Opening a restaurant during quarantine requires courage and the belief that what you’re producing will attract enough custom during this difficult time. Such is #Bi Vietnamese Food & Bar, unveiled on the day of the November closures alongside Lehel market.
Old friends Bi and Vini are behind the exciting #Bi Vietnamese Food & Bar by Lehel market. For Bi, who lends the place its name, this is her first direct encounter with hospitality – although her family are no strangers to the trade, and this is what she is studying at university.
For Vini, however, this isn’t the first time he’s standing over an oven – regulars at Good Morning Vietnam might recognise him, and he also appeared on TV cookery show Konyhafőnök. From an early age, he helped his mother in the kitchen, his sense of taste was so sophisticated she was convinced her son would become a chef.
At first sight, #Bi is nothing special: a
simple bamboo wall protector, padded chairs and tables. The only nod to décor
is the walls decorated with the encircled names and photographs of Vietnamese cities.
Bi reckons that the tables will be similarly adorned, once happier
times arrive. The menu is neither long nor complicated, but you quickly notice
that in addition to standard Vietnamese dishes, pho, rolls, fried rice and
noodles, there are a few novelties that break with tradition.
The summer roll (1,290 HUF) is of the same
quality as the gyoza dumplings (1,470 HUF), one accompanied by an intense,
creamy peanut sauce, the other coloured by squid ink. The sweet mirin sauce,
premium soy and yuzu ponzu add a refreshing, citrusy tang, topped by coriander
pesto from the Mediterranean kitchen. Here they cook from the heart and not from
the book.
Vini even makes sure that the pork meat only fills 80% of the
dumpling – the steaming bundle is immediately put in a takeaway box, when adds the
remaining 20%, so quality is guaranteed even when home-delivered, and you don’t
get soggy gyoza. Recent circumstances have dictated the introduction of this
winning touch.
Look out, too, for Vini’s own Hanoi ramen (2,490
Ft), a soul-warming fusion based on pho, supplemented with a shoyu ramen, rice
noodles, pickled eggs in soy sauce, hair-thin beef, delicious fresh mushrooms,
coriander, spring onions, Chinese coriander and chives. It’s an intense, almost
addictive soup, a real oasis in the desert of moderate pho offerings.
Vini even
revealed that the Hanoi ramen is made with a soup base created six months ago, a
maturation process they trust will bring the right results.
Meanwhile, the prawns in green rice with green curry (2,790 HUF) will be ideal for those who like to proceed more carefully in gastronomy. The steamed mushrooms go well with the prawn bites hidden in the crunchy wrapping.
Apparently, Bi’s parents preferred the name Pho Bi for the restaurant, but the #Bi eventually won out as their daughter wanted to emphasise that it is contemporary, with a vibrant twist or two.
Vini, meanwhile, is the best person for the role, his traditional recipes combined with the fine-dining techniques learned at Konyhafőnök provide dishes with that inimitable zing.
#Bi is exciting, refreshing and surprising, even without all the frills. Given the affordable prices, once quarantine is over, there should be queues along Váci út.
#Bi Vietnamese Food & Bar
District XIII. Bulcsú utca 23
Current opening hours: Mon-Sat 10am-7pm
Orders: + 36 30 409 4510
Delivery via Wolt and NetPincer – free to Districts V, VI, VII and XIII
