T
he square of duck terrine says it all. Topped with a sliver of mango, the tiny hors d’oeuvre looks more like a modernist piece of art than anything you would find to eat in Southeast Asia. This is not Vietnamese cuisine as you know it. And yet. Isn’t that the familiar taste of pate? A meal at Pots ‘n Pans offers many such dizzying moments. The menu brings together local ingredients with western flair; you’ll find wonton crisps sharing a plate with salmon tartare and poached quail eggs served atop a salad of crisp butter lettuce. All this may well leave you wondering why fusion cuisine doesn’t have a better reputation.
MYSTERY DINER
western concept of a dish, rather than an organic part of it. A slice of poached daikon is unrecognizable; lemongrass duck sausage makes a brief cameo to little effect. Some dishes fail to cohere entirely, like seared salmon and clams in light nuoc mam caramel (VND350,000). The plating is bizarre; a melange of salmon cubes and tiny morsels of clam, still in their splayed-open shells. On the night we visited, the caramel sauce seemed especially light, with only a bit on the clams and none at all on the bland salmon. The glutinous rice served with the fish, however, was a winner. Steamed in a lotus leaf, the rice is pleasantly sticky and redolent with lemongrass. If it was available as a side dish, our table would have ordered several bowls. The desserts are also superb, although there are a few missteps. Creme brulee infused with lime leaf, lotus seed and coconut (VND70,000) is executed perfectly; rich and creamy, with a brittle rim and hints of orange. Whisky pave with orange chocolate mousse and rum chocolate ganache (VND120,000) is more uneven, its cake base more soggy than fluffy, although the rich ganache, topped with a sprig of fresh mint, partially atones for this blunder. These are bold visions. And when they succeed, they can be eye-opening. But too often the kitchen treads too cautiously, as if holding back on the flavour for fear it might offend. For a restaurant with this much promise, it wouldn’t hurt to take a few more risks. Pots ‘n Pans, 57 Bui Thi Xuan, Hai Ba Trung
Pots ‘n Pans
Our mystery diner enters the dicey world of Vietnamese cuisine paired with global tastes and cooking styles. How will this KOTO-sponsored restaurant fare? Photos by Francis Roux
A Feast for Sore Eyes Like the food, the setting is a sleek mix of modern and traditional. Exposed brick walls and wide glass windows feel comfortably at ease with rattan stools and a turn-of-thecentury winding staircase. Surrounded by bamboo cases, the lights fill the room with a soft, warm glow. Climbing those stairs, you’ll wind up in the dining room, which is outfitted with all the trappings of a modern restaurant: grey tablecloths, straight-backed chairs, an elegant glass wine case. If your companions are delayed, the long velvet banquettes by the bar downstairs offer a pleasant spot to savor a passion fruit mojito (VND135,000). During happy hour, the delicately blended cocktails are two for one, as are beer and wine. By the time you stumble upstairs, content, you will almost have forgotten that you came for the food. Pots ‘n Pans was created as a side project of KOTO, a non-profit that aims to empower disadvantaged youth through teaching English and vocational skills such as cooking. Successful KOTO graduates often end up here; the current team is led by KOTO graduate Nguyen Thi Thao, a 10-year veteran of the restaurant industry. The range of ingredients reflects an undeniable Vietnamese influence. Rau ren leaf frittata accompanies a starter of grilled tiger
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prawns; a coconut and lemongrass bechamel is drizzled with abandon over vegetarian cannelloni. But the chef — Joel Manton, a veteran of the Sydney food scene — also draws on a plethora of non-traditional flavours and classical western techniques to create an intriguing vision. When these flavours come together the result can be extraordinary, as in an appetizer of walnut and mung bean la lot (VND150,000), a paste made from walnuts and mung beans and wrapped in betel leaves. Earthy and slightly sweet, with a hint of musky tamarind, it’s the kind of substantial appetizer a vegetarian dreams about. But other dishes are timid renditions of bold concepts. An appetizer of seared scallop (VND225,000) promised a volatile mix of BBQ chilli and Thai basil remoulade, but what arrived was only two scallops mounted on thin slices of brioche, with tiny dabs of garnish that barely suggested the emphatic flavours the menu promised.
A Veritable Melange But Pots ‘n Pans’ real strength is the main courses. In one of the most successful dishes, shreds of tender pork wrapped in a betel leaf crepinette tumble over a bed of black lentils inflected with red wine and garam masala (VND310,000). Paired with a side of Vietnamese coleslaw (VND 80,000), the dish feels like a deconstructed pulled pork sandwich. The chef’s technical flair also shines through in the braised duck leg (VND390,000). Simmered in a spiced shiitake jus with hints of caramel, the meat is so tender it practically melts off the bone. The garnishes, however, feel like afterthoughts — a concession to the
Food, Decor and Service are each rated on a scale of 0 to 15. 13 — 15 extraordinary to perfection 10 — 12.5 very good to excellent 8 — 9.5 good to very good 5 — 7.5 fair to good 0 — 4.5 poor to fair The Word reviews anonymously and pays for all meals
THE VERDICT
11 12 14 FOOD
SERVICE
DÉCOR
STREET SNACKER
Xoi Com With autumn on its way, Huyen Tran follows the aroma of one the season’s best-known dishes, xoi com. Photos by Nguyen Bao Ngoc
H
à Nội mùa thu; Mùa thu Hà Nội Mùa hoa sữa về; Thơm từng cơn gió Mùa cốm xanh về; Thơm bàn tay nhỏ Cốm sữa vỉa hè; Thơm bước chân qua
Written by the legendary Trinh Cong Son, often described as the Bob Dylan of Vietnam, these lines from the song Nho Mua Thu Ha Noi resonate strongly with Hanoians and Vietnamese further afield. Describing Hanoi’s autumn as the season of of hoa sua (milk flower), he also calls it the season of com xanh, the green rice flakes that are harvested around this time. Time passes by. Hanoi grows rapidly. But such songs are still a spiritual part of this city. Hoa sua will forever be the colour and scent of Hanoi. And com is a symbol of this city in autumn. Associated with Hanoi’s streets, com is just one of those street dishes not sold in shops. Instead it seems to appear randomly, sold by street peddlers along Hanoi’s streets in autumn. As people can only get com by chance, they wait longingly for autumn to come. Together with the rice flakes themselves, a number of other dishes appear. These include xoi com or sticky green rice, che com, sweetened green rice paste, banh com
or green rice cake and com xao, which is translated as stir-fried green rice. Among these dishes, xoi com is regarded as the perfect combination of Hanoi autumn tastes and scents. Yet, often served on a lotus leaf, even xoi com is difficult to find.
The Promised Land The one place where you always seem to be able to buy xoi com is at Xoi Ba Quy, a small food stand at Cho Hom (Hom market) that has been selling traditional sticky rice dishes for two generations. It is not the varied selection of sticky rice dishes that amazes customers most. It’s the fact that the shop owner is a man. “My mother started selling xoi at this market 40 years ago when I was only a toddler,” says the owner, Tuan. “At that time, Hom market was a slum. And my mother was the first peddler selling xoi in this area. She started by making xoi khuc, then banh com. We’ve been selling xoi com since the 1990s. During Vietnam’s subsidy era, our family business was particularly well-known among Hanoians.” Tuan has nine siblings, who also own food stands at Hom market. Some of them also sell xoi. Together they make up a family business chain at the market.
“Since we were kids, we helped our mother make xoi,” explains Tuan. “Sadly, my mother passed away some years ago. We inherited her recipe and have expanded the business. Making xoi has become our family tradition. The most favoured variation is xoi com.” Making and selling xoi has become part of Tuan’s family’s daily routine. “As autumn is the season of fresh com, we have to stay up overnight to make xoi com for hundreds of orders per day,” explains Tuan. “To [do this] we have to be accurate in every single step and the perfect xoi com can only be made from the best com and the fullest rice grains that are found at Vong village.” Just from spending a few minutes with Tuan I can feel the true Hanoi soul in him. When asked what makes him proud of this city, he tells me that his mother used to sing the Trinh Cong Son song when selling xoi com. Hà Nội mùa thu; Mùa thu Hà Nội Mùa hoa sữa về; Thơm từng cơn gió Mùa cốm xanh về; Thơm bàn tay nhỏ Cốm sữa vỉa hè; Thơm bước chân qua Tuan’s shop at Hom Market also sells xoi gac, xoi vo, banh com, com xao and banh chung. Prices for xoi are around VND20,000 per dish or 100g. The shop is open from 6am to 6pm.
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