KOTO restaurant Saigon

A new restaurant in Saigon, a city where new restaurants open every day. Why should you go to this one? Because the venue is a wonderful haven in the chaos of this mad city, and the food is top class.

The outcome of 12 months location searching and fitout management by the patient and persistent Gemma, the restaurant manager, the restaurant is located in an L-shaped villa, at the end of an L-shaped hem, an alleyway, at 151A Hai Ba Trung. You go straight to the end of the laneway, where KOTO is on the left. You can’t see the 2 storey restaurant from the entrance to the hem. It had been the venue for a rundown Thai restaurant, but it is unrecognisable from its previous life. A creative, light and airy, modern design makes you feel good just walking into the place.

You can sit indoors or out, even in the rain thanks to a retractable cover high up at the top of the second level. The attention to detail enhances the enjoyment, with the light fittings being upside-down cake tins, and woks being use for the wash basins. A large window lets the outdoor diners see the activity in the kitchen without getting drowned by the noise, as can happen in open kitchens.

That’s all before you get to indulge in the creative menu designed by head chef Frankie who has based the menu on his detailed research into fresh local produce and how it can be used for a variety of food ideas he had learnt at leading restaurants in that foodie treasure called Melbourne.

The menu has a long list of sharing plates, 4 or 5 flat breads with a variety of tempting toppings, and a range of mains and desserts. There is something for everyone. The sharing plates include sticky rice, soy caramel and fish floss, served with house made pickles; aromatic braised pok, taro root pureee, baby herbs and crackling served on betel leaves; and mini hamburgers with quail fried egg, beetroot and caramelised onion relish.

Today for lunch I had crispy fish fillet, egg noodles, poached daikon, abalone mushrooms and local greens in a ginger and soy broth. To die for. One of the best meals I’ve had in Vietnam. It was followed by strawberry sorbet, pandan pannacotta with spiced almond sable. Yum.

But there is another side to this story. There are many worthy causes and great stories of benevolence in Vietnam. KOTO is as inspiring as it gets. Established by Jimmy Pham in Hanoi, it provides life skills and hospitality training for, at any time, 200 seriously disadvantaged children between the ages of 16 and 22, one hundred are trained in Hanoi and the same in Ho Chi Minh City.

The new restaurant in Saigon, and the existing one in Hanoi, are fully staffed by the trainees, other than for a couple of supervisors like Gemma and Frankie. Apart from them, the kitchen team and the front of house team are all trainees. At the end of the 2 years with KOTO the trainees have to find employment, but the quality of the education is such that they are lapped up by the leading 5 star hotels and restaurants. These are kids who when they arrived at KOTO had nothing. For most they had desperate histories, and have never had friends, trust or hope.

KOTO stands for Know One Teach One. The trainees are well aware that their opportunity does not stop with them. When they start earning, their part of the deal is to use some of that money to assist their younger siblings get an education, or to help other kids children from their home town, or, when they are experienced, to come back and teach the next generation of KOTO trainees.

Details of how to contribute to this effective, practical, and inspiring work is available at http://www.koto.com.au/. Buy a brick or sponsor a child. It will be money very well spent.

And if you are in Saigon, do yourself a favour and go to the restaurant. You’ll have a great time, not because it’s part of a great cause, but because it’s an innovative, top-class, thoroughly enjoyable restaurant.