Viet Van @ East Dulwich Markets

This is my first post and it's quite fitting that this place encapsulates everything I love about food. Got slow cooked pork? Check. Eating messily on the street? Check. Vietnamese?? Check! Viet Van is the massively popular baguette stand here in East Dulwich and something of a revelation for us new immigrants. I popped down last week to see what all the fuss was about and i've been dreaming of it since the second I finished the last bite of my very first baguette. It's that good.

It really is a tiny operation.

 There are a few options on the menu, bbq chicken baguettes, salads - whatever! I'm here for one thing, the pulled pork. The pork shoulder is marinated for 8 hours then cooked in a slow cooker overnight until falling apart tender and juicy. Mr Van keeps the pork warm in the slow cooker (not going to make it any worse is it?) and heats up spankingly fresh baguettes to order till crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. He adds pickled vegetables, homemade pate, , cucumber, mayo, coriander, sriatcha chilli sauce and a healthy amount of the juicy, dripping pork then splashes a tiny bit of fish sauce on at the end to liven it all up....

This is truly a work of genius. All the flavours and textures marry together perfectly. Crunchy, rich, fresh, spicy, sour, sweet etc etc... so good. I'll be back every Saturday I reckon.

drool....

Viet Van can be found every Saturday at the East Dulwich Markets on New Cross Road, just off Lordship Lane. There's not many stalls but most of them are high quality food vendors so it's well worth the visit.