Resort Living and Comfort Food – Naman Retreat, Danang Vietnam

Vietnamese Spices and Rice Noodles
Street food gives you insight into local culture, but it can be risky when you are travelling; sometimes it is safer to eat the five-star version as prepared in the pristine environment of a modern resort.

Water Lily
Nothing says “Southeast Asia” to me like waterlilies in beautifully manicured ponds.

Rural Mural
When you see the conical hats working in the rice fields, you can be nowhere but Vietnam.

Gardener
Even in the rain, the staff are hard at work maintaining the grounds. (iPhone6)

Morning on the Beach
Fishermen have their rods set on the quiet winter beach. No holiday-makers are around; it is far too cold to swim. (iPhone6)

Sand Crab (iPhone6)

Naman Retreat’s Hay Hay Restaurant
With bamboo walls and a thatched roof, the Hay Hay Restaurant, designed by locally-based Vo Trong Nghia Architects, is an intriguing fusion of contemporary design and Vietnamese tradition. (iPhone6)

Resort Dining Room
Inside, bent bamboo pillars reach high …

Vaulted Bamboo Ceiling
… up to the vaulted ceiling. Different types of bamboo, chosen for their properties of strength, rigidity or flexibility, have gone into the construction of the airy resort buildings.

Breakfast Bar
When I saw the breakfast selection, I was in heaven! (iphone6)

Display Kitchen
Mid-morning, we were back in the dining room for our cooking lesson.

Smiling Chef
Vu, whose official designation according to his name-tag, is “Flame Keeper Captain”, greets us and gives us our Cooking Class Recipe card.

Spring Roll Ingredients
The rice-paper wrappers and filling ingredients are laid out and ready.

Chef Vu
Vu describes the ingredients and explains the process of making the dipping sauce for traditional Vietnamese fresh spring rolls.

Whisking Sauce
He whisks the coconut juice, white sugar, melted rock sugar, salt lemon juice, chilli, garlic and fish sauce together, …

Whisking Sauce
… beating vigorously until the ingredients are well combined.

Rolling Spring Rolls
Once the sauce is made, Vu demonstrates how to roll the prawns, pork belly, mint, coriander, and bean sprouts into their parcels. I love the contrast between his simple Buddhist bracelet and his jewel-studded gold ring.

Vietnamese Traditional Fresh Spring Rolls
When we’ve made our own spring rolls, we get to eat them. Lunch is served!

Making Pho: Traditional Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup
As we enjoy our spring rolls, Vu tells us how to make Vietnam’s best-known soup: Pho.

Chef with a Frypan
With a sous chef watching on, Vu adds ingredients to a heavy frypan …

Ingredients in the Pan
… and cooks them up.

Talking about Pho
Although pho is now known around the world, the noodle soup is thought to originate near Hanoi in the early 20th century, influenced by both Chinese and French cooking traditions.

Chef Making Soup
Although the soup stock has simmered for 10 hours, pho is delightfully fresh tasting. Vu puts freshly cooked noodles, cooked beef, and fresh herbs into bowls before topping the dishes with the broth.

Chatting with the Guests
As we finish up our soup, Vu takes time to review his cooking class and chat with participants.

Sprouting Rice
Rice, sprouting in watery rice paddies where it is grown by dint of backbreaking labour, is central to Vietnamese life. Dotted around the Naman Retreat buildings, beautiful bronze sculptures of rice sprouts are reflected in granite ponds.