Dao: An enjoyable Vietnamese experience in Athens

Vietnamese cuisine has fresh vegetables, aromatic herbs, and many vegetarian options. Travellers to Southeast Asia say Vietnamese cuisine is the most refined and fragrant in the vast region.

The food offered at Dao restaurant by Ms Tran Thi Anh Dao Van, Vietnamese, married to a Greek and resident of Greece for 18 years, and Villaluz Al from the Philippines, resident of Greece for 15 years, is terrific.

There is a burst of freshness throughout from the minimally cooked aromatic herbs and abundant fresh crunchy vegetables. Lots of steamed, transparent rice paper rolls and fried lace leaf spring rolls are made with rice flour, almost zero fat, and almost zero dairy.

Vietnamese cuisine uses coriander, Vietnamese mint, cardamom, lemongrass, and fresh ginger, and seafood and vegetarian dishes have an important position.

Although Banh Mi sandwiches, a much-loved Vietnamese street food with baguette-like bread and various fillings, occupy a large part of the menu, we skipped them in favour of the various rolls. It turned out to be a very good decision.

The colourful transparent Goi Cuon rolls are made of edible rice paper and various fillings - ours had shrimp, pork, rice noodles, crunchy vegetables and infinite, almost uncooked aromatics accompanied by a thick peanut butter sauce were divine.

The Banh Cuon steamed rolls with prawns and mushrooms, were hot, sweet, and delicious. The fried spring rolls, and those with a sheet made of plain rice flour, with pork, carrot, mushroom rice noodles and sweet and sour seafood sauce, were flowing with fragrant juices.

At the suggestion of the sweet Madame Dao, we tried a traditional Vietnamese salad with beef, thin vermicelli noodles, pickled carrots and peanuts but preferred the salad with green papaya, mango, prawns and plenty of fresh coriander.

Soups are a staple of Vietnamese cuisine, and the famous hearty soup 'Pho' is eaten by everyone, everywhere and at any time of the day.

Pho has a lot of ingredients, and the way it was served to us here was full of tender beef, lots of aromatic herbs, including Vietnamese mint and lots of fresh coriander, rice noodles, bean sprouts, and fresh vegetables boiled in a wonderful broth from beef bones with their marrow.

Mr Al, our mentor on this delightful Vietnamese culinary experience, showed us around the clinically clean kitchen.

Leaving purely Vietnamese cuisine, you can enjoy a very tender duck that looks like Peking duck, with two sauces, pepper and orange, plus a small salad, fried rice dishes, and various noodle dishes.

Everything served in the restaurant is made in the kitchen from scratch. Nothing is bought ready-made.

The hall is bright and simple with wicker lamps and overlooks the open kitchen, and at the back, a small courtyard full of pots of scents awaits you. There are also tables on the sidewalk.

Info: 4 Lepeniotou, Psirri, tel. 2103248547

Artemis Tzitzi is a columnist for Cantina. Translated by Paul Antonopoulos.

READ MORE: Taratsa Athens: Eat and drink with an amazing view of the Acropolis.