We were talking about a recent reddit comment about the bun bo hue at Saigon Lotus, and remembered that we haven’t had the bun Bo hue at Viet Chay for a while now. It’s the go-to dish my partner orders first at vietnamese restaurants – and since going vegetarian, we haven’t had a good one until we tried it at Viet Chay. Their version hits with so much lemongrass, it’s an absolute flavour bomb.
I usually get the pho, but felt adventurous. Never tried any rendition of bun mam before – described on the menu as ‘vietnamese gumbo”, wiki described it as a vermicelli in a stew with lots of fermented fish paste. And when it arrives – yup, very much fermented fish funk, along with generous amount of garlic chives. Definitely not for mild palates. The okra and the vermicelli itself thickened the soup as we ate.
There used to be another vegetarian vietnamese resto called Buddha Chay, they shuttered 3-4 yrs ago now, but they had a phenomenal fried rice with marinated olive leaves, tremendous amounts of wok hay. Been looking for a substitute since – Viet Chay’s is the closest we’ve found so far, though it doesn’t have the smoky char from a searing wok.
The two noodle soups might be a touch over seasoned, for anyone worried Abt their sodium intake.
Other notes from past visits – the pho here is quite good also, good soup base. Would recommend against their lemongrass tofu and banh mi – for those, hit up [Tinh Tam Trai](https://maps.app.goo.gl/SL8835ySHtUSeN6bA) up at Vaughn mills (also a veg vietnamese spot) – their lemongrass tofu and banh mi are worth the drive up.
Viet Chay Vegan Cuisine.
(416) 546-2281.
https://g.co/kgs/Yqyp3Lj
by moo422