Barbara Adam gets the low-down on a new culinary guide to Saigon.
H
ungry? Good. I’ll take you to a little place I know. You too can use these winning lines to impress family and friends, with the help of a new culinary guide to the Ho Chi Minh City, written and styled by two food-loving entrepreneurs. Sydney-based Leanne Kitchen, who started out as a chef, now writes about and photographs food all around the world. Three years ago, she set up Red Pork Press with sidekick Antony Suvalko, who hails from the Land of the Long White Cloud. “We started Red Pork Press because we are both passionate about food and passionate about travel,” Antony told AsiaLIFE.”We were constantly being asked by friends where they should dine when they were overseas and we started to think there might be a niche for culinary-focussed travel guides. “Yes, you can get endless information on the net but having it curated for you, and in a lovely, pocketable package, makes more sense to us. So we decided to publish books that help get the best from a place, culinarily speaking.” One of Red Pork Press’s first projects was a series of cityspecific culinary travel guides called In 12 Dishes. Ho Chi Minh City in 12 Dishes is the second book in the series, released hot on the heels of Shanghai in 12 Dishes. Leanne and Antony chose Ho Chi Minh City for a very simple reason: the food here is sublime. “Zingy with herbs, salty with the smack of fish sauce, brimming with the goodness of vibrant produce and enlivened with notes of coconut, spice, smoke, lime and chilli, food here has crunch and flavour in spades.” That’s how they describe the city’s food scene in their book’s blurb. “We chose Ho Chi Minh City because we’d both been there numerous times before and loved the food,” Antony said. (Editor’s note: Leanne has even joined my husband and I on a Saigon Street Eats tour!) “It’s not hard to fall for Vietnamese food and Ho Chi Minh City fare has a freshness and vibrancy that’s second to none. Our books are all about food culture discovered through the broader travel experience and there aren’t too many places with a more enticing food culture than Ho Chi Minh City.” “We love the energy of the city and the way various districts are distinct, with completely different vibes,” he said. “To us, Ho Chi Minh City feels endless, in terms of local dining possibilities. Oh, and we are coffee addicts too, so it goes without saying we would want to be in Ho Chi Minh City.” The book shows you what to eat as well as where to eat. Australian celebrity chef Luke Nguyen has given the guide a ringing endorsement, saying the dining recommendations are “spot on”. “Our travel style is always to try and go where locals go - full immersion,” Antony said. “We think that’s a big part any travel adventure and makes for the most memorable experiences. When we can’t speak a language, invariably some kind soul comes to our aid and we end up having a lovely interaction. This is the essence of travel to us, even if we just communicate via sign language and smiles… and it only comes when you get out of comfort zones and away from tourist traps.” “Our books are designed with this kind of travel in mind (although we like a decent bar at the end of a day too and invariably include a selection of worthy watering holes in our books). We are committed to finding out about culinary culture, not restaurant scenes, so our books won’t guide you to Western-style fine diners.” Structured around 12 iconic dishes, the book guides users to where these can be found with pho (soup noodles), banh mi (baguette), banh xeo (sizzling pancake) and barbecue among the essential dozen. Paperback and Kindle versions of Ho Chi Minh City in 12 Dishes are available on Amazon and on www.redporkpress.com. 40 AsiaLIFE HCMC
