Fork in the Road: Ana Mandara resort in Vietnam serves up street food dinners - Inside Bay Area

IN FRONT OF me, the row of shy, peach silk-clad women are vigorously sauteing, stirring, flipping, ladling and assembling small, tantalizing looking plates of food.

Bowls of fragrant beef broth redolent of star anise and coriander pass under my nose, while sizzling wild tiger shrimp the size of my pinkie are folded into yellow, scallion-studded crepes that look like crisp scraps of lace.

Each dish is a small work of art, the specific specialty of its preparer. The women are not professionally trained chefs, but rather housewives and entrepreneurs, of a sort. They are street food vendors who eke out a living by dishing up classic Vietnamese dishes such as pho, banh cuon, and banh xeo on the bustling sidewalks of Nha Trang, in south central Vietnam. Except that we are not on the street: We are at Ana Mandara, a stunningly beautiful luxury resort located right on the sands of Nha Trang Bay.

Ana Mandara is part of Six Senses, an incredibly progressive family of high end eco-resorts (13 of which are located in Southeast Asia and the Maldives) founded by Eva and Sonu Shivdasani. This privately owned company has a core philosophy of green building design and operations, and emphasizes the hiring of local people in order to support the economy, as well as donating revenue proceeds for community social projects, including education and health care for children.

Ana Mandara has offered its bi-weekly Street
Market Dinner since 2003. To be honest, I was somewhat dubious about the concept, as I like to think of myself as a bit more of a traditionalist (OK, dirtbag backpacker), but when I heard that the dinners were actually prepared by some of the region's top vendors as a way to introduce diners to a beloved Vietnamese culinary tradition, as well as provide economic stability to local families, I was intrigued.

In this part of Vietnam, monsoon rains and flooding mean that the women often have to take days off work. With the implementation of the Street Market Dinner program, the women — most of whom have been there since its inception — are assured steady income at least two days a week, and the results have been stunning: medical care and continuing education for their children, and an overall higher quality of life. Until it was pointed out to me, I had never stopped to consider the devastating impact the wet season could have on a family trying to survive on street food revenue.

From a guest standpoint, Ana Mandara's mission is to introduce guests to Vietnam's "traditional, home-style food" that they may not otherwise try on their own. The produce is purchased from local farms and is organic whenever it is available; and the seafood comes from local family fishermen. Even some of the rice paper used in dishes is produced by the families of the street market women.

Utilizing classic Vietnamese cooking methods such as charcoal-fueled grilling, roasting, steaming and pan-frying (all of which employ the use of charcoal), the women prepare the food to order in front of guests, providing the most authentic and interactive experience possible.

Vietnamese food is, by nature, a very hands-on experience, and eating is intrinsically linked to the way of life. Jeevan Thomas, executive chef at Ana Mandara, explained it to me thus: "Vietnamese cuisine is about the spirit of the food. It is very cool on the palate, not spicy from heat, despite the use of chili. It's not about sophisticated texture. It's about sharing, family-style, about interactive eating such as wrapping ingredients in rice sheets or lettuce leaves, using dipping sauces, about medicinal quality, about freshness. But it's quite complex, as well, due to the balance of the key flavor profiles: Salt, sweet, heat. But the diner, not the cook, controls the seasoning and complexity of a dish."

Before my stay at Ana Mandara, I had a couple of days on my own in Nha Trang, in which I went out and searched out street food for myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but realized that at Ana Mandara, I would be able to experience food prepared by women known for making particularly excellent renditions, and I would also be able to decode some of the mystery ingredients I was unable to otherwise identify.

It wasn't the full-on street assault I normally crave, but it was a convenient and less frenetic way to indulge. Rather than inhaling clouds of exhaust and eating while squatting on rickety plastic stool on the sidewalk, I was able to relax, enjoy the beachfront setting and sunset, sip French wine, enjoy traditional music and dance as entertainment, and truly contemplate what I was eating and how it was prepared.

None of the women spoke English, although I was still able to ask questions about each dish via a game of pantomime and by employing the few Vietnamese words I knew for specific ingredients. I had betel leaf rolled around strips of beef; their mild taste reminiscent of grape leaves is the perfect foil for the smoky meat. There was duck soup, seafood soup with quail eggs, lemon grass, and lime, bun bo Hue — beef soup with irresistibly thick, chewy rice noodles — and delicate puddings made of coconut or mung bean starch.

Not every dish is amazing, but many are, and all are fascinating in their preparation. It's a gentle introduction to the art of street food cookery, where even die-hard street eaters can get a closer look into the heart of Vietnam.

Evason Hideaway at Ana Mandara Resort- your ideal destination

Around 15 km from the beautiful coastal city of Nha Trang, Evason Hideaway at Ana Mandara Resort is located on Hon Meo island in central Khanh Hoa province’s Ninh Van Commune and Ninh Hoa district.
Relaxing in Evason Hideaway at Ana Mandara Resort, you can enjoy a quiet secluded atmosphere. Accessible only by boat, the site of the Evason Hideaway at Ana Mandara on dramatic Ninh Van Bay is quite unique, taking full advantage of the setting. Impressive rock formations, the coral reef, white sand beach, a playful stream and the towering mountains behind, all add to the sense of being luxuriously at one with nature.
The resort also presents the reality of the destination, with an architectural style reflecting the traditions of Vietnam. This is very evident in the reception champa and dining pavilion, which are classic Vietnam structures transported across the water and assembled at the site.
With modern architectural features combined with national identity, the resort includes 54 villas of different kinds built on rock blocks or on fine beach, including Beach villas, Water villas, a Spa suit villa and a Rock villa.
The resort also has one special villa called the Presidential Villa, which is available for US$1,800 per day and is where the UK prince stayed during his visit to Vietnam in June, 2006,
Resort designers have made the most of a favorable geographical position on the islands to bring about new discoveries and give tourists an insight into nature.
Tourists can ride bicycles or take tramcars to the beach villa, climb three-step staircases to the Hill Top villa and Spa suit villa or go by express railway to the Rock villa. The Presidential Villa stands isolated between the mountain and the sea. Undisturbed and simple natural scenery is the highlight of Evason Hideaway at Ana Mandara resort and this is incorporated into the interior details of villas as well as the services on offer. Apart from the simplicity, tourists can still enjoy luxurious and modern conveniences. All human feeling and sense are towards nature to absorb its beauty.
Each villa at the resort has living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and a swimming pool.The bathrooms have been designed to incorporate nature, so visitors feel they are in the open air.
Mr Bary Warrington, Assistant Director of Evason Hideaway at Ana Mandara said: “Its architecture is more special than the others. It is naturally beautiful as it was constructed out of wood taken from the North of Vietnam. Coconut leaves and other materials are also native to Vietnam. The most spectacular feature is that each villa has a private swimming-pool.”
Evason Hideway at Ana Mandara has a stunning setting in the untouched Ninh Van Bay, a deserted beach accessed only by boat from Nha Trang.
In particular, tourists can relax in the healthcare therapeutic massage, sauna and steam, which will help them leave all worries and stresses behind.
The vegetable garden is also an interesting site for tourists to enjoy strolling around. The garden has all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables and medicinal herbs, which have contributed to supplementing food supplies to restaurants and medicines to the health Spa.
One of the unique services at the resort is a wine cellar, which was built from a natural cave and provides more than 800 types of wine from different countries, thus giving a good chance for tourists to enjoy warm dinners and lavish banquets. This is considered the most singular wine cellar of all the resorts in Vietnam.
The Evason Hideaway at Ana Mandara resort from a distance looks like a quiet and romantic fishing village. But as soon as visitors enter through a villa’s door, they feel as if they are drifting through another world.
Relaxing in Evason Hideaway Resort is a good opportunity for tourists to entertain themselves with nature as Mrs Area General, a German tourist, said: “This is the first time I’ve been to Vietnam. I feel comfortable as this place is very quiet, spacious, lovely and romantic, very suitable for couples. The staff here is friendly and hospitable and the restaurant serves delicious Vietnamese food. Furthermore, here we can enjoy the Spa, which is very good for our health. I hope that I will have a chance to come back.”
Evason Hideaway at Ana Mandara is expected to be an attractive destination for tourists from all corners of the world.