From Vietnam to Tagaytay to Manila
Beloved Vietnamese restaurant in Tagaytay branches out and lands in Manila
When couple Virgilio “Ver” and My “Bawai Dung”
Tatlonghari opened a small Vietnamese restaurant in Tagaytay in 2007, they didn’t expect it to grow to what it is today. Bawai’s Vietnamese Kitchen is still satisfying loyal patrons in Tagaytay but has also branched out to several areas like Nuvali in Sta. Rosa, Quezon City, and Taguig City.
Virgilio Tatlonghari was working in Vietnam in the late 1960s when he met future wife My Duyen. They eventually moved to the Philippines to raise their five children. After years of working and raising a family the couple decided to buy a house in Tagaytay.
This home, which was intended to be a family rest house and eventually a retirement home, often hosted family and friends for authentic Vietnamese lunch and dinners. Encouraged by these guests, Ver and Bawai Dung decided to open a restaurant, but not before the matriarch of the family went back to her native homeland to formally study Vietnamese cooking in 2006.
A year later, a part of their home was turned into a small restaurant with 36 seats. It was a hit among locals and tourists and, soon, word spread and people started lining up. But it gets too crowded sometimes that the owners had to turn down guests.
“I found it hard turning down some of our guests. I knew they travelled all the way to Tagaytay but we just didn’t have enough space to accommodate them,” Ver recalls.
But each customer they serve is considered an extended family member, which is one of
the main reasons people keep coming back for more. Today, the entire Tatlonghari family is involved in the restaurant business. “We treat our customers not only as guests but as honorary members of our own family. After all they are dining in our own home. Every dish is prepared with love,” Bawai Dung says.
Now, Bawai’s loyal customers, and Vietnamese food lovers in general, need not travel to Tagaytay to get their fill of authentic Vietnamese. It opened a branch recently at Uptown Parade in BGC, Taguig City.
It’s a franchise branch, owned by entrepreneur Anderson Hao, his wife Rhea, and some of their friends. Although it’s a franchise, it still stays true to Bawai’s brand. The eatery offers the same menu as the original one in Tagaytay. And the chefs were properly trained in the original kitchen as well.
“The chefs here were trained for six months in Tagaytay before we opened. We also source some of our ingredients from Bawai’s suppliers in Tagaytay like the beef,” Anderson explains.
But to keep all restaurants authentic, most of the ingredients are imported from Vietnam. Anderson shares that the Tatlonghari family is meticulous when it comes to the brands they use. They import mostly the sauces, noodles, spices, and other specialty ingredients from Vietnam.
“We source our patis (fish sauce) from Vietnam and we process it here,” Lolo Ver says. “I cook it with coconut water to make it less salty,” Bawai Dung adds.
The restaurant basically serves traditional Ho Chi Minh cuisine but also adds some innovative dishes on the menu.
For starters, must try dishes include the Goi Cuon or traditional fresh spring rolls. This crowd favorite uses vermicelli noodles, vegetables, pork, and shrimp wrapped in rice paper, and served with a peanut sauce. The Cha Giao is the crispy fried spring rolls with ground pork, herbs, and vegetables.
A more modern appetizer is the Pho Bites. It’s pho noodles and lettuce wrapped in a thin slice of seared and glazed beef. It is served with a special dipping sauce made with pho broth.
Bawai’s House Salad is made with thinly sliced heart of palm (ubod), carrots, glazed pork, steamed shrimp, and ground peanuts, tossed in a special house vinaigrette. The Buntom is a salad-like noodle dish made of dry noodles, buttered prawns, vegetables, and roasted nuts.
Speaking of noodles, a Vietnamese meal is not complete without pho. The classic pho bo is a comforting beef noodle soup with herbs and spices, Bawai’s also serves Pho Ga (chicken) and Bun Bo Hue (pork knuckle).
For the main dishes, one can never go wrong with Com Suon Cha or grilled and glazed pork belly served with a mushroom egg pie or simply, a mushroom omelette. The Tom Rang Me, on the other hand, is pan-cooked black tiger prawns served with a sweet tamarind paste. The tamarind paste packs a lot of flavors from sweet to savory to spicy.
A must-try entree is the Bo Kho. It’s basically Vietnamese beef stew replete with potatoes and carrots, but it is cooked with 12 different spices. Bawai’s uses top round cut and cooked for eight hours. The result is a very tender meat in a rich, flavorful sauce.
Desserts are very familiar, similar to the Filipino kakanin. The Ban Da Lon is yellow mung bean and pandan cake topped with coconut paste and sesame seeds. The texture is similar to sapin-sapin. The Che Bap, on the other hand, is the Vietnamese version of ginataang mais. It’s made with sticky rice, corn, and coconut milk.
Coffee is a must-try at a Vietnamese restaurant. Bawai’s uses imported coffee ground beans from Vietnam, as well as condensed milk. The Ca Phe Sua Nuong is Vietnamese hot coffee sweetened and made creamy by condensed milk. The Ca Phe Sua Da is the iced coffee version.
Bawai’s plans to branch out more to different areas. Anderson Hao is opening a branch soon at SM North EDSA.
Bawai’s Vietnamese Kitchen, Retail 15 gound floor Uptown Parade, BGC, Taguig City / +632 812-2924 / + 63917 1522924 / Facebook/Bawai’s Vietnamese Kitchen Uptown / Instagram @bawaisph
‘I found it hard turning down some of our guests. I knew they travelled all the way to Tagaytay but we just didn’t have enough space to accommodate them.’