Hong Kong’s lauded Vietnamese restaurant Cô Thành is to open a site in London this September.
Cô Thành was founded in 2017 by the chef and restaurateur Brian Woo, but its story goes back much further.
Grounded in the scenes and scents of Ho Chi Minh City, Cô Thành is a heartfelt tribute to the late Nguyễn Thị Thanh, who was affectionately known as “the Lunch Lady” and famed for her southern Vietnamese cooking in Ho Chi Min.
Known as Cô Thành – Cô translates as “aunt” in Vietnamese – her street food stand on Hoang Sa Street attracted daily queues of business folk, tourists, and locals, almost all of whom were seeking out the bowls of spicy bun bo hue.
Cô Thành made hers with fatty pig trotters, slices of salty beef brisket, and a generous portion of cha lua, a type of spiced sausage, all of which would be submerged in a dark broth among tangles of rice noodles.
Cô Thành’s street-side noodle soups earned her such a devoted following that Anthony Bourdain visited during an episode of his hit show No Reservations, who described her noodle soup as “discovering new neighborhoods every few mouthfuls”.
The episode brought her lasting fame and he wore her “Lunch Lady” moniker proudly until her death in May this year.
It also caught the attention of Woo, who spent three years training under Thành before opening his Hong Kong restaurant, which he named in her honour.
Woo was intent on bringing the “fresh, aromatic flavours” of southern Vietnamese cooking to Hong Kong and will open a second in Covent Garden.
The menu will include the likes of bún thái, bún mắm, and bánh mì, Vietnam’s much-loved baguette sandwiches.
There will also be traditional Vietnamese smoothies, juices, and coffee.
Woo said: “London has always been a city I’ve admired for its creativity and diversity when it comes to food, so it’s a real honour to be joining that community.
“Everything I learned from Nguyễn Thị Thanh – the care she took with each dish, the pride in her ingredients, the way she connected with people through food – has stayed with me, and Cô Thành is my way of continuing her legacy.
“I’m excited to share her recipes and the bold, vibrant flavours of Vietnam with a new audience, and hopefully create the same sense of warmth and connection she inspired in me.”
Cô Thành will open its doors in September at 16 Henrietta Street, WC2E 8QH; @cothanhlondon
