Le Danang
The south central coast port of Danang with its influence of French Indochine culture, reputation for fine seafood plus being a former US Navy Base were the inspirations for the name of this restaurant.
Before 1989 the hotel was managed by Hyatt and where Le Danang is today was then a Hollywood pub. In 1989 it was acquired by the Central Group of Hotels to became Central Plaza Bangkok and the restaurant was changed to be Vietnamese. Just inside the front door of the restaurant is an opaque glass partition with the dates 1920-1989; the French Indochine period that influenced Le Danang's architectural design.
When it opened, it served authentic Vietnamese cuisine prepared by a succession of Vietnamese lady chefs. Eight years ago Sofitel became partners with Central and the name changed to Sofitel Central Plaza Bangkok. This led to various upgrades adding some of Sofitel's French influence that included bringing Chef Mai Nguyen from Sofitel Metropole Hanoi to take charge of Le Danang's kitchen. This was the defining moment whereby French influenced Vietnamese food arrived in Thailand.
Chef Mai started her career when she was just 20 years old by going to Germany with no previous experience to study the art of cooking. Four years later she returned to Hanoi and was interviewed by Executive Chef Didier Carlou at Sofitel Metropole Hanoi. When he asked her about the kitchen methods she used in Germany, he was so impressed with her reply that he hired her immediately and she started work the following day.
French born Executive Chef Didier Carlou was her mentor in the art of combining French ingredients and techniques cooked in a Vietnamese style. This elevated the value as well as perception of the food style. In Vietnam this food style is really only popular in Hanoi due to the influence of Didier Carlou and Sofitel Metropole Hanoi.
"French is my favourite food style", says Chef Mai, "its techniques such as marinating, use of spices plus presentation has assisted me in improving the quality of my Vietnamese cooking. Today, I use mostly local ingredients with a few exceptions such as artichokes that have to be flown in from France. I would like to use Vietnamese fish sauce but it is not available so I have now adapted my recipes to use Thai fish sauce".
Mai's signature dishes are Fresh spring rolls with smoked salmon, Avocado salad and Snow fish with ginger to which she adds tamarind to balance the fattiness of the fish.
They have a five course daily set menu comprising of salad, soup, spring rolls, main course and dessert.
Moreover, the black and white chinaware plus glass stems bring an additional touch of elegance to the table that matches the atmosphere.
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