You can thank some Orillia foodies for the city getting a new Vietnamese restaurant.
Minh's Modern Vietnamese Dining opened April 30 at 438 West St. N., the former location of the Gung Ho Chinese restaurant. It's the third Minh's restaurant after Collingwood, which opened during the pandemic, and Owen Sound, which opened last June.
Why did Minh Le open a restaurant in Orillia?
"Because of my customers (in Collingwood)," he said.
"I have a lot of customers from here that have cottages there. They say, 'Minh, you should consider Orillia because it would be so good up here.'"
Le spent two-and-a-half months renovating the location to create a new restaurant with a modern esthetic. The colour scheme is black and white and turquoise with natural plants, mirrors and a large TV playing music videos. All three restaurants have an Italian Vespa scooter as the signature decor item.
Jason Janisse, a Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School teacher, is already a regular at Minh's.
"I'm loving the food. I grew up in Windsor, where there was a lot of Vietnamese restaurants. It reminds me of that. It's good to have ethnic food in Orillia," he said.
Le's goal is to bring high-quality Vietnamese food to local diners. The recipes are his mother's. The former banker got into the restaurant business through a push from his daughter and to share the style of food he learned to cook.
"I'm proud of this," he said.
Everything is homemade from top-quality ingredients. Beef bone broth is simmered 24 to 28 hours in house. All the beef is AAA. All the chicken comes from Costco.
"No messing around," he said.
Le limits the items on the menu and the number of dishes prepared in a day to make sure everything is fresh. He often sells out of items at the Collingwood restaurant.
Menu items are listed in Vietnamese and English. Main courses range in price from $18 to $22. Categories include broken rice, pad thai, bún vermicelli, phõ rice-noodle soup, wonton soup and stir-fried dishes.
There are Vietnamese sandwiches, bánh mì, for $10. Appetizers range in price from $8 to $20. Vietnamese ice cream is available for dessert. The jasmine tea is a fragrant loose-leaf from Vietnam, served in a tea pot with a china cup.
The top seller is pad thai.
"The reason I do pad thai is that it is well known," said Le, who puts his own spin on the Thai dish.
"I do everything with a Vietnamese flavour."
The restaurant also offers dim sum (dumplings) daily, such as steamed shrimp dumplings and barbecue pork buns.
When Le wants to add new items, he tests them on his customers first to see if they are well received and make good business sense.
In Orillia, he has three staff from Toronto, plus himself and his wife, for now.
Orillia may not be the last location he opens as he endeavours to spread his food across Simcoe County.
"I don't know where the next one (will be)," he said with a laugh, but added he's considering Barrie.
Minh's is open seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant offer dine-in, takeout, and delivery via food delivery services.
More information is available by calling the retaurant at 437-225-2250 or visiting its website.
