transition - AsiaLIFE Magazine

Sleeping BeautyMore than half a century ago,some time in the 1950s, a smalltriangle of vacant land lay atthe confluence of Tran HungDao and Nguyen Cu TrinhStreets. Its address today is148 Tran Hung Dao, on theway west to Cho Lon. Sometime back in those olden days,I don’t know exactly when, itmight even have been in thewaning days of French rule, abillboard size advertisementwas painted on the easternwall of the adjacent building.The ad was for Negrita Rum, avery popular tipple here fromearliest French days to Reunificationin 1975 when it prettymuch disappeared. But untilthat time it was the drink ofchoice for many Foreign Legionsoldiers, their heirs the AmericanG.I.s, and who knows howmany hard drinking journalists.The ad features Chinese script,which is appropriate to one’sdestination should you see itdriving westward down thestreet.Negrita Rum (the Frenchspell it “rhum”) was first blendedand labeled in 1847 by theBardinet Company of France.And Bardinet still produces it.It’s the most popular rum inSpain and high on the list inother European countries. It’sa blended rum, being made indistilleries on Reunion, Guadeloupeand Martinique islands.It’s the Martinique elementthat gives Negrita its distinctivetaste. Rums of Martiniqueare “agricole” rums. They aremade from sugar cane juice,not molasses, a by-product ofthe refining process.The painted ad on TranHung Dao (in the French timeknown as Rue Marine, or SailorStreet) would have beckonedthousands of soldiers andsailors as they headed into ChoLon for nights of debauchery atthe House of 500 girls. It wouldhave stimulated the thirst ofgamblers flocking to Le GrandeMonde. The dark lady on thelabel might have winked atGraham Green as he scouredthe steamy streets for atmosphereto spice up The QuietAmerican. She was part of aneighborhood and a city whoseformer character is now almostentirely gone. But she has been(temporarily) preserved. In1960 the Metropole Hotel wasbuilt on that triangle of land,hard against the adjacent building,sealing up the commercialart as a time capsule. Throughall the subsequent decades ofwar, upheaval, high times andlow, change and hyper change,the painted Negrita slept.She had not been seen for62 years, until last December.With yet another tower inmind, developers demolishedthe Metropole in December,revealing that shrouded bit ofbibulous history. I stopped inmy tracks when I saw her. Imust have stood and contemplatedher for ten minutes,imagining all the people andevents that she had witnessed,and those she had sleptthrough. I resolved to have adrink of Negrita. I had to havea sip of Saigon history. Butwhere to find something thatdisappeared decades ago?I called my bibulous buddies.Michael Kloster, formerlyof Black Cat fame and nowwith The Vine Group winemerchants; Linh Phanroy ofGringo’s; and Charlie Wongthe Hot Dog King of Saigonall sprang into action. But thesearch seemed to be in vain.Kloster managed to locate abottle in Phnom Penh and wasstanding by to have it “transferred.”Phanroy promised toinvent a dedicatory cocktail forit upon arrival. But King Charlie’snetwork of informantsand operatives is unmatched.As we sat despondently onenight nursing our suds at theDrunken Duck, a dusty andbattered old xe om arrivedat the door. Both driver andvehicle looked hard-ridden. Abarman was dispatched to meetI must have stood andcontemplated her for ten minutes,imagining all the people andevents that she had witnessed, andthose she had slept through.him. A fat wad of cash changedhands. A bottle of Negrita rumwas set before me. It was athing of beauty.We four repaired to myquarters. With due ceremonyI cracked the bottle. I pouredfour measures. We toasted oldSaigon. We tasted. How was it?Well may you ask. “She weren’ta goer,” as an Aussie might say.But she weren’t bad neither. Ididn’t care. I tasted Old Saigon,and that was more than enoughfor me. Phanroy made goodon his promise. He combinedequal measures of café sua da,Kalua and Negrita. He calls itthe Negringa.I plan to make that bottlelast until the Negrita ad is oncemore consigned to darkness,probably for good this time. Ipass by that echo of Old Saigonevery day. And every day inmy mind I drink a silent toastto her. And she replies, “I justcame back to say goodbye.”Grapes and BambooFrenchGrapes and Bamboo has beenserving up French fare with aVietnamese twist to the residentsof Phu My Hung in District 7 forjust over a year. The purple andgreen highlights in the interiorrepresent the elements of therestaurant’s name, and the twocultures that influence the fare.It is a family affair with therestaurant owned by localwoman Doan Hong Truc andthe kitchen headed up by hermother Lan Phuong, whohas 30 years experience in thebusiness.Originally the restaurantserved a mix of French andVietnamese cuisine, and thebrunch menu is still made upof Vietnamese standards suchas com tam (32,000 to 70,000VND) and various noodle soups(42,000 VND). However, thedecision was made to movetowards more French food tocreate a point of difference withthe local competition.To suit local tastes the fooduses less salt and less fat thanwould normally be found inFrench dishes, and there is alsoan emphasis on using vegetablesand presenting dishes well. LanPhuong says, “People first eatwith their eyes.”The focus on presentationis apparent from the verybeginning with the cream ofpumpkin soup with fresh tigerprawn (42,000 VND) and theclear seafood soup (72,000 VND)covered with a Mille-Feuillesthat is golden and crispy andperfectly risen. The pastry workswell dunked in the wonderfullyflavoured soup.The Grapes and Bamboofare meets local cuisine in District 7.By Brett Davis. Photos by Fred Wissink.summer fruit and chicken salad(large 72,000 VND, small 48,000VND) is one of the signaturedishes, and the sliced applecombined with the grapes andasparagus make for a refreshingdish.For mains there is the‘famous’ grilled chicken legin red wine sauce (49,000VND), and chicken breast withhomemade pasta in mushroomsauce (52,000 VND). All thenoodles, pasta and pastry usedat Grapes and Bamboo is madefresh on-site every day. Otherpopular choices are the beefbourguignon (78,000 VND),roast duck in citrus sauce(130,000 VND), grilled salmonwith shiitake mushroom sauce(195,000 VND), fillet mignonwith foie gras (268,000 VND)and the imported rack of lambin red wine sauce (390,000VND).The dessert menu includesassorted homemade tarts (12,000VND each) and some slightlydifferent offerings such as sweetlotus seed soup (15,000 VND).The wine list is impressivewith almost two dozen bottlesfrom France, Chile, Australiaand New Zealand. The red andwhite Bordeaux house wine isonly 65,000 VND a glass.Grapes and Bamboo issomething of a surprise packetbut well worth a visit for thosewanting well-prepared food thatwon’t break the bank or add toomuch to the waistline.SD2-1 Nguyen Duc Canh, Phu MyHung, D7Tel: 54122965Open 7am to 10:30pm44 asialife HCMC asialife HCMC 45