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Sam Tran (Tran Hong Nhung) is the incredibly charismatic and talented head chef of Gia Hanoi restaurant. She's a young chef from the 90s generation who grew up with a passionate and abundant love for food, especially in her hometown. Hanoi cuisine is the culmination of many eras, brimming with sophistication, refinement, and layering. Growing up in such a distinctive culinary environment, her talent took root and became a powerful weapon, helping her overcome many challenges in the harsh yet glorious world of F&B.
Sam Tran's journey into the culinary world began by chance. It seems that every coincidence yields unpredictable and often exciting results. She left her old job and embarked on the hot, arduous, and challenging world of cooking. Cooking is no joke, and professional chefs understand that. When she opened Gia, Sam Tran hoped it would be a place where she could freely express her love of food and her boundless creativity.
Chef Sam Tran (Tran Hong Nhung) - the man behind the iconic menus at Gia.
In a conversation with Sam Tran, the writer deeply felt her passionate love for Vietnamese cuisine. She cherishes each ingredient, breathes life into them, and believes that her new dishes will help the international food community understand just how precious, unique, and multifaceted Vietnamese cuisine truly is.
PV: In Gia's latest Spring Menu, you drew inspiration from local ingredients such as Séng Cù brown rice, Northwest bamboo shoots, wild shiitake mushrooms, and Sơn La cordyceps... to create unique dishes. So, where did the idea for this menu come from, and what motivated you to use these ingredients?
Sam Tran:When people hear the names of these ingredients, they will surely feel familiar and sense the atmosphere of a Tet (Lunar New Year) meal. The emotions of the Gia team when creating this menu also came gently, influenced by the arrival of spring: "Ah, Tet is here, spring has arrived." And so the Spring Menu was born. Everything from the emotions to the ideas of this menu is timely.
Cordyceps sinensis (or Cordyceps militaris) is a wild herb, well-known in the mountainous regions of Northwest Vietnam, including Son La and Lai Chau provinces.
PV: Can you share a little bit about the dishes that will be featured on this new menu? (dish names, unique features...)
Sam Tran:The dishes featured on this new menu are quite diverse. Some are very familiar, while others offer a more novel flavor.
Let me reveal to you a dish that gives you the feeling of eating a bowl of bamboo shoot soup with the flavor of pork leg and coriander, but with the added touch of chestnut. Another, more novel dish is made from over 20 types of spring vegetables (cucumber, mint, perilla, etc.) combined like a vibrant garden, and I hope that when diners eat it, they will have a refreshing feeling, thinking: "Spring has arrived!"
The meticulous process of managing seasonal raw materials is a challenge that she and her team constantly strive to overcome.
PV: We understand that the ingredients you use in the Xuan Sang menu are rare and highly seasonal. Does this pose any obstacles or challenges in serving this menu?
Sam Tran:Actually, every seasonal menu at Gia presents challenges related to using local ingredients. Some ingredients are only available for 2-3 weeks but need to be used for… 3 months. I always have to adapt, always have to find contingency plans to prepare for the operation of each menu. This isn't too complicated; usually we'll use some substitute ingredients, or even change the entire dish, as long as everything stays true to the spirit of that menu.
PV: In your creative and culinary journey at Gia, you always strive to highlight the beauty of Vietnamese ingredients and spices. Could you share more about this with our readers?
Sam Tran:Vietnam has 54 ethnic groups, and each province, each region, has its own unique way of using ingredients, spices, and cooking techniques. I've learned a lot from these things through books, pictures, videos, and my travels. I'd jokingly say it's like my colleagues and I are tinkering with a new toy. It's all very interesting, captivating, and something I constantly strive to learn from.
According to Sam Tran, it is these rare and highly seasonal local ingredients that create the unique and impressive experience for international diners.
PV: In your opinion, do rare and highly seasonal Vietnamese ingredients contribute to elevating Vietnamese cuisine, and in what ways?
Sam Tran:Absolutely!
Rare and seasonal Vietnamese ingredients create a unique and special flavor. Perhaps because we Vietnamese don't realize it, many foreigners are very impressed by Vietnamese local ingredients. I try to change seemingly ordinary things in the hope of making the menu more interesting, and who knows, maybe this will make people want to eat more (laughs).
PV: One final question as a greeting to our readers, do you have anything to share about the process of creating some of your recent menus, especially the latest one?
Sam Tran:Actually, each season's menu at Gia has its own theme. When we move on to a new menu, we almost have to forget everything we did with the previous ones and start everything from scratch with the utmost enthusiasm. We try new dishes, explore different emotions in the process, and from there create the best menus possible. Once we finalize the menu, we are overwhelmed with joy and get to work with great enthusiasm. For me, each season's menu change is like "a tree shedding its leaves"—we are both happy and worried, but we can't help but feel excited whenever it happens.
Each dish, each creation, each day of passionate work in Gia's kitchen has transformed this place into one of the most worthwhile fine dining restaurants to try in Vietnam. With this new menu, Xuan Sang's gentle, pristine beauty and captivating flavors perfectly portray the unique spirit of local ingredients.
