Steamed Coral trout with dried lily flower, soy & garlic oil. Recipe is in Viet Kieu if you want to have a crack.
This is probably the first dish I ever learnt to cook from mum. I remember as a 7 year old painstakingly tying knots in rehydrated Lilly flower as a kid, to the point my fingers would prune up. My mother always insisted lily flowerss add another level of texture to the dish. 💯 agree it’s always in the detail.
Nothing like oysters and rice in the wild for a bit of R&R
For those who do want to know, gear from @snowpeak_australia and @soto_japan_official making it all happen
Where in I talk about
- the courtesy of diners and dining
- cost of living: not just a consumer problem
- what makes our Com Tam
- being paid $14 an hour as an adult hospitality worker in Australia in 2026
- breaking the cycle of our economic inheritance
- representation of Vietnamese cuisine in Australia
- the catastrophe of today’s banh mi service (spoiler: I was an emotional wreck)
- the uphill battle of representing Viet Kieu identity
Note: I used bloody a couple of times - rest assured this intensifier was used only in the most positive context.
It’s a video that runs just over 11 mins. I needed to have a rant.
Spending this week tweaking Cơm tấm for @cacom.banhmi.bar at night, which will be open Thu, fri & sat nights before we kick off officially after Easter week. Come say hi this week and let us know what you think?
Broken rice with…
Grilled pork neck chop
Fried egg
Pork rind noodles with toasted rice
Salted fish & pork terrine
Hot soup
Pork fat & spring onion oil
Our marinade will be leaning towards the Northern parts of VN, less sweet and more savoury.
We will be pouring some tasty pineapple and chilli rice wine to go with.
As chefs, we’re always taught to show only the best, perfect plates, polished services, perfectly cut chives and rarely talk about the losses.
So here’s one of mine… A 14-year-old master stock.
Started when I first arrived in Melbourne, built from just quail carcass at home to finding its life in Anchovy for the past 10 years.
Not sure what happened, how it happened…
Watching it go down the drain honestly broke my heart. Not just because of the time, but because of the memory of all dishes over the years that used incorporated this masterstock… I guess this is also part of it.
Cooking isn’t just about preserving and sometimes it’s about letting go and learning from your mistakes
Back to day one.. RIP
