Dorsett Grand Labuan hosts first-ever Vietnamese food promotion
Vietnamese cuisine is gaining popularity and many well-known chefs around the world have cooked its famous dishes.
For the first time, the Dorsett Grand Hotel, Labuan’s only five-star hotel, has flown in two of Vietnam’s international cooks for a week-long showcase of Vietnam’s popular and traditional delicacies beginning today, not only for local diners but also to visitors.
Vietnam’s ingredients reflect its geography and climate, rice grown in water paddies throughout the country is the main starch used in everyday meals, which is also made into different kinds of cakes and noodles.
Besides a number of Buddhist vegetarian dishes, most Vietnamese dishes or meals are a combination of a variety of vegetables, herbs and meats.
Common herbs may include lemon grass, lime or kaffir, while the popular meats are beef, chicken, prawn, squid and various fish.
Fish sauce and soy sauce are used as both flavouring and dipping sauce for nearly every dish.
“Beginning Monday (today), we will be presenting The Pho’licious Vietnamese Cuisine for diners at our Victoria’s Brasseries from Vietnam’s young award-winning chefs,” said Dorsett Grand general manager Susan Carlos during a media briefing of the food promotion here yesterday.
She said the chefs would be preparing at least four different appetizers with soup and six min courses throughout the week.
The guest chefs have gained experience in four countries, namely Maldives, China, Thailand and Malaysia, where they also learned to cook various types of Malaysian cuisines.
Popular dishes to be served during the promotion include the Bo Nau Pate Voi Tieu Xanh’ (stewed beef with pate and green popcorn); Vietnam’s signature dish - the Pho Bo (beef noodle soup), Banh Bap Tom Chien (prawn sweet corn pritter) and Cha Hap Hanh Va Gung (steamed fish with spring onion and ginger), among others.
The Vietnamese cook their food in a variety of ways from deep fry, stir fry, boil and steam. However, unlike the Chinese, the Vietnamese use minimal amount of oil while cooking to preserve as much of the freshness and natural taste of the food as possible.
Hence, Vietnamese cuisine is often considered to have some of the healthiest food in the world.