| Michael Bao Huynh is still at Bún, kind of, or perhaps | | | | for in Bangkok. He would wax philosophical about |
| as much as he ever was, I'm not sure. | | | | things and discuss them in mercurial ways that made |
| "He's my brother," said Tony Lam, who owns the | | | | you wonder whether he was really smart, borderline |
| place and does the food. Huynh's a partner there, but | | | | crazy or just messing with you. |
| his day-to-day involvement is minimal, except perhaps | | | | But I ended up staying and listening to him talk about |
| when Tony's out of town. And maybe not then, | | | | his approach to ambient music and his food |
| either. (click here if you're curious about this topic, | | | | background until after the other journalists had left, |
| otherwise read on as I am about to change the | | | | and until after Susan had left. |
| subject). | | | | After dessert of pandan panna cotta (very much like |
| Because although Tony conceptualizes the food, he | | | | the bay leaf panna cotta I had at Fireside; this might |
| trains cooks to cook. He doesn't do it himself. | | | | be a trend) and sweet coconut-banana tapioca, he |
| Bún has a new publicist (Susan Rike), and often | | | | ordered some cuttlefish for me to try. |
| with a new publicist comes a new round of press | | | | Tony served us lots of things that weren't on the |
| dinners. | | | | menu, including raw green guava (underripe, the way |
| Susan's press-dinner style is to round up four to eight | | | | they like it in Southeast Asia) with dried plum powder. |
| journalists and bring them all to dinner at once, in a | | | | That was sort of an intermezzo after the |
| group. She tends to do three such dinners per | | | | sweet-and-sour fish, if I remember correctly, which |
| restaurant. | | | | actually came after the lamb chops with eggplant, |
| Group dinners can, of course, be deadly, but there's | | | | pear chutney and anise sauce. |
| always the off-chance that you'll meet someone | | | | Tony also interspersed the menu with drinks, including |
| interesting at them, and I have met a number of | | | | a couple of flaming shots that we were supposed to |
| interesting people at Susan Rike dinners. She tends to | | | | drink quickly through straws. The problem with that is |
| draw an eclectic group. | | | | that if you're not quick about it your drink tastes like |
| I already knew (and like) the three other journalists | | | | melting plastic, but I was quick. |
| at dinner last night, and so I could focus on getting | | | | We also had a pretty remarkable Piña Colada |
| to know Tony Lam, the Sino-Vietnamese owner, | | | | flavored with crushed mint, giving it a cooling effect |
| born in Saigon, spending formative years living in and | | | | that somehow was in no way minty. In a cocktail |
| then running refugee camps in Malaysia, and then | | | | that I think he called the Poison Ruby, lychee liqueur |
| going to college and becoming a merchant. | | | | was made to taste even more lychee-like with the |
| Tony kind of reminded me of my former boss and | | | | addition of rosewater. |
| (former) guru Pansak Vinyaratn, who ran the | | | | Who knew? |
| magazine, and later the newspaper, that I worked | | | | |