31.10.2018 Views

Fah Thai Magazine Nov-Dec 2018

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

HAPPENINGS<br />

VIETNAM<br />

HANOI<br />

SPOTLIGHT<br />

Soul In<br />

Your Nighlife<br />

Just when you think Hanoi has gone<br />

too commercial — too many soulless<br />

venues for a night out — someone<br />

opens a new place that renews your<br />

faith in this city. Monsoon is one.<br />

Opening in September of this year, and<br />

somewhat concealed in a basement, it<br />

may be a part of the “Hidden Charm”<br />

promised in brochures and ads by the<br />

tourism authority of Vietnam. And<br />

perhaps it is the odd combination<br />

of the two partners with an artist’s<br />

sensibility that has resulted in such a<br />

disciplined yet delightful environment,<br />

and a focused menu of fine food.<br />

At street level, guests walk past<br />

a wall of bamboo and a high counter<br />

hiding the kitchen then are invited<br />

down a few stone steps reminiscent<br />

of Japanese gardens. Go through the<br />

unadorned double door and you are<br />

greeted in an anteroom with leather<br />

couches surrounding a contemporary<br />

metal fireplace. Enjoy a glass of wine<br />

and a quick chat with the owners,<br />

Khuat Tuan-Anh, a graduate of the<br />

Harvard Kennedy School of government,<br />

and Le Vinh, a Columbia University-trained<br />

urban designer turned food designer,<br />

both with a penchant for small venues that<br />

are exquisite, relaxing, and a shelter from<br />

the bustle of Vietnam’s capital city.<br />

For Monsoon, Tuan-Anh and Vinh<br />

bring select fish and meat from the US,<br />

which they cure and pickle themselves.<br />

Their salted duck breasts are simply<br />

delicious. But if you’re hankering for<br />

something more local, there is a beef<br />

noodle soup that’s flavourful and true<br />

to its Vietnamese roots. The owners<br />

claim to keep the wine list limited,<br />

avoiding anything pretentious or too<br />

expensive. Yet, what they serve fits<br />

well with the dishes, and an evening<br />

at Monsoon will be remembered<br />

with delight. Tuan-Anh has already<br />

mounted several branches of a café<br />

named Tranquil, as well as a small<br />

concept store with an attached café<br />

called Vui. It is astonishing that in<br />

a city consumed with social media<br />

and selfies, Tranquil spaces are often<br />

a refuge for people quietly reading<br />

a book, working on a hand-drawn<br />

design, or simply having a hushed<br />

conversation. Monsoon: 77 Nguyen <strong>Thai</strong><br />

Hoc Street, Hanoi, +84 (0) 96 325 6477,<br />

8am-10pm; Tranquil Cafés: 5<br />

Nguyen Quang Bich Street, Hanoi,<br />

+84 (0) 98 938 4541, 8am-10.30pm,<br />

18b Nguyen Bieu Street, Hanoi,<br />

+84 (0) 98 938 4541, 8am-10.30pm<br />

TANNIN WINE BAR<br />

Real wine lovers can opt for the more<br />

elaborate Tannin Wine Bar, in the centre<br />

of Hanoi’s old quarter. By elaborate,<br />

we mean the wine selection: over 400<br />

varieties, including an impressive array of<br />

champagnes. This comes with no surprise<br />

as two of the owners, Sylvan Bournigault<br />

and his wife Van Anh, have been importing<br />

wine into Vietnam for over 15 years and<br />

still run Celliers d’Asie. Van Anh is easily<br />

the most knowledgeable wine connoisseur<br />

in Hanoi: she is professional and dedicated<br />

in her formal wine studies, and travels<br />

throughout Europe in search of fine wines<br />

from dozens of vintners.<br />

The other two owners, Matt and Thu,<br />

have dreamed of a wine bar for a decade,<br />

and finally settled on a typical Hanoi tube<br />

house — the same house where Thu was born, and still owned by<br />

her family. It’s narrow but well laid out with high tables on one<br />

side and a long bar on another. Large chalkboards make it easy<br />

to select your wines — or the cold cuts and specialty dishes that<br />

can keep you from getting too drunk.<br />

The partners are in the establishments most nights to mingle<br />

with the guests. At any moment, you’ll hear Vietnamese and<br />

English — with Australian, American and British accents. And if<br />

you’re there late enough, you might catch Sylvain claiming in his<br />

native French, “Je suis saoule — I am drunk.” For your information,<br />

“saoule” is pronounced exactly as the word “soul!” 46 Hang Vai,<br />

Hanoi, opens 2pm til midnight, +84 (0) 90 478 9482<br />

124

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!