Món Việt, the restaurant that opens the door to Vietnamese cuisine

BarcelonaIt is a gateway to Vietnamese cuisine for anyone who wants to discover it. Or a return door for those who already know it and miss it. This is how the co-owner of Món Việt describes his restaurant. I look around the dining room and see many Catalans, of very diverse ages. Also a Vietnamese family. A few months ago I visited Món Việt, located on Sepúlveda street in Barcelona, because as New Year's approaches, they make a special menu to let us know what is eaten during Tết, as they call the holiday in this Southeast Asian country. I was impressed by the quality of their homemade food. Without going any further, they served a whole boiled chicken. It was tender and tasty. An apparently simple dish but absolutely succulent. How did they manage to make a humble meal worthy of celebration? Since then, I have followed the trail of this restaurant and have ended up getting the answers I was looking for.

All of this is the work of Anh Van Chac Sam and Carles Amat Bertran. They are the driving force and the ones who have managed to make so many Catalans fall in love with the cuisine of Vietnam. But nothing grows in a vacuum. All this would not be possible without the recipes of Anh Van's father, Cun Pau, and the hard work that his mother, Xoi Kiu, did for so many years. So before I tell you about the extraordinary homemade peanut sauce, the fresh prawn rolls or the restorative pho soup, let me explain how we got here.

Anh Van's parents come from the Quảng Ninh province, from which they had to flee due to border tensions with China. In fact, Anh Van's mother had to throw all the money she had overboard from the boat so they would not detect that she was Vietnamese. They ended up in refugee camps in Hong Kong and Macau. After a long time, the asylum lottery brought them to Spain. On the plane here was the first time that Cun Pau noticed Xoi Kiu. They arrived at a military base. They, who had had a good life in Vietnam, suddenly had to make a living working as street vendors. And later, in Madrid, selling sandwiches at the Cine Capitol. It was in Madrid where Anh Van was born in 1985. They began to miss the sea and received news that in pre-Olympic Barcelona there was a good context to open a business. So they came to the 'Ciutat Comtal' and put down roots there forever. They opened up to three restaurants under the name Capitol. The first is now called Casa Sam and belongs to some relatives. The second is now called Kiu Nam and they don't run it either. And the third, which they opened in 1992 in the Sagrada Família, is the bridge of connection with Carles. This was the restaurant that was managed exclusively by Anh Van's parents. And it only closed on Christmas Day if there were no reservations.

Carles is a neighbor of the Sagrada Família and Capitol 3 was his reference restaurant. But he did not meet Anh Van until they both found themselves at the university studying civil engineering. Then they discovered the coincidence, and now they are parents of two children and a restaurant: Món Việt. But let's finish the story: as engineers, they were affected by the crisis and Anh Van joined Capitol 3, changing its name to Capítol de Vietnam. She turned it around. It worked very well, because at that time there were also very few Vietnamese restaurants in Barcelona. With Carles, she ended up deciding to open her own business, Món Việt, in 2017. Capítol de Vietnam closed when her parents retired. But Cun Pau keeps going often to his daughter's restaurant to check that everything is done according to the original recipe.

The restaurant on Sepúlveda street is a friendly place. It tastefully reproduces a little piece of Hanoi but in a modern way. There are references such as carts full of products, and on the tablecloths, texts that explain things about the country and teach us words. Like Món Việt, which means cuisine of Vietnam. The prices are super competitive, like the copious menu that costs 20 euros per head. It must be taken by two people, mind you. Or the various soup dishes, which are served in two sizes. 11 euros for the small one, and 13.50 for the large one. The drinks are also very well crafted, as are the desserts. It is a recommended restaurant for vegans, as they have an entire menu designed for them. Furthermore, they are very proud of their patatas bravas, which they accompany with Anh Van's father's peanut sauce. A secret that stays in the family.