Born in what was then Saigon, Tran Thanh Duc is now the chef and proprietor of the Mango Rooms in Hoi An. Only a few hundred kilometres separate the two towns, but Duc went the long way round – via Texas, Brazil, Australia and Japan.
And this is actually very good news for the rest of us, because his food reflects his long journey. There are of course a great many fabulous places to eat in the historic old river port, but most offer only limited variations on the same basic dishes. So far, only Duc’s place serves anything original and creative, a cuisine that could probably best be described as Vietnamese-Latin American-Japanese fusion. The Mango Rooms is situated at the far end of increasingly modish Nguyen Thai Hoc street, next door to the Cargo Club and directly opposite Tam Tam Cafe. It’s in a traditional old cottage that runs right through to the riverside esplanade, only a few hundred metres from the fresh fish market where the boats land their catch very early each morning. And Duc is usually there not too long afterwards to buy his raw material for the day’s menu. His magnum opus involves a long cylinder of tender tuna, fiercely seared on the outside but more or less raw in the middle. Melting in the mouth, the fish is served with a blob of fiery wasabi and a small pile of freshly grated horseradish on a bed of Duc’s signature salsa, a spicy mixture of finely chopped onion, tomato, herbs and spices and fresh sweet mango (VND85,000). This sumptuous dish is served beside a mound of lightly fried wheat noodles, the lumpy homemade ones that form the basis of cao lau, one of the most satisfying of Hoi An’s original dishes. Reflecting the port’s cosmopolitan history, they are most probably a local variation of Japanese udon noodles. Indeed, unusually for a Vietnamese menu, noodles of one kind or another form the foundation for nearly all of Duc’s creations. There is no rice to be seen here, apart from as the raw material for bun vermicelli noodles. This suits me just fine. I’m a complete nut for noodles of any kind – tagliatelle con pesto, lasagne al forno, mee goreng, pad thai, yakisoba, cha ca, bun bo – however it’s served, if there are noodles in it, I’ll eat it. And probably come back for more. But the menu is entirely dictated by what’s on offer at the market. If no decent tuna was landed that morning, don’t despair; there are some very acceptable alternatives. I’m particularly fond of a dish of strips of chicken (bird flu permitting), lightly fried with onion and whole cloves of garlic and served with French beans and bun noodles (VND71,000). Duc also does wonders with red snapper (VND68,000), if that’s what looked best at the market that morning, cooked whole and served with salsa and noodles. And one day last week he stumbled across some superbly succulent scallops, which he served lightly breaded and fried with more of those udon-type noodles, and also as a light starter with a piquant Cuban-style moja sauce. For a vegetarian option, try the vast bowl of fresh salad with tofu (VND29,000). But if you suffer from any irksome dietary restrictions, best go somewhere else. It was on the same day last week that a young Russian couple came in and ordered a couple of standard Mango Room dishes but without salt, garlic or oil. Sorry, said Duc, I can’t cook like that. Some swear that such spicy food is best accompanied by a chilled light beer, and indeed the local Biere LaRue – an Australian joint venture, despite the Francophone name – does very well. But we have been happy with the restaurant’s standard Torres white from Spain, robust enough to hold its own against the food but benign enough to just sip on its own, and at a very reasonable price ($24) considering where you’re drinking it. The mango margarita (VND55,000) could be the best in town, too. The ambience reflects the menu. Most of the furnishings are constructed from big chunky lengths of bamboo, as Japanese-style platforms where you sit cross-legged around a low table, as well as more conventional Western-style chairs and tables. And everything, from the walls, window frames and furniture to the uniforms of the very competent wait staff, comes in bold bright primary colours, blues and reds and greens and yellows. Happily, the ever-present music is equally eclectic – lots of reggae and Cuban-Brazilian tracks with a light seasoning of African. It all makes for a cheerful, relaxed ambience, and a great place to chill for a couple of hours, reclining on cushions watching the endlessly fascinating comings and goings on the river just outside the window. Mango Rooms 111 Nguyen Thai Hoc street Hoi An, Quang Nam, (0510) 910 839
With its gorgeous architecture, lovely scenery and sumptuous cuisine, Hoi An already has lots to boast about. And the latest addition to the town’s culinary nightlife is sure to spice things up even more, as Charles Henry finds out
