BudBurst

The boat rescues of refugees from Hong Kong in the '70s and '80s  saw the majority of the present Vietnamese population of Britiain arriving. Despite the dispersal policy effected by government, a natural survival instinct kept many of the communities together and they maintained strong links.

Like other Vietnamese communities as far afield as Bristol, Derby, Cambridge Portsmouth and Manchester among others, the East London immigrants formed a Refugee and Cultural Association, the An-Viet Foundation. It promoted integration and identity while providing much needed resources to help negociate a foreign and sometimes hostile new land.

Like the Chinese immigrants before them many of these newcomers worked in the catering industry, dealing with long anti-social hours, back breaking work and poor pay.  East Asian food was collectively known as Chinese and it was not until some years later that Vietnamese cuisine became recognised and sought out, allowing families to serve their own dishes to the public and capturing their imagination. This brought more prosperity and entrepreneurs thrived.

Kingsland Road is a treasure trail of Vietnamese restaurants from Shoreditch to Stoke Newington but my favourite by far is about half way up on Englefield Road in the former An-Viet Foundation building, Hu'Ong Viêt.

With its municipal 'Canteen' sign over the entrance and 1950s town hall folding seats it has a utilitarian charm. Relatively quiet, set away from the main road with over-hanging trees, in the fading light of dusk you can imagine yourself in Hanoi.

Inside there is authentically peeling paint and an unrepaired smashed wooden door lock which might have felt desolate were it not for some glorious photographs of Vietnam (which you would not find in Hanoi) on the walls in stunningly simple, modest frames.

Service too is modest and charming with second or third generation kids manning front of house. Probably studying during the day to become futures traders and lawyers.

I love Vietnamese food generally. It seems to offer the best of Thai delicacy and Chinese vibrancy and variety. This restaurant had things on the menu which seemed more authentic and unusual than you might find ordinarily.

Sesame prawn toast - I can't not order it if it's on the menu - was comforting in the way only fried bread can be. It was perfectly golden and crispy outside and  yeasty, dough-soft in the middle with a generous slab of prawns. The grilled chilli squid was the perfect texture and had a wonderful smoky combination of spices, far more than simple chilli, but the flavour of the squid came through. Very well-handled.

Another winner was prawns wrapped in pork done on the barbeque. The combination of sweet prawns, charred bbq edges and savoury pork was inspired. Succulent. Sizzling seafood with ginger and spring onions was delicious, light and delicate. It had the right level of tang to it.

Something I haven't tried before was creamy tofu in sweet ginger sauce and coconut cream. It was superbly sweet. The tofu was like floating crème caramel, the ginger syrup fragrant and spiky with the coconut keeping it fresh and light. A revelation.

These were just the highlights. It is incredibly good value and too easy to over order. We ate a lot. There is a bring your own bottle policy (as in many Vietnamese restaurants) so I took along a bottle of Gruner Veltliner which was just right. See the Journal page for a Gruner entry.