Monsieur Vuong The oldest Vietnamese restaurant in Berlin

As a young boy, Dat Vuong used to walk down the street with his pocket money to eat noodle soup from the fragrant cookshops of his hometown. So Vietnamese food is deeply nostalgic for him and every dish on the menu of his restaurant Monsieur Vuong, located not far from Rosa Luxemburg Square, has a personal history. Accordingly, only Dat's favourite dishes are on the menu.

Monsieur Vuong is a family restaurant in more ways than one. In terms of name and face, the restaurant is dominated by Dat's father, whose timeless portrait from the 1950s forms the restaurant's logo. He stands there with a broad grin in a striped polo shirt, and could also have come from a fashion or perfume advertisement.

But anyone who thinks Monsieur Vuong Senior opened the restaurant is mistaken. His son Dat recognised the gap in the Berlin gastronomic scene as early as 1998 - at that time, only Chinese cuisine was known in Germany, which the Vietnamese also offered. So he opened Berlin's first Vietnamese restaurant, hardly imaginable today, given the variety.

After 24 years, quality is just as important to him as before, and you can taste it. Most people probably know a Phở, but as with so many things, it's the quality that counts. Time is taken for Dat's dishes, which is also noticeable in the classic noodle soup. The beef phở broth with star anise, ginger, cardamom and many other ingredients cooks for eight hours, making it rich and tasty. The beef with it is also extremely tender.

All the dishes on his menu are subject to the strict quality standards set by his parents. Monsieur Vuong himself used to cook, now Dat's brother does. In addition to the Phở, we get to taste a colourful chicken curry, fresh and aromatic. This is accompanied by summer rolls filled with duck - another classic of Vietnamese cuisine, and here, too, the subtle differences in careful and fresh preparation are noticeable.

The restaurant also has a distinctly Buddhist touch. In warm orange tones, Buddha statues alternate with plants, aquariums and Asian tableware. Despite the hustle and bustle of the many guests, it is pleasantly decelerating. Another highlight for us are the desserts, which always delight us with their perfectly balanced sweetness in Vietnamese cuisine.

We taste a warm coconut-cinnamon-manioc tartlet, as well as a warm banana sticky rice served with coconut cream, roasted peanuts and sesame seeds. We can hardly decide which dessert we like better. Either way, they awaken our wanderlust with their exotic flavours and arrangement on banana leaves. We enjoy two smoothies with them and imagine ourselves in the Vietnamese cookshops of Dat's childhood.