Viet World Kitchen

Are Vietnamese Restaurant Empires Possible?

I'm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for a few book-related events this week. Yesterday, I cooked with the folks at Lantern, a nationally acclaimed restaurant that's been featured in publications such as Gourmet and Saveur. Chef/owner Andrea Reusing's smart, local, sustainable take on Asian cooking is a model for such types of restaurants all over. I met a local farmer who delivered her luscious lettuces and leafy greens, the shrimp were from Georgia and the crab were lively blue crabs full of roe and tomalley.

Our sold-out dinner for 60 (ahem, that's 1 seating folks) with Spanish sherry and wine pairings by Andre Tamers of De Maison Selections went exceptionally well because Andrea has an amazing, tight staff. Theirs is a small operation and the kitchen is comfortable, not huge, just right. Restaurant cooking is teamwork and you laugh while prepping and picking a good 50 pounds of blue crab and you holler and follow orders like as if you're in a battle zone once service begins.

A good restaurant experience is at core about the food, but also about the management, kitchen staff and the wait staff, who know to bring out the food at the right moment, and to pace things for diners. Guests at a restaurant have no clue what goes on behind those waving kitchen doors because they're great sound insulators. But lots of conversation and strategic management goes into a fabulous meal. At the end of the day, dining at this caliber nurtures the belly and soul and entertains on many levels too.

So as a restaurateur, can you replicate that in other locales for the sake of making more money? Or do you stick to your roots and make good food for your community?

Alice Waters doesn't want cookie-cutter Chez Panisses. Andrea Reusing, who has a family, doesn't have designs on expanding to other cities with mini Lanterns. Charles Phan has Slanted Door and takeout versions called Out the Door -- all in San Francisco. Sophie and Eric Banh of Monsoon happily succeed and are satisfied with their eateries in Seattle. David Chang keeps his Momofukus tight and small in Manhattan.

In our little Vietnamese food and restaurant world, we have Michael Bao Huynh -- a Saigon native who's had restaurants in New York City (Bao 111, Bao Noodles, Mai House), Los Angeles, and the latest is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I'd read that he was looking into opening in Saigon too. Most chefs stay in their cities (e.g. Joachim Splichal) while others with well-honed management teams go domestic (e.g. Wolfgang Puck and Tom Colicchio). But going international is another level of ambition altogether.

You can't be all over the place to keep quality and standards up. Many things can go wrong on a regular moment-by-moment basis in a restaurant. HOWEVER, demand for Vietnamese food is so high these days that someone has to fill the void.

With exception to Pho 24 from Vietnam, which serves a tiny limited menu dedicated to you know what, I've not been to a [good] successful Vietnamese chain restaurant. Is that possible? What do you think that takes? Let me know your thoughts...

Vietnamese Food in Hong Kong

Many of us traveling to Vietnam touch down in Hong Kong and never leave the airport. This time, I decided to stay for a few days to check out what is arguably the Manhattan of Asia. In the early 1990s I was a student here on a fellowship and haven't visited since then.

What a difference 18 years makes. Compared to back then, today's Hong Kong is super duper modern (LCD screens on skyscrapers galore), extremely clean (it's easy to find a nice restroom), people are healthy, and overall happy (waitstaff at restaurants are actually friendly and kind).

There are Viet restaurants in all the happening places in town. A while back Hong Kong-native Joel Hung sent me info about them and finally I saw them with my own eyes.

• Golden Bull in the high-end Ocean Terminal and Times Square shopping center is very very luxe (sleek, modern, cold) but the food didn't look appealing. Also, there was no Vietnamese language menu so I didn't go for it.
• Viet Hung Vien in Kowloon (on Soy Street) was so packed with hipsters inside and outside  waiting that I ate the random skewered food snacks sold a few doors down.
• Nha Trang in tony Central on Wellington was ultra modern and cool, with an English/Viet menu. The rare and cooked beef pho (pho tai chin) came out nice and hot but oddly had no flavor. There was no cilantro, the scallion was left in 4-inch lengths, the onion sliced kinda thick, bean sprouts were already in the bowl, and they put the Thai basil -- stem and leaf atop the bowl; it was hard to pick out and rip off the leaves. I added ALL the Thai chiles and squirted tons of lime in but there was no oomph. For the first time in my life, I didn't finish a bowl of pho (39 HKD/5USD) and left to get a bowl of shrimp wonton noodle soup (15 HKD/2USD) nearby. Other diners didn't look inspired by the food, though they were smartly dressed . . .

Vietnamese food is popular in Hong Kong as a new and emerging cuisine, just like it is in the States. These restaurants offer something different from Cantonese food, but they're not fabulous as far as Viet flavors go. One of the things is that Viet food is a bit spicier than Cantonese fare, and there are lots of raw vegetables involved -- a rarity in Chinese cuisine. Given that, I can see where adaptation can be hard. On the other hand, I saw some lovely red-leaf lettuce and fresh mint at the markets.

Ingredients are available for making Viet food in Hong Kong. For example, On Graham street in Central where there's one of the remaining wet markets, there was a tiny Thai grocer where if you needed some nuoc mam, banh pho or banh trang (they only get the thick rice ones in HK), you can.  There are Thai markets near the old airport and Kowloon City Plaza (in Kowloon  City) that offer a good assortment of Southeast Asian ingredients.  But if venturing there is too out of the way, a Hong Konger could pick up many items at one of the City Supers, which are like a combo of Whole Foods and Dean and De Lucca. (Their salt selection occupies 7 shelves and spans the globe, from Asia to Europe.)

If you visit, try venturing outside the touristy areas into the neighborhoods so get good fare at decent prices. You'll also sneak a peek at how regular people eat and shop.

Rat Cuisine in Vietnam

I never know what to make of a story that capitalizes on what may be viewed as weird/extreme eating by 'exotic' cultures. We're officially in the Year of the Rat and on Wednesday, February 6, the Wall Street Journal had an article on how there's been a resurgence in rat-based dining in Vietnam.

The title of James Hookway's piece is "For Vietnamese, The Year of the Rat Starts with Lunch:  Rodent-Eating Takes Off, In Response to Bird Flu;Cats, Snakes on Menu, Too." That's quite a headline, and if you weren't a careful reader, you may think, "Those bizarre, crazy Vietnamese people. They'll eat anything!"

But read further down, past the first paragraph to get the culinary details and rationale for the resurgence of rat cuisine. Hookway's story is quite informative.

That's quite a difference from the LA Times February 6 piece on  new dining trends in Orange County's Little Saigon!

For more to ponder, see:

• Half-hatched duck egg posting
• Year of the Rat posting which contains some comments on rat cuisine

Trends in O.C. Little Saigon Dining

Vietnamese restaurants are reaching out to non-Vietnamese diners who want foods that are accessible as well as to Viet customers who want good quality traditional fare. What does that mean in terms of dining trends?

1) Riffs and modern takes on rice paper rolls, lamb chops with traditional seasonings. Taking something old and marrying it with something new is very Vietnamese. There are only guidelines and few rules in Viet cooking, which is governed by innovation and perpetual innovation.

2) Specialized and smaller, focused menus. Restaurants that offer huge menus can't do everything well. In Vietnam, the best joints only prepare a number of dishes, or maybe even just one.

Read more from this February 6, 2008 Los Angeles Times Food section article :

"In Little Saigon, a revitalized dining scene" by Linda Burum

Eating in Saigon

Robyn Eckhart and her husband Dave, American expats residing in Kuala Lumpur, went to Saigon a little while back. Robyn has been posting her food forays on her amazing blog, Eating Asia, complete with Dave's stunning photography. Their postings are definitely worth checking out, especially to see how food is prepared in the Motherland these days.

Highlights include:

• Vietnam's Black Gold (cafe sua da/ice coffee)
• The Feel Good Factor (Hong Hang restaurant/southern and central Viet fare)
• Duck Rice Porridge (chao vit, with all the trimmings)

Thanks Robyn and Dave!

Eating in Hanoi

When I last visited the Motherland, I stayed in the south to bask in its warmth. It's been several years since I've been to Hanoi. Katie, a food stylist who assisted on the photos for Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, will be visiting Hanoi soon. She wrote asking about where and what to eat.

Here's were my suggestions:

Don't miss these Hanoi specialties:

• beef pho noodle soup
• bun cha rice noodles with grilled pork
• bun thang noodle soup
• banh cuon steamed rice rolls
• cha ca thanh long -- people say to go the restaurant in the old quarter, but I think it's overrated. My homemade version is better, though it's always interesting to see the dolled up version.

Cheap or moderately priced places to eat:

• In the old quarter in the evening, there's usually street food vendors who set up shop offering things like green papaya salad near where the water puppet theater is.
• Near the Hilton Opera, we breakfasted daily on great coffee, croissants and pate chauds at a bakery/cafe. Walk out of the Hilton, go right and then left and you'll see it across the street. It's charmingly French looking.
• Hoa Sua (81 Tho Nhuom) is a cooking school for disadvantaged youth that's great for lunch. It's in an old French villa.
• At night, the Metropole Hotel has live music in their charming bar.

High-end restaurants:

• Bobby Chinn's eponymous restaurant is very swank, should you want to experience Cal-Med-Vietnamese fusion.
• Verticale  is new this year and opened by Didier Corlou,  whom the Vietnamese consider their foreign ambassador for Vietnamese food. It's suppose to be beautiful, and offer Corlou's French-Vietnamese hybrid cuisine.

Other sources to check include:

• Penn State University faculty member Rukmalie Jayakody's  short list of Hanoi eateries (The person lived and conducted research there. This link leads to lots of helpful information.)
• Noodlepie's 2001 PDF document of Hanoi eats and his 2007 notes on food places in Hanoi
• Savour Asia's tips and notes on eating in Hanoi

Health and safety:

• Safe eating in Vietnam is a posting on this blog has tips on traveling and eating in Vietnam.
• Vietnamese food in the time of cholera is another posting that has links to info on the current health concerns there.

If you have a tip for Katie, add to this list!

Unusual Viet Restaurants

I mostly root for home cooks but every once in a while, you want someone else to do the cooking, serving and cleaning. Today I learned about several spots that would get me out the door and on a plane:

Restaurant Mẹ - "Mom's Restaurant" is a moderately priced Vietnamese-New Orleans-Spanish restaurant in Barcelona, Spain. The chef/co-owner is Vietnamese American who used to live in New Orleans. The other owner is American. Now they're both in Barcelona, which is like Los Angeles -- open to new ideas and adventure. It's located in the L'Eixample area at Carrer de Paris, 162, Barcelona, 8036.  (New York Times review || Chow.com posting)

Hai Nam Restaurant - It's not all you can eat but rather all you can eat AND all you can pay. The restaurant specializes in Hainan chicken and rice (a specialty from Hainan island in the South China Seas that's historically been contested property between China and Vietnam). You get a ton of food but only pay for what you eat. This approach to dining is called ăn nhiều tính nhiều, which literally means "eat much, pay much." Leftovers are passed on to another table. Maybe not so hygienic but certainly efficient for the kitchen staff. Hai Nam Restaurant is located in Phan Rang, a coastal town located about 50 miles south of Nha Trang. 

Cuốn - The name means "roll" and it's a smallish place in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) devoted to rice rolls. My friend Daniel came across Cuốn in May when he was last in the Motherland. He says it's a smart local venture, not something that an overseas Viet Kieu introduced.  Anyone aside from Daniel been there?

Bún- Is another monosyllabic restaurant in Saigon next to Quán Ăn Ngon on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street near the Reunification Palace. They specialize in Viet dishes featuring thin, round rice noodles called what else but bún. It's a lovely building and a nice alternative to the popular Ngon down the way. Ironically, last week  chef/restaurateur Michael Bao Huynh opened a restaurant called Bún in New York City. Maybe soon someone will open a Cuốn place too! It's a two way street, from abroad back to Vietnam and vice versa.

Vietnamese Crossover Restaurants

You can measure the maturity of an immigrant group by the distance that their restaurants stray from their traditional enclaves. In the last decade, there's been an upshot of such 'crossover' restaurants that are delivering Vietnamese food to non-Vietnamese people in locations outside of typical Little Saigon neighborhoods.

Journalist and author Andrew Lam invited me to write about how Vietnamese food and cooking are impacting America for New American Media, the nation's oldest ethnic media organization. I spoke to three seasoned restaurateurs -- Khanh Tran in Bergen County, New Jersey; Eric Banh in Seattle, Washington; and Stephanie Dinh in Westminster, California.  Here is the piece for you to peruse:

• Moving Vietnamese Food Forward (New American Media, 7/31/07)

For information on these restaurants:

• Saigon R and Mo Pho (Khanh Tran)
• Monsoon (Eric Banh)
• S Fine Dining (Stephanie Dinh)

 

Geoduck Not So Gooey

The world's largest burrowing clam, geoduck is an odd, scary looking creature that I basically stare at the Chinese market. They're intimidating and I've never prepared one myself, leaving geoduck for professional cooks to render into delightfully crunchy morsels.  (Incidentally, the photo to the right is from a Hong Kong restaurant. The exchange rate is roughly 7.8 HK dollars to 1 US dollar.)

However, after watching a how-to video featuring Vietnamese-American chef Xinh of the well-respected Xinh's Clam and Oyster House in Shelton, Washington, I'm thinking I can attack geoduck.  In this clip from  Mike Rowe's "Dirty Jobs" show that airs on the Discovery Channel, Xinh displays great aplomb and a  no-nonsense approach to eviscerating the unusual bivalve. After all, she is a five-time champion oyster shucker and doesn't fear much when it comes to shellfish of any kind. Rowe, on the other hand, is a bit squeamish, but his sarcasm and humor help him get through the situation. 

Geoduck video (on No Guts, No Glory blog)

Notes:

Many thanks to John Rowley, a Seattle-based seafood expert and contributing editor to Gourmet, for sending the link.

More geoduck information is available at:

Geoduck FAQ

Geoduck in the Puget Sound (how to find them and dig them up!)

Vietnamese Markets and Good Restaurants: Portland, Oregon

In August, I'm scheduled to teach a couple cooking classes  in Portland, Oregon. It's been years since I've traveled to Portland, where there's a sizable Asian population.  I always like to discuss with students where and how they may locally source ingredients and equipment for cooking Vietnamese food. To help me do my homework, I asked Trillium, a Portland resident, food lover, and avid cook. Whoa, she fired back these  recommendations and thoughtful insights:

Our favorite place to shop in Portland is at An Dong market on Powell. It's run by Teowchiu speakers from Vietnam (they also speak English, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Cantonese if you need them too). My perspective is skewed because I've been going there for 5 years and get treated really well because they're used to us, so when I come in by myself everyone is really nice. But some people don't like shopping there because they can be a little crabby if you're not used to that "buy your stuff and get out" attitude. They do all of their pork butchery in house, which is nice. They also have all of the good stuff, innards, feet, etc, and Asian beef cuts (outer flank, etc). For fresher, still live, seafood (crabs, shrimp, clams etc) and fish at great prices, I shop at Om Seafood down the road. An Dong has a little selection of ok quality and very good price fish and seafood. On the weekends they also sell banh cuon hap that are really good (very finely textured), and bbqed coconut sticky rice with banana, taro, or lotus in banana leaves. Their bao are also tasty, and very different from the Chinese ones we're familiar with (pork, peas, glass noodle, wood ear, hard boiled egg, lap cheung and mushroom).

Fubonn Market is the big market that is trying to be like 99 Ranch. I find the quality of the produce isn't as good there, and I don't like that every thing is wrapped and on Styrofoam, but some people like going there a lot.

Pok Pok isn't Viet, it's Thai, but you should go if you get a chance. It's pretty good Thai food depending on what you order.  Andy and his crew are doing things like making their own coconut milk, and trying to convince Portlanders that salted blue crabs are a good thing in your papaya salad. We cook a ton of Thai food, and traveled in Thailand with Thai speakers, so of course I think what we make at home is better, but I think he does a really good job for a restaurant in North America.

We used to really love Pho Oregon but the last time we went it wasn't as good. I don't know if it was a one time deal or not, but they had taken some of my favorite dishes off the menu and just had more typical stuff left.

We really love Binh Minh for banh mi, their original location is on Broadway and they have another on Powell now. The proprietress is notoriously grumpy and she always asks the round-eyes if they want extra meat!  If I'm not in there with my Asian partner she tends to leave off the chillies too, unless I tell her not to, but when he's there we never have that problem. Their bread is classic Viet "French" and I love both the combo and siu mai fillings.

The South East part of the city is where many immigrant communities live, which explains these address for the locations Trillium listed:

An Dong market: 5441 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, 97206 - (503) 777-2463

Om Seafood: 3514 514 SE 76th Ave, Portland, OR, 97206, (503) 788-1984, www.omseafood.com

Fubon market/shopping center: Powell and Division on 82nd

Pok Pok Thai restaurant:3226 SE Division, Portland, OR 97202, (503) 232-1387

Pho Oregon: 6236 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97213, (503) 281-2990

Binh Minh: 6812 NE Broadway St (original location; new location is on Powell), (503) 257-3868

Do you have favorite markets and restaurants where you live? Email me and I'll post them so we can build an information base.