There are around 7,600 Vietnamese in Macao, making them the second largest foreign community after people from the Philippines. While a small number of Vietnamese remained here after arriving as refugees in the 1970s and 1980s, most came to Macao to work from the early 2000s onwards.
The community mostly comprises domestic helpers, but some Vietnamese have found jobs in Macao’s integrated resorts. Like migrants anywhere, they have brought their native cuisine with them and Macao’s dining scene has benefitted from the opening of several Vietnamese restaurants.
These are some local favourites.
Haiyue Vietnam (海越小食)
This eatery is one of the most popular Vietnamese restaurants in Macao, known for its authentic ingredients. Don’t miss the bánh canh cua (crab noodle soup). The restaurant’s other top dishes are shrimp bún riêu (rice vermicelli soup) and sa tế hủ tiếu (satay beef noodle soup).
Address: Edifício Tim Yan, 15 Rua Formosa, Macao
Phone: 6260 3931
Opening hours: 11 am to 9 pm daily
Pho Vietnam (金越越南牛肉粉)
This restaurant has two branches, one located on Rua de Abreu Nunes (which is in fact Macao’s famous “Thai street,” where several Thai eateries can be found). The other is located behind the Conde de São Januário Hospital on Rua Nova à Guia, a short distance from the Hotel Royal.
Pho Vietnam’s signature dishes include gỏi gá (chicken salad), bánh mì (a baguette filled with meat, pâté and pickled vegetables) and bún bò Huế (sliced beef and rice noodles in a style that originated in the central Vietnamese city of Huế).
Address: 25A Rua de Abreu Nunes / 206 Rua Nova à Guia, Macao
Phone: 2836 6875 / 2853 3078
Opening hours: 11:30 am to 1 am daily / 9 am to 2 am daily
[See more: These are the best Italian restaurants in Macao]
Pho Vietnam Paris
This restaurant has been open since 2014 and is popular among office workers during weekdays as well as with Vietnamese migrant workers on weekends. Its top dishes are chả giò (Vietnamese fried spring rolls), gỏi cuốn (Vietnamese shrimp cold spring rolls), cánh gà nước mắm (Vietnamese chicken wings with fish sauce) and – its best-known – phở dặc biệt (pho with beef and flank steak slices, tripe and beef balls).
Address: Ground floor, Edifício Jardim Nam Ngon, 254 Rua de Paris, Macao
Phone: 2850 8151
Opening hours: 10 am to 10 pm daily except Sunday
Tai On (Quán Ăn Việt)
This casual restaurant is popular with the Vietnamese community owing to its use of food ingredients imported from Vietnam. Among its popular dishes are the crab bún riêu, bún đậu mắm tôm (a Vietnamese platter of rice noodles, sausage, tofu and cucumber) and cơm sườn trứng ốp la (rice with pork chop and fried egg).
Address: 19 Travessa da Corda, Macao
Phone: 2835 7682
Opening hours: 8 am to 10 pm daily
Café Hanoi
After opening last year in Old Taipa Village, this eatery has just opened a second branch at Broadway Macau. It specialises in various pho dishes and Vietnamese drinks, such as Hanoi’s famous egg coffee (cà phê trứng), which is made with strong coffee topped with a light, airy foam of egg yolk and condensed milk.
Address: Taipa branch: 67A Rua Direita Carlos Eugenio, Taipa, Macao; Cotai branch: E-G031-G032 Broadway Food Street at Broadway Macau, Avenida Marginal Flor de Lotus, Cotai, Macao
Phone: 6300 2166
Opening hours: Taipa branch: 12:15 – 9 pm daily except Monday; Cotai branch: 12 – 9 daily
