Audrey Chu says one of the biggest things she misses about her home city of Hanoi in the northern region of Vietnam is the street dining culture.
Together with her mother Maya Khuc and their business partner Trang Nguyen, she said it was a mission to bring that Hanoi-style dining and introduce some lesser-known dishes from their hometown that inspired them to open Viki Vietnamese restaurant in Glenfield.
After successfully introducing the iconic stone pot pho in the lead up to Christmas last year, the trio have recently launched a “cook-at-the-table” style bun cha dining.
“Bun cha is a dish that is a must-try for everyone who goes to Hanoi, and it is also one of my favourite as a child when growing up,” said Chu.
The dish gained global fame when former US President Barack Obama went to eat the dish with the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain at Bun Cha Huong Lien in Hanoi.
“Eating in Hanoi offers a unique culinary experience, because our dining culture is an integral part of our lives,” said Chu.
“At street food stalls, people will sit on plastic stools around tables, and through sharing the dishes they order will spend time chatting and catching up about affairs of the day.”
Bun cha is a dish that’s served with a plate of rice vermicelli noodles, fresh herbs and a bowl of sauce with grilled pork. What makes this dish unique are the sauce and the pork meat, and the meat patties.
The dipping sauce is made of three key ingredients of vinegar, sugar and fish sauce, and provides an explosion of sweet and sour.
For the pork meat, there’s grilled pork belly and ground-grilled pork which is sometimes served as mini meat patties. At bun cha restaurants, you’ll see charcoal grills where the pork gets cooked.
“At some places, people are served with the grills on the table and they cook their own meat,” Chu said.
She explained that the food scene in Hanoi not only offers an array of flavours and textures, but also unique “hands-on” experiences.
“We cook our own food in mini hotpots or roll our summer rolls ourselves with the fresh ingredients served at the table,” Chu said.
“This makes the whole dining experience more memorable and relaxing, giving people more time to spend with each other to chat as they eat.”
Viki Vietnamese is launching their new cook-at-the-table bun cha following this concept.
Chu said Nguyen and her mother Khuc came up with the “grill-at-the-table” bun cha concept.
“Trang put a lot of effort into our new menu offerings and is so excited about introducing this to everyone. We are thrilled that Viki will be the first in Auckland to have this,” Chu said.
Although Nguyen said she understands the street dining experience of Vietnam can never be 100% duplicated here, she tries her best to make it as authentic as possible.
To eat the bun cha, put the rice noodles, herbs and salad in the sauce, then grill the meat and enjoy the harmony of flavours as you have them together.
“The bun cha features a succulent pork belly served with vermicelli, capturing the exact smoky, charcoal-grilled flavour found on the streets of Hanoi,” Chu said.
Hanoi is known for its rich culture influenced by French, Chinese and Southeast Asian, and bun cha is believed to have originated there.
The name of the restaurant Viki is short for “Vietnamese-Kiwi” which Chu says embodies its commitment to “fusing authentic northern Vietnamese flavours with premium Kiwi ingredients, creating a culinary bridge between two rich cultures”.
“Our team’s passion for Vietnamese cuisine runs deep,” Chu said.
“From our skilled chef, who has spent years perfecting traditional Vietnamese dishes, to our founders, who were born and raised in Hanoi and bring expertise in Vietnamese street food, we are dedicated to preserving the true essence of Northern Vietnamese flavours.”
The menu at Viki, which has been running since 2019, is a carefully curated selection featuring some of Hanoi’s most beloved dishes - favourites among both locals and tourists visiting Vietnam.
Signature dishes include the Northern Pho Noodle Soup, Hanoi Crispy Spring Rolls, and the Charcoal-Grilled Bun Cha.
Shop 503A Glenfield Mall, Glenfield Road, Glenfield, Auckland 0629
Open: 11am - 8pm (Mon - Sun)
+64 9 216 1686
