HavingkidshasinfluencedthewayI cookathome,butnot
somuchattherestaurants.WhenI cookforthem,I usuallymake
simplethingslikericeornoodleswithpiecesofprotein:chicken
wings,roastchickenormaybea steak.Theyalsoloveoxtongue
andoxtail,andanytypeofbrothorsoup.I makesuretheirfood
is tasty– I usea lotoffishandsoysauce,butnottoomanyspices
yet.Theyareprettysimplebutfussyeaters.
MykidsloveAsianfood,buttheydon’tlikeanyothercuisines.
Theyhateburgers;theydon’teatpizza;theyrarelyeatpasta.
Maybeit’sbecauseI grewupeatingAsianfood,andonmydays
offwerarelyeatWesternfood– I tendtogoforJapanese,Thai,
VietnameseorKorean.SoI guessthey’vegrownupeatingthat.
Beforethemid-’90s,mymumwouldcookathomeallthetime,
usuallyVietnameseorFrenchfood,becausemyparentslivedin
Parisfora yearaftertheygotmarried.Then,aftermymumopened
herVietnameserestaurants,wewouldeata lotoftakeawaythat
shebroughthome.Mymumworkedaround 100 hoursa weekand
mydadcouldn’tcook,sothat’swhyI startedcooking.I cookedtwo
orthreetimesa weekforthefamilybecauseI wasreallyinterested
inwatchingJamieOliverandprovidingforeveryone.
EventhoughI grewupina Vietnamesefamily,mymumwouldstill
beintunewithwhatwashappeninginSydney.Onspecialoccasions
we’dgotonicerestaurants,evenhattedrestaurants.Butintermsof
Vietnamesefood,I definitelytookforgrantedhowwellweate.
I hopeourkidsappreciatehowmuchwetakethemouttoeat.
NamiandOmarwerethefirst-everkidstodineatBrae.I askedDan
[Hunter]if hecouldmakesomethingforthembecauseI couldn’tnot
bringthem,sohecookedthissickshortribwithperfectlytrimmed
vegetables from the garden. It was the best kids’ menu in the country.
AllthreeofthemhavebeentoMichelin-starredrestaurants,namely
LungKingHeenin HongKong.Theirfavouritedumplingis hargow,
soweorderedthreeportions– oneportionwasabout$25.I said,
“Youbettereatallofthosedumplings.Theyarethree-Michelin-star
dumplingsrightthere,soyoubetterappreciateeverybite!”
We’rea bitobsessedwithmukbang[a Koreanfoodphenomenon
whereyouwatchpeopleeatingonYouTube].It wasa wayforme
tomakeNamieatmore,I wouldsaytoher,“Whydon’tyoujustdo
mukbangandI’llfilmyou?”Sonowit’sherthing.I filmhereating
andsheendsupsmashinga wholebowlofnoodles.Nowwejust
needtobuythehigh-definitionmicrophonethatrecordsthesounds.
I thinkit’sveryimportanttositdowntogetherandeatasa family.
AndnowthatI’minanexecutivechefrole,I dohavemoretime
anda muchbetterwork-lifebalance.Onmydaysoff,wealways
goouttorestaurantsandeattogether,andeveryMondaynight
wegotomymum’shousefordinner– it’sa tradition.
MymumlooksafterthekidseveryThursdayandwillcookup
a bigpotofphoora niceclearsoupthatthekidseatwithriceor
noodles.Tryingtogetouryoungest(Indy)toeatis quitehard,but
whenevershegoestoMum’shouseshe’lleatanything.Mykids
lovemymum’sfood.Shehasa magictouchthatevenI don’thave.
I hopemykidswillhavea bitmoreofanopenmindlaterinlife
whenit comestofood.I knowtheywill,buttheydogothrough
theirphases.WhenI wasmakingdinnerrecently,I thoughtI’dput
a bitofbutterandsomechicken-stockpowderinthericecooker
toaddanextrahitofflavour.Theydetectedit straightaway– Nami
likedit, buttheothersdidn’t.Theyknowwhattheylike to eat now
butthenmaybelater on they’ll change their mind.
merivale.com●DAN HONGEXECUTIVECHEF,MERIVALE
Wife Rara, daughters Namira (7) and Indira (2), and son Omar (5)
GOURMET TRAVELLER 83