18 GOURMET TRAVELLER
New direction
International high-speed railway service Eurostar
is set to launch a direct service from Amsterdam
to London from 30 April. The seamless connection
offers a more sustainable travel option between
the Netherlands and London, resulting in 80 per
cent less carbon emissions per passenger than
the equivalent flight route. Previously, the train only
went outbound from the UK, but will now offer a
direct return journey both ways, giving customers
another incentive to consider switching from planes
to trains for internal European travel. eurostar.com
ON THE PASS
with JERRY MAI, PHO NOM
You grew up in Brisbane with families who were refugees. What do
you remember eating? When we first arrived, we had our first taste
of Western food. It was really interesting to see all these newly landed
Vietnamese people eating cheese-and-Vegemite sandwiches for lunch
and roasts and lasagne for dinner. It was so different to what I knew.
Your mother would cook pho for family and friends. Has her recipe
influenced what you serve at Pho Nom? Absolutely! My mum’s cooking
inspired me to open my first Pho Nom. Her specialty is Hu Tieu Nam
Vang (a rice-noodle dish in a clear chicken and pork-bone broth) – we
serve it at Pho Nom, and I always strive to make mine as good as hers.
Are your parents tough judges when it comes to your cooking?
Or are they just happy to be fed? My parents still don’t think I can
cook. When I’m at their house and helping them in the kitchen, I
am always relegated to herb-picking and setting the table. When
they do allow me to cook for them, I will only cook Western food,
because I know they can’t critique it from a place of much authority.
Tell us about a dish from your Annam restaurant. We do a braised
pork-hock dish at Annam, which is an interpretation of one of my
mum’s recipes. Every time she makes it, I’m reminded of when I was
doing the 40 Hour Famine as a kid. Just as I started my 40 hours of
fasting, mum cooked up a massive pot. She’d completely forgotten
I was fasting. It was a challenge, to say the least, to live in a house
that smelled like amazing pork stew. But the worst part was that
my whole family polished off the pot before I could get any!
Your son inspired you to reduce plastic at your restaurants. Has he
influenced your businesses in other ways? I’ve definitely looked at our
menus differently since having my son. We do a few more kid-friendly
dishes (ie adding sweet potato), but not too much. My goal is not to
bend the menu to my son’s tastes, but rather to open his mind to all the
amazing food out there. I think parents should be doing this for all our
kids where we can. Annam, 56 Little Bourke St, Melbourne, Vic, annam.
com.au; Pho Nom has three Melbourne locations, phonom.com.au
The Strøm water jug by Danish brand Raawii is
inspired by the strong graphic shapes of cubist
paintings. Add this geometric design to your
family’s dining table. $199, gingerfinch.com.au
“There was always this Sri Lankan thing
I wanted to do, and it was partly because
I wanted to eat hoppers and no one would
cook me hoppers,” says O Tama Carey of
Sydney’s Lankan Filling Station. A day in the
kitchen with Carey is a day spent with spices,
crêpe batters and onions. So many onions.
Watch the behind-the-scenes video on
our Instagram IGTV @gourmettraveller
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