Our story
The flavours of time
Hương vị cùng thời gian
What began in 1975 as a noodle stall in Saigon's District 3 is now three restaurants in Vietnam and two family-run kitchens in Canada, all still cooking hủ tiếu Nam Vang from the recipes of our founder, Chef Đặng Thị Nguyệt.
Chef Đặng Thị Nguyệt, founder
The founder
A cook who learned by watching
Chef Đặng Thị Nguyệt was born in Phnom Penh and grew up around Khmer, Chinese, and Vietnamese cooking. By 13 she was working in Cambodian restaurants, quietly studying the seasoned Chinese chefs around her.
She never had formal training. She could taste a dish, name what went into it, and cook it again in her own style, and that gift is the root of everything Hồng Phát still serves.
Five decades
From Phnom Penh to Saigon, and on to Canada
1970
A new start in Saigon
Political unrest drives the family out of Phnom Penh. They resettle in Saigon, where a first try at a phở shop does not last.
1975
The first stall
Chef Đặng opens a small stall in her in-laws' house in District 3 and sells one dish: hủ tiếu Nam Vang, the rice noodle soup of Phnom Penh.
1979
The glass bowl
She starts serving every bowl in French glass, the look Hồng Phát is still known for.
2023
Michelin Bib Gourmand
The District 3 flagship earns a Bib Gourmand in the first MICHELIN Guide for Vietnam, and keeps it every year after.
Today
From Saigon to Canada
Three restaurants in Vietnam and our family-run kitchens in Vancouver and Richmond cook from the recipes she passed down.
The bowl
Phnom Penh noodles, made for Saigon
Hủ tiếu Nam Vang came from Phnom Penh, but Chef Đặng cooked it for Saigon. She added tiger shrimp, quail eggs, chrysanthemum greens, braised offal, stewed blood cake, fresh greens, and her own minced pork, and chose sun-dried rice noodles for a chewier bite.
With Cambodian, Chinese, and Vietnamese cooking all in the pot, her hủ tiếu tasted like no other noodle soup in the city. It turned a small neighbourhood stall into a place generations of Saigon diners grew up with.
Michelin Bib Gourmand
Recognized in Saigon, every year since 2023
The MICHELIN Guide gives its Bib Gourmand to restaurants serving excellent food at a fair price. Our District 3 flagship has held one in every edition of the guide's Vietnam selection, a nod to nearly five decades of the same care in every bowl.
- 2023
- 2024
- 2025
- 2026
From the family album
The early years
A full house on the sidewalk 
The early shopfront 
Behind the counter 
Family in front of the shop 
Family and friends 
The team, 1994
Taste it for yourself
Pull up a chair in Vancouver or Richmond for the bowl that started it all.
Join our team
We are always looking for people who love good food and good service, in the kitchen or front of house. Learn Vietnamese cooking hands-on and become part of a family tradition that goes back to 1975.
Apply at recruiting@hongphat.ca