Restaurant Vietnam

Poor value for money. Like many Asian restaurants in Switzerland, this place is way over-​priced for what is has to offer. Also, the décor is closer to a take-​away venue than a sit-​down restaurant. The staff is nice enough, but not over the top friendly.

Zwei Mal habe ich in einer Mittagspause hier mein Menü abgeholt, und beide Male war ich wirklich zufrieden mit dem, was ich bekam. Dabei muss man mittags schon mal etwas Geduld haben — kommt man genau zur Mittagspausen-​Rush-​Hour, steht man schon mal bis auf die Strasse an, während die elektrische Klapptür immer wieder die drinnen von den draussen wartenden Gästen trennt.
Aber niemand meckert, niemand wirkt ungeduldig — schon das ist ein gutes Zeichen dafür, dass die Qualität der Speisen nicht schlecht sein kann. Das Menü hat Pauschalpreise, 15,50 CHF für die kleine Portion, 18,50 für die grosse — das ist durchaus ein fairer Preis.
Zumal man sich mehr oder weniger selbst zusammen stellen kann, was man essen möchte. Reis oder Nudeln, dazu Gemüse in Sauce auf Soja-​Basis (wenn man will) und eins oder zwei von den eigentlichen Gerichten. Scharfes Rindfleisch, Huhn mit Gemüse, ein Curry wird angeboten, ein zwei vegetarische Optionen, und auch etwas mit Garnelen.
Draufzeigen, einpacken lassen, zur Kasse schreiten, bezahlen und mit dem Menü zurück in die Firma. Alles schmeckt frisch und knackig, ist gut gewürzt, einfach fein. Von den Mittagsoptionen auf diesem Teil der Uetlibergstrasse sicher die sinnvollste Wahl.

I’ve walked by this restaurant tons of times but never went in before, but last night I finally came in for a spontaneous weeknight dinner with a friend.
When we walked in at about 6:30 pm, there were already 3 tables of customers but still plenty of tables available. What I found interesting was that each of the tables had at least one person of Asian descent. So I guess I represented the East Asian authenticity at our table, haha. ;)
The names of the dishes on the menu were written in Vietnamese, but the descriptions were written in both German and in English, so that was good. Prices are high if you compare to the cost of equivalent food in the U.S. or in Vietnam, but they are comparable to prices elsewhere in Switzerland.
We ordered the Xiu Mai appetizer to start. It was 5 steamed dumplings with minced pork and prawns for CHF 15. I thought Xiu Mai was a staple of Chinese dim sum, but perhaps the Vietnamese have something similar. This one even came in a little bamboo steamer basket, so the presentation was quite cute. I thought they were tasty, but on the oily side and a little bit hard and chewy. Does that mean they are not fresh? Because the dumpling wrappers kind of got stuck on our teeth.
I didn’t see regular phở on the menu, so I ordered the Hu Tieu (Saigon noodle soup) for my dinner instead. It was chicken noodle soup with rice noodles, pork and shrimp for CHF 20.80. The shrimp were huge and tasty, but there were only two of them in the bowl. The meat was sliced thinly and quite delicious. The broth was very tasty and oily, and I guessed that it was filled with MSG to give it so much flavor. The noodles were really chewy, al dente, and cooked to perfection.
The noodle soup was served with a little dish of sliced red chili and a wedge of lime on the side. I squeezed the lime juice in and dumped the chili into my soup. But then it got too spicy when I bit into a chili, so then I fished them out.
My friend ordered the spicy beef noodle soup. I think it was called Bun bo Hue. He likes spicy stuff, but he was surprised how spicy it was. Generally «spicy» food in Switzerland is tempered down to adapt to local tastes. But my friend’s dish was so spicy that he didn’t need to add in the additional chili. And his noodles looked like round flour noodles, whereas mine were thin, flat rice noodles.
I tried a bit of his dish, but I preferred mine over his. His meat was a bit more tough because they were thin pieces of lean beef, and I felt that my pork slices were more tender and juicy. But my friend liked his dish.
My friend also ordered Saigon beer, so I had a sip, and it was fine. Our dinner (one beer, one appetizer, and two noodle soups) cost about CHF 60, which I thought was about average for dining out in Zurich. I was able to pay using my Reka Card, so that was nice.
The service was nice and polite, and like most places in Zurich, they didn’t rush us to get out of there after we finished eating and lingered at the table to chat for a bit. I think this restaurant may be run by a family, as I noticed an older man and a woman and a younger woman who kind of looked like them (and was probably their daughter) working there. I would recommend checking this place out if you have a hankering for some Vietnamese grub in Zurich near Bahnhof Binz. The hot noodle soup definitely hit the spot on a cool autumn evening!

Excellent rich Phở soup, very good summer rolls aswell!
The service is friendly and quick, the Restaurant itself is pretty minimalisticly furnished.
Prices are a little high, especially the summer rolls which came in at about 9 bucks a piece.

The first item I take on a road test at any Vietnamese restaurant is its phở, a main staple food.
Their lunch special, which is rice or noodles with «2−3» sides (you can select usually from 4 – 5 choices) is also very scrumptious, but I often skip this as I come here to quench my cravings for phở — and this is the place in Zurich I go to for this purpose. Lunch can get really busy here and seating can be limited. Reservations are accepted.
Disclaimer: it’s not the best phở I’ve ever had, but really, if you have to pick a good place for phở in Zurich, it is this place and also another place in Wiedikon. However, if you know somewhere better in town, please let me know!

Für die Qualität schlicht zu teuer.

Sehr gute vietnamesische Küche. Ruhige Atmosphäre, nicht besonders romantisch, aber trotzdem das richtige Restaurant für Kenner.

Das Restaurant Vietnam Mekong an der Uetlibergstrasse ist vermutlich das beste Vietnamesische der Stadt. Es gibt noch zwei oder drei Andere. Man erreicht das Restaurant über die Binz. z. B mit der S10 die auf den Uetliberg fährt oder über die Laubegg. Da fahren die Tramlinien 13 und 5 durch.
Das Essen, wie auch die Atmosphäreist ganz ok. Die Preise sind manchmal etwas überteuert, fpr das was man erhält, andererseits ist die Küche wirklich really vietnam.
Hier ein paar empfehlensewerte Menüs:
Gà xào cà-​ri = Geschnetzelte Pouletbrust an Kokosnussmilch mit Ananas
M xào dòn= Fritierte Weizennudeln mit Poulet-​, Schweine–
und Rind-​Fleisch, Scampi und Gemüse
Vt xao nm và mng= Sautierte Entenbrust mit Pilzen und Bambussprossen.
Bò nng v= Grilliertes Rindfleisch mit Sesamkernen und Zitronengras,
grünem Salat, Gurken, Pfefferminze, Chili, Nuoc-​mam,
mit Reispapier zum Selberrollen
Das gesamte Menü mit Suppen und Salaten findet man auf der rudimentären Webseite.
Weitere Infos: