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GUIDE FOR FOREIGNERS

'Where are you from? What’s your name? How long have you been living in Poland?’ These questions are called the Big Three that the Vietnamese can expect when coming into contact in Poland. An answer for the first question isn’t difficult (familiar Japanese with a disarming smile answers every time: ‘from downtown’). A question on our stay in Poland is also obvious. However, some doubts are inspired by this unfortunate ‘What’s your name?’ which is trivial for Poles but for Vietnamese may be challenging. read more >

Vietnamese cuisine is an aromatic land of flavors in which herbs, vegetables and fish sauce reign supreme. That's why I have always been surprised that it was a high-fat dish made from meat seasoned with a plain fish sauce that managed to win the hearts of Europeans. There is no city in Europe in which you would not find a tiny Asian bar in one of the streets of the local Chinatown or an exclusive restaurant in the heart of the capital. In Warsaw the number of Vietnamese bars serving those wretched “sajgonki” can be compared only with the number of bars offering kebab. read more >
In Poland, or more specifically Warsaw, there are ten thousand Tibetans. Some stay, others go further West, and more visit their families. The very first Tibetans came to Poland, because of Dalai Lama’s visit in 1993. They were students who had been awarded with Medical School scholarships and Tibetan teachers at the University of Warsaw. More came to Poland along with their Polish wives. They prefer to avoid official events, gather together among themselves and celebrate Tibetan feasts and traditions. read more >
Reportedly every hundredth person living in Warsaw is Vietnamese.
Certainly, the exact number of Warsaw residents of Vietnamese origin remains unknown, (after all DNA testing on a large scale is not practiced!) but it is a significant number. The beginnings were very humble; a bunch of Vietnamese students married Polish women (and Polish men obviously). They established Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne Wietnamczyków w Polsce (Vietnamese Socio-cultural Association in Poland), which had its office in Bong Sen restaurant at 12 Poznańska Street for a certain time. It is the first restaurant in Warsaw with Vietnamese cuisine. A taste of the Far East in the centre of Warsaw, in the late eighties of the last hundred years, how exotic! There might have been a complaint book in that restaurant, I’m not sure, but if you were not there read it. Those are the 21st century internet reviews: Rather poor interior design, the man working in the cloakroom and the waitresses evoke associations with PRL (People’s Republic of Poland), apart of that, it is very nice. Delicious food, I personally recommend Vietnamese-style chicken – very well seasoned; excellent service. Fantastic shrimps and steak Henry IV. Watch out for one of the cooks because he likes to cook spicy.
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