Lac Viet - love their food!

Lac Ly was born in Cholon Vietnam and from birth to age 30 he had never known what it was like to live without the sounds and sights of war.

Arriving in New Zealand Lac Ly and his family fully embraced their new start in life. By 1979 his family had opened their first restaurant in Auckland called Mekong which was located on the corner of Queen Street and Victoria Street. Years later Lac Ly founded and directed the China-Oriental Markets at No 2 Britomart Place in Downtown Auckland.

Lac Ly and his wife Oanh Huynh share a unique Indo-China culture. Oanh was born into a ‘landlord’ family of the rich Mekong Delta, Rach Gia and she learnt her cooking from her grandmother who was a trained French cook.

Nowadays you will find this wife and husband team serving up healthy light food at their recently opened Lac Viet Traditional Vietnamese Restaurant located on Ponsonby Road opposite the Ponsonby Foodcourt.

“We serve traditional Vietnamese dishes,” says Lac Ly. “We don’t serve fusion dishes, instead we cook in the traditional way just as our grandmothers cooked using fresh herbs. I grow all our herbs at home. My garden is full of herbs such as oriental basils, fishy herbs, lemongrass, Vietnamese mint, purple mint, ngo om paddy herbs, tamarind fruits, garlic and a variety of lettuce and Asian vegetables.”

Oanh Huynh is the head chef at Lac Viet and she says, “We specialise in paleo cooking, we don’t use dairy products and wheat, because those products were simply not available to our older generations in Vietnam and we keep that aspect alive in our cooking to this day.

"We are confident in what we cook and serve. If we are true to our taste and true to our food, we believe Ponsonby people will like what we like. We love using the slow cooking method using fresh herbs and spices just as we were brought up on.”

There are many wonderful dishes on the Lac Viet menu. Some of the favourites include grilled lemongrass chicken, caramalised pork belly, noodle salad, pho, cari bo, wraps and rolls, Vietnamese pancakes and satay chicken.

Open from Tuesday to Sunday the restaurant is licensed and BYO. They serve craft beers and boutique wines and can cater for up to 50 people.

“We love all the support we have received from Ponsonby locals and we are happy to serve.”

LAC VIET TRADITIONAL VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT, 45 Ponsonby Road, T: 09 360 7240, www.facebook.com/lacvietponsonby