On offer: Vietnam's homestyle fare

Vietnamese spring roll [Photo provided to China Daily]

Saigon Mama shows its diners the ideal way to eat the dishes so as to bring out the flavors, says Chu, whose family also run a Vietnamese restaurant in San Francisco.

As fresh vegetables and low amounts of oil are used in the preparation process, Vietnamese food is also seen to be healthy, he says.

Chu chose Sanlitun for his first restaurant in Beijing because of the mix of both local and foreign customers.

"It's a good place and opportunity for us to introduce our food," says Chu.

"We call it homestyle Vietnamese because the recipes and the way we eat and serve the food is how we would eat home."