Vietnamese-American chef and owner of Anan Saigon, Peter Cuong Franklin (m) at the awards ceremony in Singapore on March 28. Photos courtesy of bubufoodshow

Anan Saigon, a restaurant that turns street food flavors into contemporary creations, features in the list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2023, VOV reported.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, this year’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 features restaurants from 19 different cities in 11 countries and seven new entries.

The Anan Saigon was the only Vietnamese representative to be ranked among the top 40. Last year saw the eatery placed 65th on the list.

The restaurant’s name comes from the Vietnamese words "ăn ăn", meaning ‘eat eat’, and is located in Cho Cu, the oldest wet market in the center of Ho Chi Minh City along Ton That Dam street.

Anan Saigon was originally founded by Peter Cuong Franklin, a Vietnamese-American chef who studied at Le Cordon Bleu and trained at world-famous restaurants, including Caprice in Hong Kong (China), Alinea in Chicago, and Nahm in Bangkok.

Instead of choosing to settle down in foreign land, Peter Cuong Franklin returned to his homeland, bringing the quintessence of world cuisine into traditional Vietnamese dishes.

Caviar Bánh Nhúng of Anan Saigon. Photos courtesy of Anan Saigon

"Having trained at world-famous restaurants including Caprice in Hong Kong and Alinea in Chicago, chef Peter Cuong Franklin’s Anan Saigon brings together his street food past with his modern inventive fine dining prowess. Dishes such as the Caviar Bánh Nhúng exemplify his fusionist cooking philosophy," wrote the introduction.

A pioneer of modern Vietnamese and Asian cuisine, Franklin takes inspiration from Vietnam’s vibrant food culture and uses fresh ingredients from local markets while incorporating French culinary techniques, Vietnamnet reported.

The chef said his true inspiration is his mother, who ran a small noodle shop in Da Lat City in Lam Dong Province.

His signature dishes at Anan Saigon include ‘Caviar Bánh Nhúng’ which is inspired by a traditional waffle cake found at street food markets in Vietnam, combined with a classic French tart preparation. The tart shell is replaced with a light and crispy Vietnamese rosette pastry made from rice flour and egg, topped with salmon caviar, smoked salmon and crème fraiche.

‘One Bite Phở’ is a distillation of Vietnam’s iconic national dish into one single bite. The molecular creation features black truffle and wagyu beef in a sphere of pho broth.

Meanwhile, the ‘Huế Ravioli Foie gras & Wagyu’ is inspired by the iconic Hue dish – bánh bột lọc (Hue-styled transparent dumpling cake), but presents the rich flavor of slow-cooked beef cheek, shredded and mixed into a fine paste of foie gras.

Chef Peter Cuong Franklin and Anan Saigon for the third year in a row entered the Asia50Best list. In addition, Anan Saigon is also listed in another famous ranking "Time World's 100 Greatest Places".

The 'Asia's 50 Best Restaurants' list was created by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, a group of more than 300 leaders operating in the restaurant industry throughout Asia.

The publication of this year’s list aims to support the region’s restaurant scene by recognizing as many great restaurants as possible across Asia.

This year, the list was revealed through an awards ceremony held on March 28 in Singapore.

Other outstanding restaurants to make the list were Le Du of Bangkok, Sezanne of Tokyo, Nusara of Bangkok, Den of Tokyo, Gaggan Anand of Bangkok, Odette of Singapore, Florilege of Tokyo, La Cime of Osaka, Sorn of Bangkok, and Narisawa of Tokyo.

The list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, was revealed at a live awards ceremony in Singapore on March 28.

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