As a child of the capital Hanoi, in spite of away from the homeland more than 20 years, his love with the place he was born and grew up in is still intact. And the love gradually spreads to his German friends, who live near him, making Hanoi become beloved not only with only Vietnamese people.

"I went to Germany in 1991, when Germany was reunited. At that time, the life is very difficult, Vietnamese people in Germany have to do many jobs such as selling clothes, fruit, or work as restaurant servers," he recalled.

He recognized that to integrate into the local society, he had to know and speak German language fluently. So, after a year of study, he had a little German language skill, enough for him to communicate. However, it was not easy to earn a living with this. Things only become more stable when he and some friends pooled their money to open a restaurant.

I must say that in Germany or any other regions in the world, Chinese people have always had strength in the restaurant business. Therefore, successful building a chain of restaurants with Vietnamese brands in Germany today is a major masterstroke of those who came after, like him.

He began as a server in popular Asian restaurants in Germany to gain experience as a cook, and later in management. After a period of accumulation of knowledge, Minh and some of his Vietnamese friends decided to open their own restaurant chain.

With basic methods such as using a single unit price, logo, billboard size, a restaurant system of Vietnamese people in Germany built its own brand successfully and it is loved by German people. Currently, Mr. Minh’s restaurant system, Mongolei, in the port city of Hamburg has become a familiar address to many German people.

"To reach our current results required a process of research and love with cuisine of Vietnam," Minh shared. He said that managers have to pay attention to all stages of preparation, from raw material to processing. Servers must be dedicated and hospitable so they get sympathy from customers.

In addition, Vietnam dishes are prepared in accordance with the taste of the native people. Many dishes such as spring rolls and noodles, have left good impressions about Vietnamese cuisine with German people.

Contacting Mr. Minh, owner of the famous Vietnamese restaurant chain in Germany, the thing impressing the interviewer is his great love for the homeland. After 12 years of living in Germany, he first returned the homeland and since then his life has been divided into parts, one half for the homeland.

Although he has been fortunate to visit many cities in Europe, he has not seen a place as attractive as Hanoi. Rarely do cities have large lakes with ultramarine colour of beauty and charm such as Thang Long Hanoi - thousand years of culture. He said that the four season weather with exquisite culinary culture, gentle and elegant demeanour of Hanoians can enchant any visitor.

With this love, Hanoi has regularly appeared in his stories with his German friends. "Many German friends, after returning from Hanoi, are more proficient in the city than me, they even know all the nooks and crannies with good food," he excitedly shared. He usually said "Hanoi is very attractive" with German people. According to him, the attraction is not just from tall buildings being completed or luxury cars that German people admire, but small old streets and lively markets representing the Vietnamese people’s life.

He remembered exactly a memory when he interpreted for a delegation of German experts to Vietnam three years ago. It was mid-summer so many German people were tired of the climate in Hanoi, even the girls of the delegation were faint. Strangely, all tiredness after a working day seemed to vanish when they visited the Ancient Quarter of Hanoi. They were excited about the unique cultural features of Hanoi. Even crossing the road was also an interesting experience. While at first fearful, when he guided and served as a model, many people enjoyed their time and didn’t consider the traffic a difficulty.

Always proud to be Vietnamese, Mr. Minh said that the love with the homeland is from small and simple things. His greatest wish is that every Vietnamese person try to be a useful channel of communication to promote the image of the homeland./.

CPV