It’s already been two years since my awesome adventures in Vietnam. Where has the time gone? Fortunately, I remember it like it was yesterday but of course wish I could be back among the fantastic culture, beautiful landscape and delicious food of such a great country.

Beautiful Mekong Delta Vietnam

Lucky for me that I live in such a cosmopolitan city here in Chicago with an unbelievable culinary scene that I don’t have to always travel to get authentic, ethnic cuisine (although you know if I had it my way, I would be more than happy to travel)!! The perfect example of a great taste of Vietnam here at home is Le Colonial (described as French-Vietnamese fine dining) in Chicago’s Gold Coast district.

Le Colonial Chicago

There are many reasons why I love Le Colonial, but here are some of the top few: the food (duh?!), the ambiance (think 1920’s SE Asia with white linen table cloths, louvered shutters, tightly-woven rattan chairs and lush potted palms and banana trees) and last and certainly not least, the fact that Le Colonial has a separate vegetarian/vegan menu (I’m one of those vegetarians that can taste and smell fish sauce a mile away, which is tough when it comes to Vietnamese food, since fish sauce is in pretty much everything).

While learning more about the restaurant from the manager, he gave me some great additional insight into their vegetarian/vegan menu. He told me they take the menu very seriously and prepare everything separately so as to make sure there is no cross-contamination with meat or fish products. That really meant a lot to me and also shows that Le Colonial is not messing around when it comes to their vegetarian and vegan friends. Score for us!

With that, here are some of my favorite items from the vegetarian/vegan menu:

Bo Bia– Soft salad rolls of julienned carrots and jicama, bean sprouts, egg, peanuts, aromatic herbs rolled in rice paper with a peanut plum dipping sauce

Fresh Spring Roll Appetizer Le Colonial

Tau Hu Cari–  Firm tofu with eggplant, asparagus, mango, yams and cashews in a yellow coconut curry sauce

Banh Pho Xao– Rice noodles sauteed with soy sauce, bean sprouts, green onions, red peppers and garlic chili sauce, served with tofu

Le Colonial Vegetarian Lunch

Mango Ice Cream Sundae– Vanilla ice cream topped with mango sauce, fresh-cut mango, cashews and a light crumble on top

Mango Sundae Dessert Le Colonial Chicago

So, if you can’t quite make it to Vietnam anytime soon, make your way to Le Colonial. It’s the best way to get a little taste of Vietnam here in Chicago!

Please Note: I was invited to a private lunch at Le Colonial; all opinions are my own.