Restaurant brings new flavours to town

Taupo’s first Vietnamese restaurant has opened – and no one’s happier than the owner’s wife.

That’s because she works nearby, and can now have freshly cooked Vietnamese food for lunch.

Owner and chef Tim Dahn opened the doors to Viet House at the Spa Gate Shopping centre just 10 days ago.

‘‘We’re serving what Vietnamese people like and what they eat every day,’’ he said.

Dahn said he seeks feedback from Kiwis on the menu’s 23 dishes.

‘‘We’re likely to change in the next few months, depending on what people like.’’

Vietnamese food was quite different to Thai and Chinese food, Dahn said.

‘‘They have sweet and sour flavours. Vietnamese food is more mild, with delicate flavours.’’

‘‘We cook our food for much longer – for example, we’ll start cooking the beef soup broth at 11pm at night so it’s ready for lunch at 11am the next day.’’

Dahn and his wife Yen have lived in Taupo for six years. They run a nail salon on Horomatangi St.

‘‘We’ve always cooked Vietnamese at home,’’ Dahn said.

‘‘She told me, let’s open a Vietnamese restaurant so I can order my lunch fresh.’’

The restaurant’s head chef Dat Dao was headhunted from Ho Chi Minh City, Dahn said.

‘‘I travelled there in June last year and ate at lots of different restaurants. I kept going back to Phuong Lam Restaurant because the food was so tasty,’’ Dahn said.

‘‘I asked who the head chef was and had a chat with him. He agreed to come join my restaurant in Taupo.’’

With Dahn acting as a translator, Dao said the weather was a bit colder in New Zealand, but he and his wife found Kiwis very friendly.

Dao said coming to Taupo was a big change in lifestyle [Ho Chi Minh City has a population of 8 million].

Dahn encouraged Taupo locals to visit for lunch and try a sweet Vietnamese ice coffee - ‘‘ca phe sua da’’

‘‘You see them sell this coffee on every corner in Vietnam.’’

The restaurant’s liquor license should be approved in early February and Saigon brand beer would be served, among others.

* Viet House, cnr of Tongariro St and Spa Rd, is open for lunch from 11am–3pm and dinner from 5pm–9pm, seven days.