The best Vietnamese Restaurants in Toronto (part 1)

 

Hello my dear friends, hope you guys have a wonderful week. This week I am going to introduce you the best Vietnamese Restaurants in GTA (Great Toronto Area). After 10 weeks getting to know a lot about Vietnamese food, now is the time for us to go out and try some amazing dishes prepared by the best Vietnamese chefs.

1.    Pho Hung

Pho Hung has been famous for Pho lovers for a long time. It is located in the heart of Chinatown for many years with longer opening hours compared to other restaurant. They have an extensive vegetarian menu which varies from Pho to all vermicelli dishes and Vietnamese spring rolls.

http://phohung.ca/menu3.html

Some must-ordered dishes can be Pho and Vietnamese pancakes (banh xeo)

Address: 350 Spadina Ave Toronto, Ontario M5T 2G4

(416) 593-4274

Official website: http://phohung.ca/

2.    Hanoi 3 seasons

When introduced about northern style Vietnamese food, I mentioned a lot about something called the taste of Hanoi. Here is the restaurant where you can try the original taste of North Vietnamese dishes. A must-tried dish is fresh shrimp rolls (Goi cuon) which is absolutely delicious and affordable

Address: 1135 Queen St E Toronto, ON M4M 1K9 – (416) 469-3010

588 Gerrard St. East – (416) 463-9940

Official Website: http://www.hanoi3seasons.com/

3.    Golden Turtle

Golden Turtle is one of the restaurants taking top spot in Vietnamese restaurant choices where you can find cheap and delicious food. The special dish you can find from here is spring rolls. Moreover, in the summer, the side patio fills up quickly with locals washing down a plate of vermicelli with a bottle of Tiger beer. Not too bad for a day hanging out with your friends!

Address: 125 Ossington Ave Toronto, Ontario M6J 2Z6

(416) 531-1601

More reviews at urbandspoon.com and ourfaves.com

So here are the first three options for you when you feel like having something yummy, fresh and healthy like Vietnamese food in GTA. Leave your feedback in the comment space for me how far you like it. We are going to look at other option for the best Vietnamese Restaurant in Toronto next week!

Everything about noodles in Vietnamese Cuisine

When people mention Vietnamese Cuisine, they always think about “Pho”. Pho is considered not only the national dish but also the “cuisine ambassador” which helps people all over the world know more about Vietnamese cuisine. Although Pho is so well-known and beloved everywhere, there are much more delicious noodle soups and in this post i am going to introduce everything about noodles in Vietnamese Cuisine.

Vietnamese food boasts a huge variety of noodle soups; each has a distinct flavor and influences. The noodles are available in both term of fresh and dry form. From different kind of rice and cooking method, Vietnamese have created a wide range of noodles:
1.    Bánh phở: fresh flat rice noodles which is used to make well-known dish: Pho
2.    Bún: thin rice vermicelli nooldes
3.    Bánh canh: thick noodles made from the mixture of rice flour and tapioca flour ( quite similar to Udon)
4.    Cellophane noodles: thin glass noodles
5.    Mì: wheat flour noodles, can be either yellow or white
6.    Bánh đa đỏ: red noodles, very popular in Hai Phong province, mixed with crab
7.    Bánh đa: rice cracker





From these different noodles, Vietnamese people have created delicious food in both hot noodles soups and dry noodle dishes

Hot Noodles Soups:
 
-    Bun Bo Hue: this is also called spicy noodle soup which was originated from the royal city of hue in central Vietnam. The dish contains beef bones, shrimp paste, lemongrass and dried chilies which give the broth a tasty and distinctive flavor. It usually is served with mint leaves, bean spourts, and lime wedges.
-    Banh canh: as mentioned before, banh canh is the tapioca noodle soup with very simple broth. It often includes pork, crab, chicken, shrimp and onions sprinkled on top
-    Bun rieu: a very famous dish in HaNoi_the capital of Vietnam. The noodle is made of thin rice noodles and topped with crab and shrimp paste, served in tomato soup with bean sprouts, prawn paste, herbs and chunks of tomato.
-    Hu Tieu: a noodle soup which was brought to Vietnam by way of Chinese immigrants. The noodles usually contains egg noodles with BBQ pork, shrimp and eggs.
-    Bun Thang: thin rice vermicelli noodles with shredded chicken meat, fried egg, steam prok cake and sliced sausages.

Dry Noodles Dishes:

 
-    Bánh hỏi: extremely thin rice vermicelli woven into intricate bundles, it is topped with chopped scallions and meat
-    Bún đậu mắm tôm: delicious dish contain fried tofu served with shrimp paste
-    Bún thịt nướng: a cold noodle dish with grilled pork and lots of vegetables and herbs
-    Bánh cuốn: steamed rice noodle rolls, served with minced pork and wood ear mushroom and Vietnamese pork sausage

After getting through everything about noodles in Vietnamese Cuisine, we understand why traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for its creativity, fresh ingredients, minimal use of oil, and reliance on variety of herbs and vegetables. With the balance between fresh herbs, meats and noodles, Vietnamese food is considered one of the healthiest cuisines worldwide.

Journey of Vietnamese Cuisine: Northern Vietnamese Food

Vietnam is a long, narrow country in Southeast Asia, covering a total of 327, 500 square kilometers. The geography of Vietnam plays an important role in the Vietnamese cuisine because the climate affects the availability of ingredients, which has effect on the types of dishes that dominate a particular region. From this post, I would like to introduce you about how Vietnamese culinary tradition differs from region to region

1.     Northern-styled Vietnamese Cuisine, there’s a lot more than Pho.

In northern Vietnam, the climate is colder, which leads to the limitation of production and availability of spices. As a result, the foods here are often less spicy than those in other regions. Black pepper is used instead of chilies as the most popular ingredient to produce spicy flavors.

In general, Northern Vietnamese food is not bold in any particular flavor. They are the harmony of all flavors: sweet, salty, spicy, bitter, and sour. Most northern Vietnamese foods feature light and balanced tastes that result from the combinations of many different flavoring ingredients. Freshwater fish, crustaceans, and mollusks—such as prawns, squids, shrimps, crabs, clams are widely used in most of the dishes. Fish sauce, soy sauce, shrimp paste, and limes are among the main flavoring ingredients. 

Being the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, northern Vietnam produces many signature dishes of Vietnam, such as phở, bún riêu, and bánh cuốn, which were carried to other regions in Vietnam through the road of Vietnamese migration.

Vietnamese cuisine varies somewhat by region, with Chinese influences (such as stir fries, noodles, and use of chopsticks) in the north as China borders it to the north. During the winter months in the north, families gather around a big bowl of seasoned broth and cook vegetables and meat in it for sustenance and warmth.

2.     Hanoi, the hometown of the best Vietnamese Foods.

 North Vietnam is considered to be the cradle of the Vietnamese culture and Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam is the hometown of the best dishes. Pho_the most famous Vietnamese dish, originated here. Basically Pho is available all over Vietnam but you should enjoy this delicious dish in its own birthplace. Also, Hanoi has been selected as one of the top 10 cities for food in the world by Shermans Travel. If you travel to Hanoi, you will fall in love with all special tasty foods as well as this lively city.

Also, Hanoi is famous for its street-food culture.  It is a street-eater's paradise, with a plethora of options for those who want to eat like a local. In fact, many swear that the best food in Hanoi is found on the sidewalk, with dishes that often feature fish sauce, lemongrass, chilies,  and fresh herbs.

The city, which celebrated its 1,000th birthday 2 years ago, has put those centuries to good use perfecting its curbside nibbles. Although vendors often cook in small shop fronts, they serve their wares on the sidewalk, on small plastic tables and chairs that can seem woefully inadequate for foreigners.