In an area spoiled for choice of Vietnamese cuisine, one Vietnamese restaurant stands out amongst the rest in Springfield.
Vinh Chau Restaurant — located at 409 Dickinson St. in an area featuring a criss-cross of streets called the X — stands a few blocks from multiple others. But its flavor and community makes it a stand-out.
Ly Tran, owner of Vinh Chau, noted the building has always been a Vietnamese restaurant for the past several owners. After his father-in-law had the restaurant for seven years, he sold it over to his sous chef, who took over for another 10 years. When it came time to retire, Tran got a call asking if he wanted to buy it back — and the rest is history.
“We gave it a full facelift, from the front to back. And the food just stayed the same — everything just more modernized and more delicious,” he told MassLive recently.
With Vinh Chau’s food comes authenticity and a passion to create.
“Food in the Vietnamese culture is very important because we dine out more than I think a lot more nationalities do,” Tran said. “Traditional food always hits home. It’s something that we can relate to. It doesn’t matter where we are in the world, as long as it’s like a little piece of home.”
The foundation of its flavor is a good broth for the pho. Pho is a traditional Vietnamese soup dish comprising broth, noodles, herbs and meat.
Tran shared that bones for the broth are simmered for 12 to 16 hours on low heat to get a deep, rich flavor.
“Either do it right or don’t do it at all,” he said.
Recently, pho has boomed in popularity on social media. The dish has captured foodies’ attention and hearts, but why all of a sudden?
Tran noted a big reason could be that people are trying to eat healthier.
At Vinh Chau, the restaurant is using a ton of greens in its dish, while also using “from scratch” ingredients, keeping preservatives or artificial ingredients out so everything will taste natural.
“Once people get introduced into it, it’s like, ‘oh my God. It is like I’ve been missing out this whole entire time,’” he said.
Apart from pho, the restaurant also serves dishes such as vermicelli noodle dishes, fried rice dishes, appetizers like spring rolls and boba tea — a tea-based drink often containing tapioca pearls, milk and flavoring. However, there’s dozens of variations to customize at Vin Chau.
The consistency of the food and hospitality is what keeps the loyal fanbase coming back for more. As Tran puts it, “consistency is key.”
His rule of thumb is, if it’s not good, he’s not selling it.
“It means everything to me,” he added. “Those are the people that can drive any company or business up from the ground, you know? I know people by order.”
His customer base even brings in customers dying to enjoy a hot bowl of pho, even in warm conditions. Last year, the AC unit in the restaurant was down and it reached hotter than 90 degrees inside. Still, Tran had a customer dripping in sweat, still happy to eat his meal.
“It just goes to show, you’re doing something right,” he said.
And even with multiple Vietnamese places in close proximity — Pho Saigon is across the street and Bamboo House Restaurant and Soc Trang Restaurant are a few blocks away — Tran views it as support rather than competition.
“As an Asian community, we always tend to look out for one another. We all know each other by name around here,” he said. “Anything they need, they can ask us. We all help each other in every way, we’re here to help each other grow. I believe in doing good, you shall receive good.”
Check out Vinh Chau’s Instagram page to see more menu items here.
