South East Asian Neighbourhoods

Neighbourhoods

Vietnamese London

Make Hackney your destination for an authentic taste of Vietnam: the cluster of restaurants around Kingsland Road (Old Street Tube/rail; 26, 48, 55, 67, 149, 242, 243 bus) and Mare Street (London Fields, Hackney Downs, Hackney Central rail; 48, 55, 253, 277, D6 bus) will leave your tastebuds happy and your wallets even happier.

Mare Street should also be your first port of call if you're looking for Vietnamese supermarkets. Every conceivable Vietnamese ingredient, vegetable, spice and knick-knack can be found here. Take a stroll down the street and feast your eyes at Le-Mi, the Vietnam Supermarket and Houng Nam. The London Star Supermarket sells everything from fresh fish to Vietnamese DVDs and CDs and is a little piece of Hanoi in Hackney.

Did You Know?

• SOAS - the School of Oriental and African Studies - offers degree courses in Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian and Burmese Studies

• There are over 50,000 Buddhists in London (source: Museum of London). The Buddhist community is made up of people from all over the world, including Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, India, Hong Kong, Tibet and Vietnam as well as British people who have adopted Buddhist teachings