Simply the best Vietnamese in town, tiny restaurant Vietnamese Foodies has earned itself a huge following thanks to its fantastic, utterly authentic food – including (natch) a Ho Chi Minh-worthy pho. Starting out life in JLT, the restaurant became so popular the team expanded to Burj Views in Downtown Dubai.
And in 2021 Vietnamese Foodies will be one of the restaurants serving up exciting, super-tasty dishes at Time Out Market Dubai in Downtown Dubai’s Souk Al Bahar.
Chef and owner Lily Hoa Nguyen is the brains behind it, she talks authentic pho, simple prep and complex flavours.
How long have you been in Dubai?
I’ve lived in Dubai for more than four years now, and opened Vietnamese Foodies in 2018. I was giving cooking lessons in Turkey before we moved here, so I decided to try it in Dubai, and they very quickly gained traction.
What do people love to order?
Our pho, which is simmered for 14 hours. It’s also been wonderful to see some other quintessentially Vietnamese dishes also grow in popularity like bun, which are cold rice noodles.
Who are your culinary influences?
I think most of my culinary influences come from my childhood. I grew up in post-war Vietnam as the second youngest of four girls and we had a small farm away from the city. I would spend my summers there on the farm learning to tend to plants and animals. Vietnam is also a great source of inspiration and I always feel like I’m discovering new things about our cuisine.
What’s your favourite dish?
I love crispy skin roast duck wrapped in a pillowy steamed bun with some hoisin sauce, spring onions added.
What do you consider the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten?
Loads of things. Blood pudding, spider tempura and cricket snacks.
What is it about vietnamese cooking that makes it such a hit?
Vietnamese food is often simple in its preparation, but complex in taste. It’s about sourcing the freshest quality ingredients . When I first moved here to Dubai, our cuisine was extremely under-represented but I’m so proud of the interest and reception to it. Also, vegan and gluten-free cooking is getting more popular, which many Vietnamese dishes are.
For more news on Time Out Market Dubai, click here.
