Mount Gambier’s first Vietnamese restaurant Bami opens serving up pho, bahn mi and spring rolls

A taste of Southeast Asia has arrived in Mount Gambier’s main street with the opening of the city’s first Vietnamese eatery.

It’s been empty for five years but now a main street Mount Gambier shopfront has been transformed with a smell of South East Asian cuisine wafting from the doors.

The city’s first Vietnamese eatery Bami Mount Gambier has arrived serving up homemade recipes that combine traditional delicacies with an Australian twist.

With owners from North and South Vietnam, Oanh Whicker was excited to bring crackling roast pork, banh mi, bao buns, spring rolls and pho to her new home of Mount Gambier.

Owners of Mount Gambier's first Vietnamese restaurant, Bami Mount Gambier, Mai Nong, Oanh Whicker and Son Ngugen. Picture: Jessica Ball

Mrs Whicker said there may be a few things on the menu locals had never tried before.

“We love to introduce Vietnamese food to Australia,” she said.

“Together we have the best taste in our food and we also have it balanced with the Australian taste as well.

“Asians love our food and Aussies love our food.”

After immigrating to Australian seven years ago, Mrs Whicker went into business starting up a number of restaurants in Adelaide before taking time off work to start a family and finish her nursing degree.

But when she moved to Mount Gambier with husband and Grant Council chief executive Darryl Whicker two years ago she decided the city needed a taste of Vietnam saying food was an instinct part of the country’s culture.

“We live to eat and eat to live,” she said.

“Pho is a noodle soup that we grow up with, it’s made from beef broth and it’s a delightful breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Bami Mount Gambier is serving up traditional Vietnamese pho. Picture: Jessica Ball

“Vietnamese rolls are something that we eat everyday, in the morning before you go to work, you grab one, students, workers, high, low salary, you can eat them, you can have one in your hand on your bicycle as you go to work.”

While Mrs Whicker finds the Mount Gambier weather cold she said the welcoming people more than made up for it.

“It’s very exciting to bring Vietnamese food here and we’re also excited to employ a lot of locals,” she said.

“They’ll get to know the different food and languages in the shop.”

Bami is located at 3B Commercial Street West, Mount Gambier.