The first Pilsner Urquell Original Restaurant in Asia will open in Vietnam

The Hanoi „PUOR“ is the first business of the Pilsner Urquell Original Restaurant in Asia. Architect Jiří Hanzlík, who was at the beginning of all Pilsner Urquell Original Restaurants, also participated in the restaurant’s design. The entire equipment for serving beer from tap was supplied by a Czech company called Lukrécius. The red seal and the green neon are a clear sign for all patrons of the restaurant that they are entering a beer heaven, which made Czech Republic famous around the world. As guests enter the nicely air conditioned place, they will be greeted by a shiny tap with four spouts and nicely placed glasses with a familiar logo. Patrons will pay an equivalent of 75 Czech crowns (4.37 USD) for a half a litre of the Pilsner Urquell lager and the maximum capacity of the restaurant is over 200 places.

As it is a  tradition, a toast with the Pilsner Urquell lager opened the restaurant and a symbolic gift was given to the owner – horse shoes for good luck. These should protect the restaurant from bad powers and they have a  direct connection to the Pilsner Urquell brand. They belonged to a horse which used to carry Pilsner beer at the beginning of its history.

„I  know the owner, Mr. Chuyen, and I know that he is a big fan of beer and of the Pilsner Urquell brand. That is why I am not surprised about the care he gives the beer and the quality it has. The beer is stored in a  cooling box and temperature in the restaurant’s cellar reaches ideal 5 °C. That is unheard of in these conditions and that is why I am certain that the restaurant will be a success. Also, the care with which they care for the cleanliness of glasses and the way the beer is served prove that the POUR here could compete, in terms of quality, with any place,“ Václav Berka, Senior Business Brewer from Plzeňský Prazdroj, praised the restaurant at its opening.

Czech chef Václav Pach prepared the menu for the restaurant. The menu includes representatives of Vietnamese and international cuisines as well as typical Czech meals, such as pork with onions, fried cheese, pork Milanese, grilled pork neck, tripe soup, which people call here „sup bao tu,“ other munchies to go with the beer such as preserved sausage or potato salad. “This is not my first visit here and I know that Czech cuisine will find its fans here,” explained executive chef of the restaurant. Steven Hegarty from SABMiller, who is responsible for development of the Pilsner Urquell brand in Vietnam, praised both the beer quality and the Czech menu.

„I got to know the beer during my stay in former Czechoslovakia and I started to miss it after my return home. After building up my own restaurant brewery, today I reach another imaginary goal. I am opening our own Pilsner Urquell Original Restaurant in Hanoi, the first in Vietnam and in entire Asia. Today is a big day for me,“ shared the owner Ngo Hong Chuyen.

More than 200 guests participated in the grand opening of the restaurant. The guest list included, besides representatives from the media, also representatives from the City of Hanoi and representatives from neighboring countries such as Japan and China. In accordance with a tradition, all guests brought for the grand opening bountiful floral gifts for the garden by the entrance of the restaurant.

Our compatriots who are living and working in Hanoi did not resist and came for the event. „I am extremely happy that a  Czech restaurant was opened specifically here on the route from the embassy to my apartment. It will be a nice stop on my way home from work,“ stated one of the Slovak guests. 

Ngo Hong Chuyen, Owner of the newly opened PUOR in Hanoi
Pan Chuyen is the Czech Consul in Ho Chi Minh City. He lived in former Czechoslovakia as a  student and after his return to Vietnam he started to build his own companies. Besides the newly opened PUOR, he runs two breweries in Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City, which are run under the business name Hoavien and offer Pilsner Urquell from bottles and in barrels. He travels to Czech Republic on a regular basis and of course he also visited Plzeňský Prazdroj. He is a father of six.

Concept Pilsner Urquell Original Restaurants 
The PUOR restaurant is a franchising project developed by Plzeňský Prazdroj which provides unique environment with inspiring and original atmosphere, which blends the best traditions from Czech beer making and Czech cuisine with demands of today’s modern lifestyle.

More information:
Jiří Mareček, Plzeňský Prazdroj, Phone: +420 724 617 219

Notes to editors:

• With total sale of close to 9.9 million hectolitres in the 2010 calendar year (including licensed production abroad) and with export to more than 50 countries, Plzeňský Prazdroj a. s. is the leading producer of beer in the region and the biggest exporter of Czech beer.
• Plzeňský Prazdroj, a. s. is a member of the SABMiller PLC. Pilsner Urquell is an international flagship of the SABMiller portfolio of brands.
• SABMiller PLC is one of biggest beer companies in the world, with activities and distribution in more than 60 countries on six continents. Group of brands SABMiller includes important brands such as Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and many more successful regional brands.

Hanoj/Praha