Asian food in Lausanne
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I thought it would be nice to compile a small list of Asian restaurants in Lausanne that I have been to and thought were alright, for anyone travelling through the area or coming to live here. Compared to somewhere like Toronto/GTA, the variety and choice is more limited, but we can still work with it!
It would be wise to note that I didn’t visit all the Asian restaurants in Lausanne, and also I was much closer to the Renens area, so there is bias there. In addition, if a place worked out well, I didn’t go out of my way to find another—so repeated visits is common among this list.
Vietnamese
Ha My - Restaurant vietnamien
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| vermicelli with beef and spring roll | pho | banh mi |
Love this place! It is in Renens, relatively small in terms of dine-in space. I usually get their banh mi, the “charcuterie vietnamienne” one, which is a mix of meats. That is 9 CHF, and they also have a student deal with the banh mi of a sandwich + drink for 11 CHF.
Their pho is pretty good too, though the beef they use is not the same as the ones that are more typically found in the GTA. I only got this once or twice when dining-in. I have also gotten their vermicelli (with beef), and the flavours are on point. Dine-in is quite infrequent for me, but I do get their banh mi fairly frequently.
There was another banh mi place near Bellerive (Sandwicherie Vietnamien OliMy), and I didn’t find it to be as good.
Chinese
Restaurant Henan - 河南人家
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| eggplant, duck, beef (main ingredient from left to right) | chicken, beef, eggplant (main ingredient from top to bottom) |
This place I have been to a few times, always with others, as the portion sizes are quite large! It usually comes out to 20-25 CHF per person. I have heard different opinions on this place; some say it is really good, others say it is average but the price/quantity ratio makes it worth going. I still enjoy it though, especially their eggplant dishes. I’d say you can get away with 3 people, but 4-6 people is an ideal size to try different dishes.
La Belle Saison - 好時光
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| pork knuckle (?) not sure, but it was crispy and moist! | various dishes |
This place is a little more expensive than Restaurant Henan (usually 25-30 CHF per person), and the set up of the restaurant is half-bar half-dining. Still good portion sizes. They do have different items compared to Restaurant Henan, so also would be good to take a look. I have come here less than Restaurant Henan, but still a few times.
Kung Fu Cuisine - 功夫小厨
This one is in Lausanne, so I only went once (the other two mentioned above are in Renens). It was alright, though I remember that some of the portion sizes were quite small for the price. So because of distance + price, not one that I went to after that one time, though if you live closer to the city centre it could be a more viable option.
Restaurant Dragon
Also near Renens. I only came here twice and for lunch, so I only ordered some noodle dishes as opposed to like white rice + dishes. So can’t speak to other dishes or dinner, but the price is reasonable for lunch (15 CHF for a 乾炒牛河) and it is okay.
Others
There is a place called Chez Xu (they have two locations) that I did not get to try, but have heard good things about that too. It is also in the city centre.
Wok Royal
A bit meme-y, but it is an Asian buffet right next to the Prilly-Malle station (so in between Renens and Lausanne.) In general, the selection is somewhat limited and not particularly great (apart from their beef curry, which is quite yummy). They do participate in the TooGoodToGo app though, which is when it can be quite worth. Otherwise though, the dinner prices are quite high and in my opinion not worth given the selection. If you can go on a Mon-Thu lunch, it is 22 CHF, which is more or less on par with a normal meal price. They don’t do teppanyaki (which they have in the dinner service), but the teppanyaki isn’t that amazing that you must have it.
Sri Lankan
Chez Mano
Going here was a bit random, but the food turned out to be quite tasty! The place is what one might call a “hole-in-the-wall” restaurant, since they have one table (and I think it might be takeout only). Anyways, the food was delicious, and I think it was my first time having Sri Lankan food?
Japanese
Sushi Zen
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| Ramen | Japanese curry |
This is the location near the Grancy metro station, and disclaimer: I did not get sushi despite the name of the place. Sushi Zen is a chain, so they do have a few other locations that sell sushi (hence the name), but I have never tried the sushi. I did have the ramen and Japanese curry though, both of which I though were comparable to ramen back in the GTA.
There is another ramen place called Umamido, just down the street (Google Maps link), which is also good, but slightly more expensive. They also don’t include an egg in the price, whereas Sushi Zen does.
Koko Sushi
This is not in Lausanne, but across the lake in Évian-les-Bains. They used to have a really well priced all-you-can-eat lunch sushi, but I was told they don’t have that anymore, and only have dinner. To take the boat there and back plus the cost of dinner isn’t exactly a “cheap” cost, but if there is something special or you happen to be in Évian or something else, then can be worth checking out. The sushi isn’t out of this world, but it is alright.
Grocery stores
I guess this isn’t a restaurant, but it would be nice to list a few of the places that I have been to. In general, they tend to have a lot of the sauces/dried/canned items that one might be looking for, but in terms of fresh produce and meat, it is quite limited compared to something like T&T back in Canada. So good places to get items that can be stored.
In Renens, there is one called Fleurs D’Asie (right by the train station). Not particularly big, but they do have sauces one might be looking for.
Near Lausanne Flon, there is Asia Kim Dung (I think they have pretty decent prices and good selection), and Mika Alimentation Asiatique (a bit more expensive). Mika is run by a Chinese lady though, whereas most of the others are run by Vietnamese people, so you might find a few more Chinese-specific ingredients (as opposed to more Southeast Asian things.) But Asia Kim Dung still has a broad selection, including more Chinese-oriented ingredients.
There are a few others (Mekong Food SA near Sallaz metro station, Kim Hoa near Jordils metro station) but I didn’t really go back to those because of distance and selection isn’t outstandingly better. But if you live nearby, can be a good thing!
Concluding Thoughts
When I first came, I was a bit worried that there may be on Asian restaurants/stores where I could cook/eat similar to how I would at home. Granted, it isn’t as varied as a place like Toronto, but it is doable! You may not be able to find everything (particularly fresh produce), but that is part of the process of adapting and using other ingredients or tools.
Even though some of the places here are good, I am still excited to return to Toronto and eat there 😋
See you around 