TRONG SUOT-Viet Nam Restaurants & Karaoke
📍 Address: Gion Assist Building, 354-3 Kiyomoto-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto 605-0084, Japan
This restaurant and karaoke spot offers authentic Vietnamese cuisine at reasonable prices, despite its prime location in the heart of Gion. It’s highly recommended for those who want to experience ‘authentic flavors made by professionals’ before trying to cook Vietnamese food themselves.
Amidst rising ramen prices, you can enjoy gluten-free and healthy pho here at an affordable cost. The smooth noodles and fragrant soup are exceptional, and a local way to enjoy it is to adjust the flavor with condiments on the table as you eat. Every dish is exquisite, from crispy-on-the-outside, juicy-on-the-inside fried chicken wings to stir-fried vegetables that make you crave more rice. Coupled with the owner’s kind hospitality, your first Vietnamese dining experience is sure to be wonderful.
Bach Hoa viet kyoto
📍 Address: 26-1 Saiinshimizu-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto 615-0052, Japan
Located near Gyomu Super in the Saiin area of Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City, this is a unique grocery store. Since its opening in 2021, it has been beloved by local international students and Vietnamese food fans. A Japanese owner and his Vietnamese wife warmly run the charming shop, which seems to have been a former snack bar.
Inside, you’ll find everything you need for home cooking, including fresh vegetables like water spinach and coriander, as well as fish, meat, and frozen Vietnamese desserts like ‘che’. What’s special is that they also carry Indonesian tempeh, not just Vietnamese ingredients. We particularly recommend the ‘Chili Lemon Pepper Salt’. Just sprinkle it on meat or seafood, and a burst of Southeast Asian flavor will spread, so be sure to buy it if you find it.
Xuân Shop Việt Nhật
📍 Address: 469 Zaimoku-cho, Nanajo-dori Manno-cho Higashi-iru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto 600-8146, Japan
This Asian grocery store near the intersection of Kawaramachi-dori and Nanajo-dori offers a wide selection. It’s a rare find for ‘netted spring roll wrappers’, which are almost impossible to come by in typical Japanese department stores or supermarkets. Using these wrappers for fried spring rolls results in a supremely crispy and crunchy texture, elevating your home cooking to the next level.
Other attractions include pork belly stew ingredients, yellow egg noodles with turmeric powder, and instant pho at an incredible price of just 85 yen. While online shopping for Vietnamese ingredients often comes with high free shipping thresholds, here you can buy small quantities of what you need at affordable prices. With staff who speak Japanese, you can easily ask about spices whose uses you’re unsure of.
84 QUÁN
📍 Address: 77-4 Nishishinya-shiki Chudo-ji-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto 600-8816, Japan
This local supermarket in Chudo-ji-cho, Shimogyo-ku, is marked by the Vietnamese flag. It’s a renovated former fish market, exuding a friendly, downtown vibe. It covers a wide range of Asian foods not just from Vietnam, but also Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia, and prices are quite reasonable compared to other specialty stores.
While many product packages lack Japanese labels, the friendly staff member is very helpful. He’ll casually tell you, ‘That’s expensive!’ or happily explain recommended ways to eat things, so you can shop with peace of mind even if it’s your first time. The biggest appeal is the sense of exploration you get while shopping, from mysterious 60-yen snacks flavored with star anise and chili to unknown ingredients like ‘rolled eel’ in the freezer.
Fushimi Mart
📍 Address: Teimei Building, 22 Ike, Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto 620-0035, Japan (Phòng 1M)
Although a bit far from Kyoto City, this highly authentic ethnic supermarket is a must-know if you’re staying around Fukuchiyama. The interior is not exactly well-organized, and it might take some courage to enter at first glance, but once you step inside, you’re completely transported to Southeast Asia.
Its greatest appeal is the availability of unique frozen meats like pork tails and offal, which are impossible to find in Japanese supermarkets. Furthermore, they offer a godsend service for international students and long-term residents: you can send your shopping list via SNS message, reserve items, and have them delivered to your home. Stocking everything from daily necessities like shampoo and soap to traditional Vietnamese cooking utensils, it serves as a crucial hub supporting the local community.
【Column】Tips for Maximizing Your Shopping Experience at Authentic Vietnamese Supermarkets
Vietnamese supermarkets have a completely different product lineup than Japanese supermarkets. When you visit for the first time, you might wonder what to buy. Here are some shopping tips practiced by long-term residents and local home cooks.
First, aim for ‘seasonings’ and ‘fresh herbs’. Shrimp paste, nuoc mam (fish sauce), and chili lemon salt can be obtained for a few hundred yen, and adding them to your usual stir-fries or soups instantly transforms them into authentic flavors. Also, herbs like water spinach and coriander are often available in large quantities at nearly half the price of regular supermarkets, making them perfect for boosting your vegetable intake when cooking at home.
And if you can’t read the package labels, don’t hesitate to ask the staff. In many stores, simple Japanese is understood, and they’ll happily tell you their recommended cooking methods. The warm communication unique to local shops is also a major pleasure of shopping at Vietnamese supermarkets.
