Chef Farina serves up a seaside feast

Life's a beach: Frederik Farina, head chef at the Beach House restaurant at Hyatt Regency Da Nang Resort, takes a breather. Fresh take on the claypot: Salad with a piece of dry pancake and rice and crab in claypots. — VNS Photos Bar and private dining room available Opening hours: 6 pm – 10:30 pm Price: + Food: VND85,000 – VND3.9 million Desserts & Drinks: VND35,000 – VND3.1 million Address: Beach Pool, Hyatt Regency Da Nang Resort and Spa, Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, Da Nang City Tel: 0511 398 1236

I had a chance to talk with Farina before enjoying some of his cooking recently when my friend and I had dinner at the resort, which opened on the coast of Da Nang, about 8km from the city's centre, earlier this year.

As we wanted to enjoy the restaurant's own style, we didn't choose dishes from the menu but asked the chef to arrange a meal for us at his own discretion.

I was quite sure the ladies would be attracted by the handsome and gentle Italian chef, but what impressed me more was how he had become a master chef after first pursuing a career as a professional kayak racer. He had won several kayaking prizes in his country, and now he was creating recipes and cooking for us at a resort in my country.

"Maybe the simple and determined personality of an athlete has had certain influences on the way he approaches cuisine," I thought to myself as he said, "here we serve dishes in careful combination."

I didn't clearly understand what he meant until we had finished the whole meal. After some bread with butter as an appetiser, we began what turned out to be quite a large feast of Vietnamese and Western-style dishes, including grilled squid, Da Nang pancakes, marinated beef with mustard leaf rolls, bamboo chicken, baked rice, river prawns, fried rice with mushrooms, US beef rib eye steak and bacon potatoes.

Despite the diversity of food, every dish was prepared with its unique specific flavour bringing its own culinary delights to the feast. Courses were presented so well that they did not overwhelm our appetites as we thought such a large amount of food might do.

My companion said she was amazed by the rice pancakes as they tasted as good as those made at Ba Duong (Mrs Duong), a famous country pancake shop in a small alley in the city.

She was amused by the grilled chicken decorated in a bamboo tube with salt and a few tiny twigs of fresh pepper. "The way this meal is presented reminds me of steam rice in bamboo tube in northern mountainous areas and the grilled food in the Central Highlands," she said.

Traditional characteristics were also featured in the earthenware pots and a unique set of bowls and plates painted with fish shapes, which were made at Ha Noi's Bat Trang pottery village.

Besides the food, we were pleased with the warm and quiet atmosphere at the restaurant, the soft music, candle-lit tables and the polite service from the wait staff. The restaurant was also designed with large glass walls, making us feel in harmony with the surrounding natural environment. From our table we could also see industrious cooks in the kitchen while contemplating the sea and a huge Kwan Yin Buddha statue on the Son Tra Peninsular nearby.

Our dinner ended with some chocolate cake, caramelised bananas and ice cream, which was so filling my friend joked that it should have been the main course.

We went home thinking that our 10-minute drive from the city's centre had paid off, and the only problem was that our stomachs were now so full that they were bursting at the seams.

My companion did have a word of advice: she said the meal would be more perfect for her if the sauces were stronger and hotter; and it would be amusing to see a special performance by the cooks (such as knife juggling) during the dinner.

For me, I wished the weather were better so that we could dine in the al fresco part of the restaurant. It would be great to sit in an open outdoor pavilion right on the beach on moon-lit evening, sipping some red wine and listening to the waves crash on the shore. — VNS

Chef Farina serves up a seaside feast

Life's a beach: Frederik Farina, head chef at the Beach House restaurant at Hyatt Regency Da Nang Resort, takes a breather. Fresh take on the claypot: Salad with a piece of dry pancake and rice and crab in claypots. — VNS Photos Bar and private dining room available Opening hours: 6 pm – 10:30 pm Price: + Food: VND85,000 – VND3.9 million Desserts & Drinks: VND35,000 – VND3.1 million Address: Beach Pool, Hyatt Regency Da Nang Resort and Spa, Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, Da Nang City Tel: 0511 398 1236

I had a chance to talk with Farina before enjoying some of his cooking recently when my friend and I had dinner at the resort, which opened on the coast of Da Nang, about 8km from the city's centre, earlier this year.

As we wanted to enjoy the restaurant's own style, we didn't choose dishes from the menu but asked the chef to arrange a meal for us at his own discretion.

I was quite sure the ladies would be attracted by the handsome and gentle Italian chef, but what impressed me more was how he had become a master chef after first pursuing a career as a professional kayak racer. He had won several kayaking prizes in his country, and now he was creating recipes and cooking for us at a resort in my country.

"Maybe the simple and determined personality of an athlete has had certain influences on the way he approaches cuisine," I thought to myself as he said, "here we serve dishes in careful combination."

I didn't clearly understand what he meant until we had finished the whole meal. After some bread with butter as an appetiser, we began what turned out to be quite a large feast of Vietnamese and Western-style dishes, including grilled squid, Da Nang pancakes, marinated beef with mustard leaf rolls, bamboo chicken, baked rice, river prawns, fried rice with mushrooms, US beef rib eye steak and bacon potatoes.

Despite the diversity of food, every dish was prepared with its unique specific flavour bringing its own culinary delights to the feast. Courses were presented so well that they did not overwhelm our appetites as we thought such a large amount of food might do.

My companion said she was amazed by the rice pancakes as they tasted as good as those made at Ba Duong (Mrs Duong), a famous country pancake shop in a small alley in the city.

She was amused by the grilled chicken decorated in a bamboo tube with salt and a few tiny twigs of fresh pepper. "The way this meal is presented reminds me of steam rice in bamboo tube in northern mountainous areas and the grilled food in the Central Highlands," she said.

Traditional characteristics were also featured in the earthenware pots and a unique set of bowls and plates painted with fish shapes, which were made at Ha Noi's Bat Trang pottery village.

Besides the food, we were pleased with the warm and quiet atmosphere at the restaurant, the soft music, candle-lit tables and the polite service from the wait staff. The restaurant was also designed with large glass walls, making us feel in harmony with the surrounding natural environment. From our table we could also see industrious cooks in the kitchen while contemplating the sea and a huge Kwan Yin Buddha statue on the Son Tra Peninsular nearby.

Our dinner ended with some chocolate cake, caramelised bananas and ice cream, which was so filling my friend joked that it should have been the main course.

We went home thinking that our 10-minute drive from the city's centre had paid off, and the only problem was that our stomachs were now so full that they were bursting at the seams.

My companion did have a word of advice: she said the meal would be more perfect for her if the sauces were stronger and hotter; and it would be amusing to see a special performance by the cooks (such as knife juggling) during the dinner.

For me, I wished the weather were better so that we could dine in the al fresco part of the restaurant. It would be great to sit in an open outdoor pavilion right on the beach on moon-lit evening, sipping some red wine and listening to the waves crash on the shore. — VNS