The Vietnamese Community

 

Throughout the city, Vietnamese-owned jewelry stores, printing shops, real estate agencies, and auto collision companies mirror a sprouting community. Intermingled with the fruit markets and restaurants of Toronto’s Chinatown, Vietnamese restaurants have added to the pleasure of dining out, with the exotic new flavour of fish sauce and the adventure of drinking specially filtered and prepared Vietnamese coffee. More than 60 Vietnamese-owned restaurants, cafes, and specialty stores have opened since 1981.

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Many Vietnamese immigrated to Canada after Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) fell to the North Vietnamese in 1975. About 45,000 Vietnamese have made Toronto their home. The first newcomers were students who attended the city’s universities during the 1950s and ’60s. Professionals, bureaucrats, and military personnel were among the few thousand refugees who settled in Toronto in the late 1970s. In the early 1980s, 120,000 Vietnamese immigrated to Canada. Toronto became the welcoming city for some 18,000 South Vietnamese “boat people”—so named for fleeing their homeland in tiny boats for refugee camps in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

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Members of the community have been successful in adapting to a new life. Vietnamese now own homes in Mississauga, Etobicoke, Scarborough, and other areas close to the manufacturing industries where many are employed.

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The Vietnamese value education and the pursuit of excellence in their chosen professions. This is reflected by the numerous Vietnamese dentists, doctors, and pharmacists practicing in the city, and by students who excel in computer science programs.

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Places to Go

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The Vietnamese are coffee connoisseurs who enjoy strong blends. The preparation is a ritual which allows coffee to slowly drip through a filter and into a cup containing milk. Coffee is enjoyed three ways: cafe Sua is made with condensed milk; cafe Da is served with ice; and cafe Sua Da contains both milk and ice. The Vietnamese believe that ice brings out the coffee’s richest flavour. Various Vietnamese coffee houses are located throughout the downtown area, including: Café Lang Van, (Tel. 416-536-5482, 70 Ossington Ave); Anh Dào, (Tel. 416-598-4514, 383 Spadina Ave); Cafe Dong Phuong, (Tel. 416-534-5939, 1532 Dundas St. W); and DaLat Coffee, (Tel. 416-537-0769, 182 Ossington Ave).

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Vietnamese cuisine consists mainly of fish and vegetable dishes. Popular meals include pho (rice noodle in chicken or beef soup), cha gio (deep-fried rolls with meat, shrimp, and mushrooms), and chao tom (shrimp paste wrapped with sugar cane and barbecued). Noodles are rice-based and fresh spices like cilantro, dill, and mint are used in cooking. Known for its lightness and subtlety, Vietnamese cuisine is closely related to Chinese cooking. The main difference is that the Vietnamese use nuoc mam (fish sauce) instead of soya bean sauce for flavouring.

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At Anh Dao, (Tel. 416-598-4514, 383 Spadina Ave), owned by Luu Vinh Phu and his wife Ngo, who came to Canada in 1979, the menu items include shrimp and pork rolls, shredded pork, spareribs, banh cuon cha lua (Vietnamese meat lasagna), and barbecued beef coupled with a basket of beansprouts, mint leaves, lettuce, and coriander that can be rolled in thin rice pancakes. Popular beverages are mango and jack fruit juice. The room is adorned with small Buddhist shrines and watched over by Oriental fighting fish.

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Indochine Thai Vietnamese Restaurant, (Tel. 416-922-5840, 4 Collier St), serves French-style Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine in an elegant candlelit atmosphere. No M.S.G. is used in the cooking, which includes a seafood firepot, beef fondue, barbecued oyster in a garlic citron sauce, spareribs, asparagus soup, and cornish hen spiced with five seasonings.

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Other restaurants that serve Vietnamese cuisine include: Bun Saigon, (Tel. 416-504-2188, 252 Spadina Ave); Gia Phung, (Tel. 416-658-3993, 1768 St. Clair Ave. W); Kim Vietnamese Restaurant, (Tel. 416-596-8589, 546 Dundas St. W); Pho Hoa, (Tel. 416-597-8395, 393 Dundas St. W., #8); Golden Turtle, (Tel. 416-656-1549, 1776 St. Clair Ave. W); Saigon Flower Restaurant, (Tel. 416-533-6629, 1138 Queen St. W); and Vietnamese Garden Restaurant, (Tel. 416-609-9796, 4188 Finch Ave. E).

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Vietnamese groceries are available at Lawrence Supermarket, (Tel. 416-248-8078, 1635 Lawrence Ave. W); Tai Kong Supermarket, (Tel. 416-581-0129, 310 Spadina Ave); Tuong Phàt 1 Supermarket, (Tel. 416-249-4302, 1611 Wilson Ave); and Hung Phàt Supermarket, (Tel. 416-604-4918, 604 Runnymede Rd).

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The Vietnam Bookstore, (Tel. 416-595-5199, 415 Spadina Ave), carries a wide selection of Vietnamese books, novels, and dictionaries as well as videos and cassettes. Artists include Khanhy Ly, Elvis Phuong, Ngoc Minh, and Duy Quang. Hoang Oanh is a popular singer of traditional music. Hanh Phuc Video, (Tel. 416-536-1311, 210 Ossington Ave), rents and sells Vietnamese videos.

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Religious Centres, Schools and Other Institutions

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The community’s dominant religions are Christianity and Buddhism. The faithful attend churches and temples located throughout the city.

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•   MISSION OF THE VIETNAMESE MARTYRS, (Tel. 416-769-8104, 161 Annette St).

•   TORONTO VIETNAMESE ALLIANCE CHURCH, (Tel. 416-658-1620, 9 Boon Ave).

•   VIETNAMESE EVANGELICAL CHURCH, (Tel. 905-274-4636, 1015 Alexandra Ave., Mississauga).