Chom Chom graduate opens his own Vietnamese restaurant, Xuan, in Hong Kong
- Vietnamese-American chef John Nguyen was cooking French and Italian food in Michelin-starred restaurants when he decided to cook Vietnamese food instead
- He trained in Vietnamese restaurants in the US, then joined Chom Chom in Hong Kong. Now he’s opened Xuan, where he gives some of the dishes a modern twist
In the past few years Hong Kong has seen Vietnamese food gain in popularity thanks to restaurants that have modernised the cuisine, such as Chom Chom, Viet Kitchen and its successor Moi Moi by Luke Nguyen, Nhau, and now Xuan, helmed by Vietnamese-American chef John Nguyen.
The restaurant’s name is pronounced ‘sung’, and Nguyen says it has two meanings: seasons, and the name of a 17th century female Vietnamese poet called Ho Xuan Huong; it was rare at the time for women to be educated and live independently. Her femininity and bold spirit inspire Nguyen, 45, in the kitchen.
Dishes served at Xuan include braised beef tongue salad, crispy spring rolls with grouper and crab, and chicken rice. But Nguyen’s hands-down favourite is the 24-hour beef broth, topped with slices of Angus prime rib, braised beef tongue and oxtail, and served with deep-fried dough sticks, pickled garlic and house-made chilli sauce.
“When I say 24 hours, I cook it for 24 hours. You can see the difference in my broth compared to anyone else. I learned you can't cheat on a good broth; after six hours the bone hasn't had enough time to enhance the flavour of the broth,” says Nguyen.
