Shrimps wrapped up with mango, bean sprouts and hot fish sauce — Vietnamese cuisine is rightly famous for mixing delicate and contrasting flavors.
But while the number of dishes in Vietnamese cuisine is immense, the number of restaurants to try them in Kyiv is surprisingly small. There are less than 10 restaurants in a city of nearly 3 million people.
And most of the venues are relatively new, as Kyivans have just started broadening their horizons, experimenting with new flavors.
When Vietnamese citizen Quyen Ong moved to Kyiv a year ago, she tried to find authentic Vietnamese dishes in the capital.
But Ong, 39, says that at first she only managed to find some năms and spring rolls that tasted “almost (like) Vietnamese food.”
“I see that Ukrainians like Pho, năm and spring rolls, but of course, we have more types of food in Vietnam,” Ong says.
According to Ong, Vietnamese people like spicy food and use different variations of fish sauce, made from fish or krill. Ong also says traditional Vietnamese dishes are slightly different from the ones she could find in Kyiv, where these dishes are less spicy and less sweet.
However, Ong still believes that those who want to try her country’s cuisine in Kyiv can find some places with authentic, traditional Vietnamese food in the Ukrainian capital.
The Kyiv Post checked out some of the capital’s best Vietnamese restaurants.
Chang
The historic heart of Ukraine’s capital is full of restaurants of all kinds. Chang, however, stands out from the dozens of places in Kyiv’s downtown as the only venue said to be serving authentic Vietnamese food.
According to the restaurant’s staff, the name of the venue was chosen for a reason — Chang means firstborn in some Vietnamese dialect, and it is the first restaurant of its owners.
Chang has a Vietnamese chef, who created the menu. It includes four types of spring rolls – shiitake mushrooms and tofu, shrimps, salmon, and smoked eel, all served with hot fish sauce.
Apart from spring rolls, Chang also has a variety of salads for both vegetarians and meat fans, main courses, and wontons — a type of dumpling that often contains chicken, shrimp or beef.
On the dessert menu, Chang has five options, including mango-passion fruit cheesecake, mint-lime choux pastry with cream, chocolate bon ton cake, mango mousse, and ice-cream.
The restaurant can seat nearly 85 people, and its welcoming staff are always ready to recommend something on the menu.
Prices: Spicy coconut soup with seafood — Hr 265, spring roll with shrimps — Hr 142, passion fruit-orange lemonade — Hr 75
Chang. 25A Yaroslaviv Val St. Mon-Sun. 11 a. m. — 10:30 p. m. +38067 873 7878
Tin Tin
Named after the adventurous protagonist of the Belgian comic book series “The Adventures of Tintin,” this restaurant welcomes its visitors to explore some of the best combinations of Vietnamese cuisine.
Located about 10 minutes’ walk from Zoloti Zorota metro station, Tin Tin offers a great view of Kyiv’s cycle track and attracts visitors with its huge, wall-size windows, green plants and bright pictures painted on the venue’s grey walls.
Tin Tin combines authentic Vietnamese recipes with modern presentation, giving its visitors a chance to try traditional food with a novel twist.
The restaurant`s menu includes a decent amount of năms — traditional Vietnamese rolls with different fillings wrapped in rice paper — including năms with duck, shrimps, salmon and pork with mushrooms.
Tin Tin also has a variety of bowls with meat, fish and vegetables for every taste, as well as nine types of main courses, including Bun Cha, a dish that combines pork meatballs with rice and vegetables.
Apart from that, Tin Tin serves traditional Vietnamese pho bo soup with rice noodles and beef, as well as a vegetarian version with shiitake mushrooms, rice noodles and bamboo.
Prices: Pho Bo soup — Hr 129, Bahn Baos with pork, mushrooms and egg — Hr 125, pear-lemongrass lemonade — Hr 75
Tin Tin. 15 Viacheslava Lypynskoho St. Mon-Sun. 12–11 p. m. +38097 828 7878
NĂm
The pricier restaurant Năm attracts visitors with its so-called modern Vietnamese cuisine — which is not as hot and spicy.
Located in Kyiv’s downtown, the venue is a place for those who have already tried authentic Vietnamese dishes, and want something new. Năm’s menu is decent-sized, divided into several categories such as meat, fish, soups and salads.
The restaurant offers five types of Pho soup with chicken and noodles, hot Pho with beef and lemongrass, Pho with tomatoes, shrimps and pork, as well as one with crab meat, and vegetarian Pho soup with mushrooms and rice noodles.
Năm also serves raw seafood like sea bass, scallops, shellfish, tuna, yellowtail fish, and char fish with various dressings and sauces to suit all tastes and pockets.
On top of that, Năm has a special offer for early birds — the restaurant serves Vietnamese breakfasts, available from 8 a. m. to 12 p. m., including rice pancakes with beef, shiitake mushrooms and hoisin sauce, as well as wild rice with mango and dragon fruit.
Prices: Pho soup with chicken and noodles — Hr 229, năm with shrimp, vegetable and Vietnamese herbs — Hr 319, mango-chili sorbet — Hr 67
Năm. 48 Velyka Vasylkivska St. Mon-Sun. 8–12 a. m. +38096 758 5858
Pho Kyiv
Initially established as street food corner mainly serving Vietnamese Pho soup, the venue quickly expanded into a restaurant in 2018, widening its menu to include a number of traditional Vietnamese dishes.
Pho Kyiv employs three Vietnamese chefs who developed the restaurant’s menu.
They now serve two types of Pho soup — Pho Ga with rice noodles and chicken, and Pho Bo with rice noodles and beef, created according to the recipes of Pho Kyiv’s chefs.
Apart from that, it also offers two types of fried năm, with pork and chicken, and Ban Kuon — steamed rice wraps with pork, cucumber and soy sprouts.
Pho Kyiv has only two types of spring rolls, one with fried tofu, cucumber and mango, and the other with fried shrimps, mango, cucumber and peanuts, all served with a choice of sauce.
Although the menu has been expanded, and the restaurant now offers many Vietnamese dishes, Pho Bo soup still remains the most popular meal here.
Prices: Noodle and meat salad — Hr 89, Pho Bo — Hr 99, fried chicken năms — Hr 89, fried banana — Hr 89
Pho Kyiv. 26 Velyka Zhytomyrska St. Mon-Sun — 11 a. m. — 10 p. m. +38067 260 4343
Vietnamskyi Privet
For those new to Vietnamese cuisine, Vietnamskyi Privet is the perfect place to try some of its most popular dishes for the first time.
Located in the noisy Bessarabka market, the venue’s design, with its bright pink and red neon signs, wooden seats and plastic trays, is reminiscent of an authentic Vietnamese street corner somewhere in the outskirts of Hanoi.
Even though the Vietnamskyi Privet’s menu is modestly sized, with 14 types of dishes, it still has something to offer for all tastes and pockets.
The menu offers two types of Pho soup, with beef and chicken, as well as noodles with meat or vegetables.
Moreover, Vietnamskyi Privet serves such dishes as cooked snails with noodles and lemongrass, and banh mi sandwich with pork meatballs and pate.
The venue also offers only one type of spring roll, with shrimps and mango, and recommends its sweet mango drink to accompany the hot and spicy Vietnamese food.
Prices: Pho Bo soup — Hr 100, fried rice with seafood — Hr 120, spring rolls with shrimps and mango — Hr 90
Vietnamskyi Privet. 2 Bessarabska Sq. Mon-Sun. 11 a. m. — 10 p. m. +38068 501 0102 n
