For Phuc Deli-Viet head chef Johnny Tran, Vietnamese food is about finding the right balance between yin and yang.
It’s the same practice and belief, which sees Brisbane residents returning again and again to Johnny’s Vietnamese food at Phuc Viet Deli at Indooroopilly.
“As a chef, I have to look at the food and ingredients and ensure each dish has a balance. Simply put, yang foods are food items that you aren’t easily drawn to, but are good for you, like garlic chives, bitter melon and celery. Ying food is food that has high sugar, protein and potassium levels,” Johnny says.
“A good Vietnamese chef cooks for the body and the soul. Vietnamese food is very healthy, full of flavour, fresh and basically split into three loose groups; salad, rice and soup.”
For the past 16 years, Johnny has been re-educating locals about traditional Vietnamese cooking.
“We were the first Vietnamese restaurants in the area,” Johnny says. “When we first opened, we had to educate all the locals about the idea and wonders of Vietnamese food. The refreshing minty flavours in its salad, the fragrant flavours of its soup and the moreishness of its rice dishes.
“I remember I would stand outside the shop and hand out little samples of our meals. I would talk to them about the meals and how it was tasty yet very healthy for them.”
Johnny’s popular menu pays homage to Vietnam’s rich heritage by combining the delicious mix of the food of its colonial visitors and age-old flavours and techniques.
Johnny is from Saigon City and came to Australia as a refugee in 1992. Prior to leaving Vietnam, Johnny trained as a journalist but had to flee his country after a change of government which meant he was unsafe in his home town.
Johnny hid and was on the run for five years until he sought refuge in Malaysia before coming to Australia.
Upon arriving in Sydney, Johnny began cooking in restaurants to support his studies in English then later in architecture at University.
But the love of cooking outgrew his desire and passion for architecture.
“Since arriving in Australia, I have worked and cooked for many restaurants Sydney and Melbourne,” Johnny, who speaks eight languages fluently, says.
“I moved to Brisbane in 1996 to open a Vietnamese restaurant in West End, called Cuu Long, with two other partners.”
After selling the restaurant, he worked for a number of Brisbane restaurants, including Le Phuong at New Farm, Kings of King at Fortitude Valley and West End Gardens at West End.
In early 1999, Jenny and Godfrey Mantle, from the Mantle Group, approached Johnny about working with them to open a Vietnamese restaurant next to their Pig ‘N’ Whistle at Indooroopilly.
“We named it Phuc Viet Deli, Phuc means fortune and lucky,” Johnny said. “For the Vietnamese it also means if you do good things for charity you will get good things back in return.
“I do think that has happened here. I mean, we opened a restaurant in an area where Vietnamese food was unknown; we were located at the outskirts of a shopping centre and a food court; and we had very simple décor and style. We wanted our fresh food and love for healthy and nutritional meals to stand out.
“It was the best thing we did. Indooroopilly is home to many lovely, professional and educated people who are keen to try new, adventurous dishes.
“When we opened and educated them about what real Vietnamese food was about, they really embraced us.
“Many of the locals are our best customers who always pop in for a meal. We have people tourists from around the world who keep coming back to us when they visit Brisbane. Locally, we even have people driving from Nundah and Chermside to try our food, including our popular Pho soup.”
Johnny says there are two secrets to success when it comes to restaurants.
“Buy fresh produce every day from the markets. I even go on my days off to just check we have the best produce,” Johnny says. “And secondly, make healthy and balanced food that people crave.”