk, surrounded by people walking and vehicles passing by. It felt like having lunch in Hanoi," a journalist described the vermicelli with shrimp paste restaurant of Nhung Dao and her husband in New York, USA.

Linh Trang - Khanh Linh

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/quan-viet-o-my-ban-dac-san-ha-noi-hai-phong-khach-cho-2-tieng-de-an-2445956.html