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Time of India
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Ho Chi Minh's triumph and Vietnam's history of hunger
Last week marked the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the biggest political triumph of a chef. Ho Chi Minh , who led Vietnam's long freedom struggle, started by working in ship kitchens to see the world. There are unverified claims that he trained with the famous French chef Auguste Escoffier and at the Parker House Hotel, where the Boston cream pie was invented. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack India much better equipped to target cross-border terror since Balakot India conducts maiden flight-trials of stratospheric airship platform Pakistan shuts ports for Indian ships after New Delhi bans imports from Islamabad Ho's years abroad led him to the global communist movement. He returned home in 1941 to lead the Viet Minh movement for inde pendence from France. In 1944-45, Vietnam suf fered a terrible famine, partly caused by France's prewar decision to force Vietnamese farmers to switch from rice farming to cash crops like cotton and jute. When the war started, food resources were already under strain and then the fall of France aligned its colonies with Japan, who extorted rice to support its war effort. In the ensuing famine, thousands died — and the Viet Minh gained much support for its resistance to the Franco-Japanese regime. This was a direct cause for the war that broke out in 1946, which ended with French defeat and Vietnam divided between the Viet Minh controlled north and a Western-aligned south. The communists instituted land reforms which didn't help the food situation. In 1957, the writer Nguyen Tuan disguised criticism in a disquisition on pho , the iconic Vietnamese soup. Erica J Peters, in her paper on how food came to express wider anxieties, writes: 'He wondered what pho would be like, if people had to start making it with broth made from rat meat.' And noting heavy imports from Russia, he wondered if 'people might find themselves eating canned pho '. Nguyen's essay was to seem grimly prescient when Vietnam found itself on Cold War frontlines. The Russian backed north invaded the south, and the Americans pushed back in an anti-communist crusade. Starving the north was a key strategy, including by spraying herbicides like the notorious Agent Orange to destroy crops. Another tactic was to bomb signs of mass cooking, like trails of smoke or fire at night. The north Vietnamese retreated to the jungle, living off wild foods and any animals they could catch. Cooking was done in ingenious stoves designed by Hoang Cam, a military cook. The fire was lit in a well ventilated, covered hole, and smoke lead off through long tunnels where it came out under damp leaves, tur ning into undetectable steam. South Vietnam faced a very different food situation. American food flooded the market, a surplus from military supplies that was encouraged to lure local opinion through their stomachs. Unfortunately, as Vu Hong Lien points out in Rice and Baguette , her history of Vietnamese food, after almost a century of French rule and cooking, American food was not appealing: 'While the old French cans of beef bourguignon, cassoulet or even plain cannellini beans had been treasured as a treat for all, the new tins of baked beans and frankfurters were viewed with horror by adults, but welcomed by children…' Americans also disliked Vietnamese ingredients such as nuoc-mam , a strong smelling fermented fish sauce, which led to the decision to substitute it with soy sauce in rations for south Vietnamese soldiers. 'This calamitous decision, made by a US officer who believed fish sauce would spoil easily in the field, was a disaster for Vietnamese morale,' she writes. Such American mistakes in the field, coupled with growing resistance to the war back home, led to the chaotic departure 50 years back. Those who couldn't leave then took to small boats, seeking refuge anywhere they could. Some landed up in India, drawn to Pondicherry by old French colonial links. In the early'80s, I remember eating delicious Vietnamese rice rolls and fragrant soup in a simple café there, that doubled up as a laundry. Sadly, they didn't stay, moving on to other countries, a diaspora created by the hungers of history.
South China Morning Post
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
The hottest new openings in Hong Kong, April 6-12
Tanukikoji Tanukikoji's ichiban dashi broth. Photo: Tanukikoji The rugged iteration of shabu-shabu takes a new twist at Causeway Bay's latest izakaya , Tanukikoji. Diners can enjoy premium sets starting at HK$178, featuring Tokachi black Wagyu and Hokkaido rice-fed pork, paired with authentic Hokkaido-style soup bases. Advertisement Limited to 80 servings per day, the must-try Hokkaido uni soup base is made daily using seasonal sea urchins and ichiban dashi broth. Shop 4, Haven Court, 128-138 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay Pintxos by Bàrbar Spanish finger food at Pintxos by Bàrbar. Photo: Pintxos by bàrbar Native to northern Spain, pintxos (finger food) get their due at this new Wan Chai eatery from the team behind Pica Pica in Sheung Wan. Pintxos by Bàrbar's kitchen is headed by 25-year-old chef Xavier Pla, who turns out moreish bites such as crispy pork belly with dill salad, and broken eggs with tempered chorizo, all within a space evoking the time-worn character of Spain's most revered tabernas. G/F, 22 Ship Street, Wan Chai Roucou Roucou's fromager Jeremy Evrard. Photo: Roucou There's dairy for days at Hong Kong's first cheese omakase and bar, which blends artisanal fromage in an unlikely Franco-Japanese sensibility. Helmed by cheese master Jeremy Evrard, who worked at the Four Seasons and The Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong before honing his culinary skills in Japan, Roucou features melted open sandwiches, fondues, tarts and stunning cheeseboards. There are even sacré bleu, cheese-inspired cocktails.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Four Seasons Osaka review: An oasis of calm in a manic city
Walking into the Four Seasons Osaka is a calming experience. The lobby features stacks of metre-high stone cubes, as well as my favourite of the hotel's many sculptures, Gwenael Nicolas's Stone's Dream, a large black lacquered disc suspended over a pool of water and with plants growing out of the top. The tranquillity of the art and the space given to it is echoed in the design of the whole property, often bestowing a sense of peace wherever I go. The hotel only opened in August 2024 and is located just a short walk away from Umeda, an entertainment and shopping district which is conveniently close to the majority of Osaka's many LGBTQ+ venues. On my first night, I stay in one of the hotel's modern rooms, which is elegantly furnished with blonde timber furniture, including a plush chaise lounge fitted against the large windows. The marble bathroom, with its walk-in shower and deep bath, is also a delight to use. The spa and wellness floor is uniquely cavernous, with arched halls that include five treatment rooms, a well-equipped 24-hour gym, and a 16-metre indoor pool with floor-to-ceiling windows. After my workout and swim, I enjoy the men's ofuro hot bath and sauna. In the evening, I visit the 37th floor to dine on magnificently presented five courses of dim sum at the Cantonese restaurant . On the same floor is , which offers a fusion of haut cuisine of Alléno's two-Michelin-starred L'Abysse Paris with the skill of sushi chef Yasuda Itaru. Beyond these two gastronomic powerhouses is , where I sip a cocktail inspired by the local chestnuts while looking out at the evening cityscape. In the morning, I visit Jardin, the ground-floor all-day bistro, where the breakfast buffet offers another Franco-Japanese fusion. There's also an open kitchen, so I can watch the bustling chef and his brigade get to work. For those who want something quick and light, the adjacent Farine has a glass cabinet of artisan bakes – and they serve coffee and tea too. For my second night, I switch to the GENSUI floor. Upon exiting the lift, it is immediately clear that I am on a special level. It is very dimly lit, and the flooring is made up of black hexagonal wooden tiles. There are 30 rooms and suites on this floor offering Osaka's first contemporary ryokan, or Japanese inn, experience. In the living area, my room has a woven tatami flooring and I have to take off my shoes to walk on it. The soft futon bed is low to the ground, and beyond a sliding door is a bathroom decked out in black tiles and dark timber. The GENSUI floor can only be accessed by guests staying in one of its rooms. This exclusivity extends to SABO, a tea and saké bar. After checking into my room, I am offered a complimentary tea service, and in the evening before going out for dinner, I sample some sakés, including a sparkling variety. Breakfast for GENSUI floor guests is also served in SABO, and I feast on a huge bento box with nine compartments of goodies, which I wash down with miso soup and green tea. It is another moment of calm before I head out into the busy streets of post Four Seasons Osaka review: An oasis of calm in a manic city appeared first on Attitude.
