Rovaniemi and its different types of Cuisines

Today is the first article of a series of articles. In this series I visit local restaurants in Rovaniemi that offer a different kind of cuisine than the local Finnish one! Let us get started!

Saigon Noodle Bar, Vietnamese

At 14:00h I scheduled my Interview in the Saigon Noodle Bar with Judy. I walk in the restaurant and immediately get greeted enthusiastically by the Saigon team. We sit down, talk a bit, sip on our water, and begin the interview.

My first question is simple.

How are you doing?

Judy smiles and answers thoroughly: “At the moment, we have been very lucky to have had a successful season behind us. The tourists are returning to Rovaniemi. This is a very good signal for the tourism businesses and our especially our restaurant. Rovaniemi is a small city, every winter season we are so lucky to receive enough customers. Thanks to that we were able to survive the hard times.”

I think if there’s something that we all can relate to with the recent events, is that it are everything but simple times.

On to the next question.

Were you born and raised in Rovaniemi? And if not, how did you end up here?

Judy tells me that the three founders, the three women are all three originally from Vietnam. They are from Saigon, which is why they chose to name the restaurant after their hometown.

“Saigon is a very big, young, and lively city. We wanted to experience a different educational system and that is why the three of us choose to come to Finland. The three of us did not know each other before moving here. All three of us met and opened the first Vietnamese restaurant here, in Rovaniemi.”

She continues: “I came here to study and experience everything; I travelled to multiple countries and did Erasmus programs. But I fell in love with Finland. It is very fresh and peaceful. We did not see any Vietnamese restaurant here in Rovaniemi. As business students we saw that as an opportunity and opened our restaurant here in Lapland.”

Did you always wanted to open a restaurant?

“Honestly, when I was very young, I had the business mindset and loved selling. I read a lot of books in my life. I remember that in the Austria Erasmus program I read fifty books a year.”

Judy tells me that she read and listened to a lot of books about business and entrepreneurial mindset. What she did not know at that time is that she wanted to open a restaurant, but she did know that she wanted to start a business. She always wanted to do something with Vietnamese cuisine or culture.

Judy talks about how, after 10 days of moving to Finland, she started to sell her Vietnamese handicrafts and handmade Christmas cards. The handicrafts turned into food and naturally turned into the idea to open the restaurant.

Why this specific cuisine: Vietnamese?

“We want to make authentic Vietnamese cuisine. It is our way to introduce the modern recipes that we personally love to cook and make. This way we introduce the authentic Vietnamese kitchen and culture to our customers. We do not want to mix it with other types if cuisines, because we love to keep our dishes simple and authentic. More is not always more. I wanted a small, authentic Vietnamese family business. Small is beautiful.”

I smile while looking around the restaurant. In my opinion, they definitely succeeded in this! It truly feels like a small family-owned authentic restaurant.

What is your personal favourite dish on the menu?

Judy smiles and tells me she loves all the noodle dishes. She tells me that the menu is not very extravagant. In Vietnamese cuisine they use a lot of fresh vegetables and mostly noodles or rice.

She tells me that getting those authentic Vietnamese ingredients here in Rovaniemi can be quite the challenge. Especially at the beginning. They were the first Vietnamese restaurant opening here in Rovaniemi and had to look for suppliers that delivered the right ingredients. Once they had the suppliers, Judy tells me, it was easier.

What are your goals for the future with the restaurant?

We opened our restaurant 2 years ago. Most of the restaurants fail in the first 2 years of opening their business. We are still in a very early stage of opening our own business. Therefore, we are still very much focussed on building our brand name and building our business. We are trying to survive and are still in the surviving phase. Especially after these extraordinary times.

What would you like to tell people that want to open their own restaurant in Lapland?

Judy laughs “That’s very hard question!” While we talk a bit Judy forms her most important keywords to keep in mind when opening your own restaurant.

“Work, work work!”

Judy talks about how all three of them are working in their own restaurant and standing in the kitchen. They do everything, from the business side to the operational side. They put in a lot of hours and barely have any days off, but that is what it costs to own a successful restaurant.

“Location, location and location.”

Judy explains to me that finding a good location is key when you want to open your own restaurant. She tells me that you need to observe the location. How many people are passing by and how many customers would you have and much more … All things you need to research.

The third one:

“A really good plan!”

Judy explains that most people are to much on a big pink cloud when comes to open a business. They calculate according to the best-case scenarios in their business plans. A good plan keeps it realistic. Judy says: “Just ‘good food’ alone will not do!”

That brings her to her last big tip for starters: “A good team is everything!”

Judy tells me that you need to find to right people to work together with. “You will need to sacrifice some hobbies, time, and holidays. We do not have a good work-life balance. You need to be willing to do that. We quickly spent up to 15 hours together. You really need to be a good team for that to work.”

Now, on to a question more about Lapland!

What is your personal favourite thing to do here?

“Lapland is a beautiful place with a lot of nature! It is such a clean and fresh place. The water here as well, you can drink from the tap water! There is fresh air. Vietnam has a big population. We of course could not drink the tab water and there wasn’t always much fresh air. Usually with big cities that is the case. Here that is different! So, I love spending time here in the beautiful nature!”

What would you like to tell the readers of Visit Lapland?

“Honestly, opening a business is not always easy. Being an entrepreneur isn’t always about following your passion. Just following your passion isn’t enough when opening a business. Planning is super important. Talk to other entrepreneurs and work in a restaurant before you open one.”

While talking to Judy I can most definitely tell that she is a very smart and business minded woman. But even more so… a very passionate one herself! You can see her eyes lighting up when speaking about the restaurant, entrepreneurship, and the Vietnamese cuisine. Business is undoubtingly very important, but I can tell passion also plays a big part in the Saigon Restaurant its success!

If you could go back in time, would you so it all again?

“Yes, and yes! A thousand times yes! Definitely!”

Judy talks about how very grateful is for the amazing customers, the amazing reviews they’ve gotten and the support they have from the local customers. She tells me how she feels like she grows more and more as a person and business owner every day. “I wake up every day and feel like better version of myself than I was yesterday.”

That is beautiful! Judy and I end up talking some more about Vietnam and Vietnamese culture.

She definitely has the traveller in me excited to go and explore the Vietnamese culture and food myself.

I want to thank Judy and her team for very much for the lovely hospitality and interview. I wish them the best of luck with their business in the future!

⇐By: Kaat Vandeweyer/Visit Lapland⇒

kaat@ourlapland.fi