The Songs of Sapa: Stories and recipes from Vietnam

Published by Murdoch Books, 2009, hardcover, A4 format, illustrated, index, 344 pages, condition: as new.

"Luke Nguyen, of Red Lantern fame, is going home. Travelling on a personal and culinary tour through Vietnam, Luke visits his family and friends, and is invited into the homes of local Vietnamese food experts and cooks, to learn more about one of the richest, most diverse cuisines in the world. Starting in the northwest of Vietnam, in the villages and hills around Sapa, Luke explores the roots of traditional cooking. Moving south, he travels to the capital, Hanoi, renowned for its French-Vietnamese cuisine. He explores the imperial cooking of Hue, discovers the famed cau lau noodles in Hoi An, and tastes a host of simple seafood dishes of coastal Nha Trang and Quy Nhon, his journey culminating in Saigon, where he is reunited with family. The Songs of Sapa is a vibrant, visual essay of Luke's journey, the stories and recipes from each region, with stunning photographs bursting with colour and texture, capturing the beauty of Vietnam, her people and their deep connection to food."

"I didn't try to make any of the recipes from this book! I just read it for the stories. Luke Nguyen's family fled Vietnam after the war and eventually ended up in Australia where they ran a Vietnamese restaurant in a Sydney suburb. Now Nguyen runs his own restaurant in Sydney called Red Lantern. I guess he's pretty well known in Australia as a host of different food documentaries but I'd never heard of him until I saw his newest book Luke Nguyen's Street Food Asia: Saigon, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta in the Kinokuniya and was blown away by the photography. The library didn't have it yet so I picked up this one and wasn't disappointed."

Both of the books have got a winning formula: great photos of food and daily life, mouthwatering descriptions of food and cooking techniques, more standard travelogues including some off the beaten path stuff, family history and of course recipes. The recipes are fun to read, but I think they probably are a little tricky even if you do have access to a good Asian supermarket because some of the techniques sounded pretty involved. But even without preparing them they're useful if you've ever eaten in a Vietnamese restaurant and wanted to explore the menu beyond the classic pho or banh mi. And of course if you are planning a trip to Vietnam this would be a great guide to discovering all the regional specialties.