Opening at the start of August is “Hello, Vietnam!,” a Vietnamese restaurant open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 8:30 pm (closed Mondays). Their ambitious menu includes spring and summer rolls; pho (soup); noodle and rice dishes with grilled chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, or vegetables; banh mi (sandwiches); milk tea (with tapioca, crystal, or popping boba), and of course Vietnamese coffee (American available, too). They’ll fill out this menu eventually with shaking beef, caramel fish, crispy noodles, fried rice, and fruit smoothies. If you’ve never had Vietnamese food before, I suggest you start with the banh mi sandwich, summer rolls with peanut butter sauce, spring rolls with sweet sauce, and maybe a rice noodle dish. The interior is entirely new and clean with large photo murals decorating the walls. The staff is working hard during these start-up weeks and happy to explain the menu to you. Their website at hellovietnamfood.com includes a menu and map.

You’ll find Hello Vietnam in the middle of the Twinbrook Shopping Center at 2200 Viers Mill Road at Atlantic Avenue, midway between Lotte Grocery and the Twinbrook Library. Parking is always a little crazy, so I’d avoid trying to park in front of the restaurant and instead choose a spot away from the stores. This shopping center is a bit ragged-looking, but don’t let that discourage you. When it was built in the 1960s, the appeal of this “California style” shopping center threatened the businesses of downtown Rockville. It just needs some painting and a good powerwash to remove years of bubblegum from the sidewalks. Today it serves as the unofficial “old downtown Twinbrook” with a wide range of international grocery stores and restaurants, enriching the diversity of the neighborhood.