According to Wikipedia, there were 17,462 Czech citizens with Vietnamese nationality and 60,258 Vietnamese expats living in the Czech republic in 2001.
Most of them had come to Europe between the 1970s and 1990s, as socialist Czechoslovakia tried to help socialist Vietnam, damaged by war.
A Vietnamese bistro at the marketplace in quarter Slatina
There is an impressive jump that a large part of the community members has made: from unksilled factory workers to business & estate owners in only one generation. However, that’s not the case of all Vietnamese families and even some of the Vietnamese who got rich in the 1990s are now facing problems due to the economic crisis.
Vietnamese in Brno
Most members of the community are known as stallkeepers, usually selling clothes, accessories and electronics. Some big marketplaces are located around the main train station and in quarter Slatina.
However, many Vietnamese quit selling cheap clothes and started to do more prestigious businesses. For example, the restaurant offering the most affordable sushi in Brno is owned by Vietnamese.
The community is very isolated. Its members have problems with integration and joining the majority, as many Czechs laugh at their accent and distinctive looks. However, there is a generation of Vietnamese born in the Czech republic growing up and almost every high school class has a Vietnamese kid. These students have an advantage of being born into the families of underdogs, so – generally speaking – they are used to working hard. I bet many of them will get “visible” positions of politicians and managers in 10 or 20 years.
Where to taste Vietnamese food
Spring rolls - increase your cholesterol level for only CZK 10! :)
Definitely in some of the restaurants and bistros at market in Slatina. You can have beef soup, fried pork and even a delicous snail soup for decent money (CZK 80, €3-4).
Exact location of a bistro where I ate twice last week and enjoyed it very much:
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Last week I saw two Vietnamese kids (16 to 17) on a tram. Very well-dressed. And they spoke ubelievably perfect Czech. Absolutely no accent and very unusal voices. One of them could be a radio host this instant…
Actually, most Vietnamese kids who were born here or have lived here since early childhood have no foreign accent to speak of, they´re virtually bilingual (I can only suppose because I´m really not able to judge their proficiency in vietnamese :) And yes, they often look very good. But than again I personally think that people from East Asia tend to look more stylish than us in general, just with their natural features.
I just went there in search of cilantro (coriander) and the vietnamese beef noodle soup – Pho. It was awesome! Ive eaten Pho in many different countries in vietnamese restaurants, and this one stacks up pretty good! It’s a really small place, but the staff is super friendly and found us a table to share with some others. They also procured a fork from the kitchen for my non-chopstick companion. I recommend!