Continents collide at Hoa Vien Brauhaus
The treasures of the Czech Republic most importantly great beer are on offer at Hoa Vien expansive new branch. Thanh Ha cries, "Na zdrave!
Although the humidity and haze of Ha Noi is a million miles away from the chilly spring of central Europe, Hanoians can treat themselves to a taste of the Czech Republic at Hoa Vien Brauhaus restaurant, which just opened a new branch in the capital city.
HCM City has been home to one branch of the Czech bar Hoa Vien since 2001 and Ha Noi has had one for more than a decade. But that one was much smaller, located at 8 Ngoc Ha Street. The new building in Viet Nam capital is much bigger and more modern.
At the grand opening of the new building, I was allowed a sneak preview of the Czech bar and restaurant. It was packed with guests; Vietnamese people who had lived in the former Czechoslovakia and also many Czech nationals including Ambassador to Viet Nam Ivo Zdarek.
But taking centre stage at the event was, of course, beer, and the genuine beverage offered at the restaurant is Pilsner Urquell, distilled in Viet Nam using the original techniques of the Pilsen breweries. Hoa Vien is the only establishment in Ha Noi to serve the famous draught.
"It been a very long time since I enjoyed such a fresh and tasty beer like this," said Nguyen Khue, who worked in the Czech Republic more than 15 years ago.
The building itself is tucked away about 600m from the Ha Noi Opera House on a quiet street that feels more like the suburbs than the centre of a growing metropolis. Stepping beyond the flashing neon lights adorning the facade you enter a spacious interior.
The restaurant is divided into several large function rooms and nine smaller ones suitable for private meetings. Each of these rooms is adorned with the name of an important city in and around the Czech Republic including Prague, Brno, Bratislava, Moscow, Kiev, Berlin, Sofia, Warsaw, Bucharest and Budapest. There is also outdoor seating but in the heat and hurry of the day the cool and shade is more inviting.
A European style prevails both outside and inside the restaurant. Wood and copper are used as the two main materials to decorate the 1,200m interior. Around the walls hang copies of ancient paintings, creating an air of ancient Bohemia.
But most important of all is the beer. And taking centre-stage on the first floor are two big taps, one for golden beer and one for black beer. But to stay true to tradition, customers dont have to order at the bar. Instead they can enjoy a frothing glass served directly to their table.
Tomas Hub is a Czech beer specialist who has been in Ha Noi for several months training his Vietnamese counterparts in those all-important Czech beer-making techniques at Hoa Vien. He explained it was possible to produce the drink in Viet Nam without changing its unique taste and added a simple tip: "While golden beer is fit for men, the black one is much better for women," he said.
But beer isnt the only thing authentically Czech at Hoa Vien Brauhaus as I and my photographer were to discover on the opening night. In addition to free drinks, we were also offered special culinary delights from the kitchen.
The restaurant specialises in a mixture of European-style and Asian dishes. Typically Czech foods include fried cheese, Bavarian grilled pork thigh and grilled pork ribs with beer. In a more general European style there is also pork stuffed with cabbage, red beef soup and a cold-cut platter. For those with a more Asian-oriented palate, the restaurant also serves shrimp cooked with pineapple; and Hokkaido goat.
But it was the seafood soup that really hit the spot for me. Served in Szechuan style, the soup brimmed with slices of eel and generous chunks of shrimp, crab and squid. A hint of thyme created a light and earthy flavour, refreshing despite filling me up in a typical Czech fashion.
But if that doesnt sound quite exotic enough for you, the restaurant offers plenty of dishes besides seafood, like tortoise, eel and lobster. And they come at an affordable price.
For a more wallet-conscious diner, a better choice might be Com Chien Hoa Vien, with a price of VND45,000 per dish. This is basically yang chow fried rice for anybody that has spent time living near a Chinese take-away in the West.
But for some guests at the event, Hoa Vien symbolised more than just a Czech experience for the taste buds.
According to Ambassador Zradek, the restaurant is not only a good meeting place for friends but also businessmen and dignitaries wishing to sign co-operation and development deals between the two nations.
"Hoa Vien Brauhaus is the first model restaurant in Viet Nam to serve guests with high-quality and genuine draught Czech beer while creating opportunities for the two countries to exchange culture and cuisine, promoting understanding between people from the two countries," Zradek continued.
And what better way to learn about a new culture than eating hearty food and drinking delicious beer. So, with a full glass of beer in your hand and a cry of ˜na zdrave (literally ˜for health) the world is your oyster, or at least, your bowl of Bavarian-style seafood soup.
In addition to its new Ha Noi branch, Hoa Vien can be found in HCM City at 28 Mac Dinh Chi Street (telephone number 08-829-0585, a place with which beer-lovers have been well acquainted since 2001.
Hoa Vien Brauhaus
Address: 1A Tang Bat Ho St, Ha Noi
Tel: (04)972 5088
Hours: 8am to very late, daily
Price: US$2-11 per dish
Comment: Peaceful despite its proximity to the heart of the capital
Source VNS