Bobby Chinn's Hanoi Restaurant (1/2)

During his first visit to Vietnam a decade ago, accompanied by a group of Wall Street venture capitalists, Bobby Chinn, celebrity owner of Hanoi’s Bobby Chinn’s, saw the as yet un-mined potential for culinary growth in a country where tourism was still in its infancy. “I realized there were no cutting edge Western restaurants in Hanoi, and was attuned to the growing demand for Vietnamese food in the States. There were no Vietnamese cookbooks in bookstores. I realized there was an opportunity to truly invent something new here,” Chinn recalls. Bobby Chinn, whose international reputation for cooking in Vietnam created high expectations for the restaurant, is credited for the interesting mixture of tastes and styles. Being part-Chinese, part-Egyptian and a Californian native, his flair and personality influence every aspect of his restaurant. Chinn explains, “I wanted a restaurant that would do what no one had ever done, and become a benchmark for a new standard. Not just in Hanoi, Vietnam, but in Asia and the world. I wanted to make a place people found special.” Chin ran several highly acclaimed restaurant in Vietnam before opening Restaurant Bobby Chinn, including Camargue, Saigon Joe’s in Ho Chi Minh City, Miro, and the Red Onion Bistro in the Hanoi Towers (formerly the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison). Ultra Hip Destination Bobby Chinn has made sure that everything about his eatery and nightspot is different, hip and cutting edge for his local and international guests. When he’s not in the kitchen or watching for potential traffic accidents from street side cafes, Bobby Chinn is a hands-on restaurateur-cook, mixing it up with his guests, and playing guitar for the crowd. From its inception with a send-off party for the first post-war united States Ambassador “Pete” Peterson, to the welcoming party of incoming US Ambassador Raymond Burkhart, the restaurant has been the venue of choice for special occasions in the region. Parties hosted have included haute clientele such as Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey. Some of the top performing artists in Vietnam have performed at the venue for its intimate setting, including Tran Thu Ha, Hong Nhung and Thanh Lam, The Orient, Tran Manh Tuan and Quyen Van Minh. Perfecting “California-Vietnamese” Fusion Cooking In his signature restaurant, Chinn’s personality is evident in every unconventional detail. “My previous restaurants were driven by the food – in this one, we’ve built a restaurant in which the ambience stands up to the food,” says Chinn. “We do things here that no one else does, because they don’t make you any money,” referring to features such as the contemporary art collection on the walls, the acoustic sound proofed design, more then a thousand fresh roses a week, wireless internet connection for patrons and the wheelchair-accessible restrooms (still an anomaly in Vietnam). “You can’t be in this business just for the money – it’s a labor of love.” The restaurant Bobby Chinn’s offers Hanoi a unique style of California-Asian fusion cuisine served in a “have to be seen” contemporary atmosphere. Located beside Hoan Kiem Lake, Bobby Chinn’s restaurant is decorated with hanging rose buds, silk drapes, soft lights and candles, and modern original Vietnamese art works. The wine cellar is one of the most well-stocked in Hanoi and the bar carries a 102 cocktail menu. The main menu includes dishes such as almond crusted goat cheese salad, blackened barramundi on braised banana blossoms, pan roasted squab breasts in port sauce, as well as a selection of tapas such as sticky rice dumplings filled with mung bean puree and chicken satay with a peanut sauce.