Vietnamese in Gwangju, Namgwangju Market

Back in 2006 when I first lived in Seoul, the hardest part was missing the variety of cuisines we could find in Melbourne. Along with Thai and Greek food, I often crave Vietnamese. Things have changed considerably in the last 14 years. There are now Pho restaurants all over Gwangju but, this one is particularly authentic. Even better, it’s just a short walk from our place at Namgwangju market.

This is the first Vietnamese place in Gwangju that serves coriander with its Pho. Now, if only we could get some Vietnamese mint too.

Apart from the cut of meat, which makes it more Korean-ish, the taste of the soup was as good as we have had in Vietnam (and in Victoria St., Melbourne!) Which is to say, it’s good!

We also ordered a dish with fried spring roll, a salad and Ban Mi. I need to find out where they get their bread rolls for the Ban Mi! They are that perfect combination of light and fluffy, fresh, crunchy and and a little chewy. Ive found nothing like it anywhere in Korea. Next time, we might ask them if we can buy a bag of rolls.

Don’t expect anything fancy. This is a market food store and its very casual. Only a few tables, with plastic table cloths. But the food is great and the service is friendly. The girl approved!