Incorporating family recipes from generations passed down, and modern takes on traditional dishes, Viet by Vee offers a dining experience like no other in Portadown.
Sister duo, Becka and Vicky (Vee) Lau, set out to bring their childhood food favourites to life by opening Portadown’s first Vietnamese inspired street food restaurant.
Living in Australia at the time, Becka realised the lack of Vietnamese eateries available in Northern Ireland, compared to Sydney, where options were endless.
The idea sparked from here and 2020 marked the beginning of the Viet By Vee journey, as the sisters knew there was a market for Vietnamese food in the wider Portadown-Craigavon area.
With lockdown in full swing, their options were limited in how they would bring their business idea to life. Initially, Vicky began cooking the dishes from her home on a Friday and Saturday, on a collection-only basis. They introduced their first menu item – ‘The Pork Bowl’ – which was a favourite of the sisters growing up.
Becka says: “When we started, Vee was doing the orders at home whilst minding her three-month-old child whilst I was on the other side of the world running the social media pages.”
Demand grew, and having lockdown to their advantage, they quickly realised their niche. Everybody was at home and sick of cooking for themselves, with an interest in take-away food thriving. Becoming more active on social media and expanding their menu, word quickly spread of the new delicacy in the local area.
As their business continued to grow at home, the duo released they could make something more of it, which is when Becka made the decision to come back from Australia, to work on opening the doors to their own restaurant in July, 2022.
Becka added: “In Australia, I always craved mum’s bowl of noodles and sweet chilli vinaigrette. I would have always made it in Australia, but it was never the same as mum’s. During that time, I was working in hospitality, so I had the cooking experience, and decided it was now or never.”
Taking inspiration from their mum’s Southern Vietnamese heritage, Viet by Vee incorporates natural ingredients with everything cooked fresh, in-house to ensure you can taste the authentic flavours packed full of goodness.
“Growing up we ate the food we now serve, the idea was easy and so was thinking of what our favourite meals are for our menu,” said Becka. “Mum’s homemade cooking is where the inspiration came from for everything.
“We have the best of both worlds. We were both born and raised here in Craigavon and have an idea of what the local community are interested in and their taste buds. But at home, we grew up eating our mum and granny’s homemade, Vietnamese recipes that you wouldn’t find anywhere else in Portadown.”
“We kept the menu small and simple, and made sure we could cater for everyone including vegetarians and vegans. Everything sells so well so we didn’t over-complicate it.
“The signature sweet chilli vinaigrette, spring rolls and noodle pho are the top three spotlight foods we recommend.”
They have also been recognised for their unique and flavourful food, having been awarded Best Newcomer and Best World Food at the Irish Restaurant Awards 2024!
You can check out Viet by Vee’s website and menus here.
Click here to follow Viet by Vee on Instagram.
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