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The
restaurant is owned by the Venerable Thich Minh Tri, of the Buddhist
executive council, the first Venerable to open a vegetarian restaurant
in Ha Noi, not only as a healthy alternative, but also to raise funds
for charity.
Kim Cuong
is easy to find at 94 Khuat Duy Tien and has Buddhist apartments on the
upper floors. It is about 8km from the capital's centre, and definitely
worth seeking out.
It's usually busy so reservations are required, especially on the first and middle day of the lunar month.
On
the night I visited this unassuming restaurant, a gentle Buddhist
melody led me to a small room decorated by pictures of Buddha.
It
was offered eugenia tea and other countryside drinks of Viet Nam,
together with vegetarian dishes which are made of plants, roots and
fruit such as carrots, tofu and mushrooms.
The
hot "seafood" soup is an ideal choice for the first course. Don't worry
about its name: it's made from a kind of mushroom that tastes like
"seafood", as explained by chef Kieu Tri Truong. It is white and soft
and contains a rich volume of protein – "very good for health".
The
soup also tastes of mushroom, vegetarian shrimp, carrot and asparagus.
The consume is made of juice from pear and apple. A pinch of pepper
makes it perfect.
Eating
vegetarian food to Buddhist music is relaxing. Everything is light and
pure from the air to the dishes leaving you feeling light-hearted. Even
the dishes have dainty names.
For
me, it is a celebration of vegetables, fruits and roots with natural
colours. All dishes are pleasant to the eye, each is decorated with a
floweret of carrot, tomato and cucumber.
A
salad is served as an appetiser with no oil and vinegar to enhance the
taste. Its attraction is the pure ingredients of scraped coconut, yam
bean, cucumber, carrot and sesame.
Popular
main courses include a deep-fried combination of grated vegetarian
fish; potatoes and tofu with lotus seeds inside; fried flour-soaked
aubergine; stewed "beef"; "fish - meat" "pig's trotters" stewed with
lotus seed; "snail" simmered with green banana and tofu; braised "fish";
various soups made of mushroom, vegetables, roots and fruits.
In
Ha Noi, there are many vegetarian restaurants, all much the same. The
difference with Kim Cuong Restaurant is the speciality dishes created by
chef Truong.
Take for
example Nom Co Hu Dua. It is made of coconut sprout – scraped and mixed
with carrot, banana flower, cucumber, spice vegetables, ground nut,
sugar, salt, vinegar and chilli. This dish is one of the best I have
ever experienced.
And Bach Ngoc Kim Ke, which is fried glutinous rice with mushroom, wooden ears fungus and carrot and chicken made of tofu milk.
Venerable
Thich Minh Tri is a member of the Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha's Executive
Council, chief of Ha Noi Diocese's Secretariat and nun of Quang An
Pagoda in Ha Noi and Ha Tien Pagoda in Vinh Phuc.
He
opened the restaurant as an "expectation and donation from Buddhists"
and wants to help people taste the gusto and understand as well as
advantages of good food, while creating jobs for young people. But most
important is that profits from the business will be sent to the poor and
orphans.
Venerable Tri
says most people who come to the restaurant are not vegetarian,
therefore it is necessary to make dishes which originate from
vegetables, roots, fruits and seed to have the flavour of normal dishes.
"The
most important thing is the use of spices to bring out the special
flavour of every dish and keep the customer interested," Tri says.
For
this the chef needs creativeness and enthusiasm. Chef Truong, who
studied cooking in Hue, which is well-known for vegetarian food, is one
of best graduates from the city. He takes the original recipes and makes
them even more sublime.
For
example, he learned to make steamed "pig's trotters" in Hue, from which
he created four other dishes, including "trotters" roasted with salt
and chilli, "pig's legs" steamed with lotus seed, pig's legs steamed
with herbal medicine and "trotters" steamed with red wine.
With
a menu of nearly 200 dishes, Kim Cuong Restaurant can serve budget
conscious customers without compromising style and nutrition. A portion
of rice or noodles using the method of any nominated region, costs
VND20,000-25,000 (US$1 - 1.2) each. A tray for six people, with various
dishes, costs from VND500,000 to 1 million ($25-50).
Even
if you are not a vegetarian, a night at this restaurant will put a
spring in your step, even more so if you are lucky enough to meet and
talk with Venerable Thich Minh Tri and learn more about Buddhism. — VNS
by http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/
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