Tastes of Vietnam about to burst in Hamilton

Hood St will soon boast a brand new restaurant presenting authentic Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. It will be called Viet Thai Village.

Viet Thai Village will be sited in the premises previously occupied by Thai Village Restaurant. The old décor will make way for a total renovation and a unique dining experience.

Thuy Tran Thanh Thomas who opened Hamilton's Original Thai Restaurant 13 years ago is behind the new venture. Original Thai was the first of its kind in Hamilton and became the benchmark for Thai food in the city. It remains a popular and favourite dining destination for those who appreciate authentic dishes.

Viet Thai Village will also be ground-breaking, the first to specialise in Vietnamese food.

Tran, as she likes to be called, is half Thai and half Vietnamese. She speaks both languages and is accomplished in the fare of both countries.

Already she has travelled to Vietnam and secured the services of an award-winning, traditional chef.

She says Vietnamese dishes are more subtle in flavour than Thai, not as spicy hot, full of green vegetables, light and delicate and exhibit a French influence. Like Thai food, Vietnamese cooking relies on simplicity and the freshest ingredients.

Vietnamese food comes back to a balance of herbs, heat, sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and fish sauce. As with other southeast Asian cuisines, it's about the yin and yang - the sweet and salty; the cooling and heating, the fresh and fermented.

Tran says for authenticity her dishes rely on being able to locate ingredients as close as possible to the genuine elements.

While her restaurants bring the genuine taste of Asia to Hamilton, Tran also reinforces the dining experience with staff dressed in traditional costume. Viet Thai Village will feature both Vietnamese and Thai-dressed wait staff.