Local customers dine at the first restaurant in the chain.
In Etterbeek (Brussels), amidst Belgian signs, a restaurant sits in front of a sign that reads "Hanoi Station." The interior is designed like a Hanoi train station, with benches and information lights, where diners can order pho, bun cha, beef wrapped in betel leaves, and more. This is the first restaurant opened in Belgium by Dao Hong Hai (originally from Hanoi).
Speaking to Tri Thức - Znews , Hong Hai shared that she previously worked as a waitress and kitchen assistant at a Vietnamese restaurant in Brussels. Determined to bring Vietnamese cuisine to Europe, she used her savings and borrowed money from friends and banks to build her own restaurant.
"In the early stages, difficulties arose every day. Every mistake had a price to pay. But after 10 years, I've opened 5 restaurants and am preparing to open the 6th. Business requires willpower and an open mind to find your own turning point," Hong Hai said.
Established 6 restaurants in Europe.
Hong Hai recounts that in 2005, at the age of 29, she decided to go to Belgium to study restaurant and hotel management with only 1,500 euros in her pocket. While working part-time at a restaurant, she met Bernard De Proost, her current husband, and later gave birth to a child in 2009.
During her four years at home taking care of her children, Hong Hai realized that job opportunities for immigrants were very limited. She was also older and only had experience as a waitress. One day, craving pho intensely, but unable to find a restaurant serving Northern Vietnamese pho in Belgium, she came up with the idea of opening a restaurant specializing in Hanoi cuisine.