Tran Ngoc Hoa : Chez Bànôi

Originally from Vietnam, Tran Ngoc Hoa learned to cook there with her mother and sisters before fl eeing her country and arriving in Caluire in 1979 as a political refugee. After a brief stop-off in Normandy to open a fi rst restaurant, the whole family moved to Lyon and worked for ten years on the markets.

© Susie Waroude

Encouraged by her four children (Nhu, Huy, Thanh and Nam), Tran Ngoc Hoa opened Chez Bànôi in January 2018, with the idea of introducing Lyon locals to the traditional dishes of Vietnamese cuisine. The choice of the first dish added to the menu - caramel pork  - was a no-brainer given how much “our friends liked it whenever they came over”, says Nhu.

At the age of 66, Tran Ngoc Hoa, nicknamed Bànôi by friends and family, still goes to the market every morning. She then cuts up the meat, prepares the vegetables and makes marinades, as some recipes require at least fi ve hours’ preparation. “Vietnamese cuisine in general and my mother’s in particular is a mixture of sweet and savoury, creating balance and harmony like Yin and Yang”, explains Nhu.

© Susie Waroude

It’s all about subtly combining flavours for the pho bo soup (beef noodle soup) and the bo bun (rice noodles with beef, pork, prawns or chicken accompanied by fried spring rolls), generously topped with mint, coriander or spring onion. Made from quality aged meats but all easily “veganised”, the recipes concocted by Tran Ngoc Hoa are most often light on chili and fat. ”French palates aren’t really used to it, which is surprising for the home of charcuterie”, says Nhu. 

We don’t eat many desserts in Vietnam, but you absolutely have to try the ones made by Thanh, one of the owner’s sons who brilliantly combines Vietnamese infl uences with French expertise in a lime, mango and lychee tiramisu, salted butter caramel pineapple tarte tatin, matcha crème brûlée, and even Vietnamese rice pudding. Plus don’t miss out on the family’s new “baby”, Au Petit Banoi, a street food spot set up in Villeurbanne serving tasty takeaway bánh mì, the famous baguette sandwich fi lled with marinated roasted meat, herbs or even vegetables, developed during.

Express bio :

1979: Arrives in France, settles in Caluire-et-Cuire.

2018: Opens Chez Bànôi.

2024: Creates Au Petit Bànôi