Vietnamese flavors at Pho 99 Restaurant in Lazimpat

KATHMANDU: The ‘Pho 99 Restaurant’ in Kathmandu’s Lazimpat is aimed towards enthusiasts of Vietnamese cuisine.

On Thursday, Rajesh Kaji Shrestha, the non-paid consul of Vietnam in Nepal, opened the restaurant in front of Hotel Sangrila in Lazimpat.

In the event, Rajesh Kaji Shrestha opined that Pho 99 has broadened the flourishing food culture in Nepal. He feels that Pho 99 would be successful in providing visitors visiting Nepal with a flavor of their home country as well as supplying nutritious meals to restaurant lovers.

Vietnamese cuisine is typically made using fresh herbs such as cilantro, ginger, lemongrass, mint, and basil, according to restaurant owner Navin Saru.

Customers are frequently given it with fish sauce, prawn paste, or soy sauce. Vietnamese food is regarded one of the healthiest cuisines in the world since it is prepared with little oil, few spices, and fresh ingredients.

Pho 99, established in 2011 by a young businessman Saru, previously provided Vietnamese cuisines in Boudhanath, Kathmandu, and Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur. Vietnamese cuisine is popular all around the world since it is less spicy.

Saru, the owner of the restaurant, says that the branch has been expanded because the number of Vietnamese visiting Nepal is increasing and Nepalese consumers also prefer Vietnamese food. “When we started in 2011, we were the first full-fledged Vietnamese restaurant in Nepal,” he says, “at that time, not many people knew much about Vietnamese food, and the number of Vietnamese visiting Nepal was also low.”

Many Vietnamese have begun to visit Nepal in the last 10 years, and many Nepalis have begun to learn about and appreciate Vietnamese cuisine, he added.

Connoisseurs love the ‘Vietnamese Grilled Fish with Lemon Grass’ at Pho 99, and Vietnamese noodles are also popular. Coconut juice, in addition to Vietnamese ice tea and hot coffee, is available here.