Located on a main road in the suburb of Sunshine North in Melbourne, a Vietnamese-style restaurant with a striking red sign reading “Am Thuc Tay Bac” catches the eye of passersby.

Nguyen Quynh Lam, 38, from Son La, opened her restaurant nine years ago. Lam said she was born and raised in the Northwest mountains in Vietnam. Her childhood was tied to meals by the fire, with dishes richly seasoned with mac khen, doi seeds, wild pepper and other spices.

In 2014, when she moved to Australia, she still missed those familiar flavors. Noticing that Melbourne lacked a place serving such dishes, she decided to open a restaurant in 2017. 

For Quynh Lam, the dream both eased her homesickness and fulfilled her wish to bring a piece of Northwest culture and culinary essence to Australia.

“In Melbourne and Australia in general, I could easily find familiar Vietnamese dishes but it was very hard to find local Northwest specialties like grilled meat with cham cheo dip, mac khen grilled fish, or wild vegetables. I hope Vietnamese far from home can rediscover familiar tastes, and international friends can experience attractive Vietnamese food culture,” she said.

At first, Quynh Lam ran a small eatery with about 10 tables, specializing in characteristic Northwest dishes.

Gradually, word of mouth spread, and the place became more widely known. It grew into a restaurant of about 500 square meters with a kitchen and service team of 12 full-time and part-time staff, able to serve nearly 200 guests.

She personally builds the recipes, cooks, and trains the kitchen team so everyone understands the flavor and spirit of rustic dishes imbued with Northwest identity.

They try to preserve the full character of the dishes, from marinating methods to using traditional spices. At the same time, they adjust the spiciness and presentation, making dishes more approachable for foreign diners.

She said that to ensure quality, the most important thing is ingredients.For signature spices like mac khen and doi seeds, she orders from suppliers in Son La and other northern mountain provinces, then uses professional shipping services.

Some ingredients are replaced with local produce but still ensure the distinctive flavor.

For meat, fish, and vegetables, the restaurant also prioritizes fresh, standard-quality ingredients in Australia that are carefully prepared to ensure food quality and safety requirements.

“However, not every ingredient can be stable year-round. With some wild vegetables and seasonal specialties, the restaurant must adjust the menu. For example, hoa ban (flowers), the ingredient for the Northwest’s signature salad, only appear for a short time early in the year, so this dish isn’t always on the menu,” Quynh Lam explained.

The restaurant currently offers around 30 dishes and regularly introduces new additions to provide diners with a wider range of experiences.

Its most popular item is the Northwest-style grilled platter featuring pork, beef, chicken, or fish served with cham cheo dipping sauce. It is also the restaurant’s best-selling dish.

Guests can also enjoy other traditional northern Vietnamese specialties, including grilled fish, crispy fried stream fish, hotpot dishes, black chicken specialties, nem nam (fermented pork), goat salad, and sticky rice made from mountain-grown glutinous rice.

Prices start from AUD17 (about VND320,000) per dish for an individual serving. The restaurant also offers various family and group sets and combo meals at reasonable prices, allowing diners to sample a wider variety of dishes.

Each day, the restaurant welcomes between 150 and 200 dine-in and takeaway customers. On weekends and public holidays, that number can nearly double.

About 30 percent of customers are Australians, while the remainder are Vietnamese and other Asian diners.

Beyond its food, the restaurant has gained attention for its décor. Quynh Lam has adorned the space with traditional brocade, bamboo furnishings, and design elements inspired by the Northwest mountains.

On special occasions, staff members wear traditional Thai or Hmong ethnic costumes to welcome guests.

Thao Trinh