Loïc’s awesome smoked beef

For us, the holidays are usually all about eating and drinking (and complaining about eating too much and then starting it all over again the following day). We are quite lucky that most of our guests are also food fanatics like us so we can spend hours upon hours talking about restaurants and recipes. This year, one of Loïc’s most popular holiday creations was the giant smoked beef we served on Christmas eve. Marinated for 24 hours with rock salt, Greek rosemary, zinfandel wine,  worcestershire sauce and a lot of love, this recipe was so rich in flavors thanks not only to the new recipe, but also thanks to all the little local ingredients such as coconut shells, sugar cane husks, banana leaves (and also apple wood chips hand carried from America…airport customs agents must have thought that we were nuts). Anyway, no more rambling, here is the recipe for you!

Ingredients:

2-4 kilos of Beef (Cube Roll if available)
Rock Sea Salt
Rosemary
1 bottle of Zinfandel wine
120-140 ml of Worcestershire sauce
 

Directions:

1) Gradually start massaging the rock salt and rosemary into the beef after cutting off any excess fat.  Depending on the size of the meat, this may take around 30 minutes to really work in the spices.

2) After the massage experience, place the beef in an airtight container and submerge the meat in Zinfandel wine and Worcestershire sauce. Be sure to use enough of both liquids to ensure that no part of the beef is exposed to air.  Seal off the container and place in the refrigerator for between 18-30 hours.

3) Remove the beef from the liquids but be sure to save all the marinade as it will be used during the smoking process

4) Light up your smoker and burn the charcoal for about 30 minutes or until the charcoal is hot enough.  After this (if you have access to it) begin adding coconut shells, sugar cane husks, banana leaves, and/or apple wood chips on top of the coals continually as you go along and add more charcoal as needed to ensure the temperature is sufficiently hot and smoky.

5) Once the fire is hot enough, place your beef in the smoker and let it slowly cook. The beef should have the remaining marinade brushed over it once after an hour and then re-brush the marinade over the beef every 45 minutes afterwards.

-depending on the size of the meat, total cooking time can vary between 3-4 hours on average but it can be useful to use a meat thermometer if available to ensure you don’t overcook the beef.

6) Remove beef from the BBQ, serve, and ENJOY!

 

Oh, you Glorious beef!

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The moment of truth…dsc_0510

When you can see the smoke oozing out of the beefdsc_0517

Our guests ask for a more well done version but you can also have to medium rare toodsc_0520

Holiday Season ’16

We often joke how funny it is that we hospitality people only start our holiday once our guests have gone back to work. This year, our holiday feels so much different though. As we hugged our new year groups good bye and slowly took down the holiday decorations, we all felt a slight holiday hangover. As if our holiday has been over too. As if we are sending our friends off after such a fun party and not really sure when would be the next time we meet.

For us here at Heron House, this holiday season was truly about reunions. It was a father and daughter visiting his other beloved daughter and son-in-law in Vietnam from Africa and Europe. It was a high school reunion of three friends with their wives and kids who were living all over the world. It was a long-overdue family vacation with a lot of board games and laughter. It was exploring new places and making new friends for a pilot’s family. And for us as well, we got to welcome our two Greek friends into our home after meeting them at their home in Leros in our last summer vacation.

It was a special time for all of us. We hugged and drank and laughed and shared stories. I know Loic felt quite sad for not being with his family and friends for yet another Christmas so it was comforting to realize the number of friends we have made over the holiday.

The weather was not so kind to us over the holiday and we apologize for any hiccups you might feel during your time in Hoi An. We would like to thank you again for being a part of our holiday season and spreading the laughter and love. 2016 was a year full of challenges and difficulties but it marked a special chapter in our lives and we are happy we got to welcome the exciting new 2017 with you!

And here are some photos from our Christmas BBQ in the villa. Sorry we were so busy cooking and drinking and laughing that we did not have time for more pictures with the other groups. And thank you Quyen for stepping in and capturing these precious moments.

Our little Christmas tree with decorations from our little guests

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Delicious mulled wine to start off the nightdsc_0449

 

Clara is making special cookies for Santa Clausdsc_0464

Loic’s signature mushroom soup with truffle saucedsc_0507

Slicing open the present, our 4-kilo smoked beefdsc_0509

Our lovely guestsdsc_0529

… with Santa’s little helpersdsc_0532

Happy Holiday!

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Dear friends,

Happy happy holidays from the Heron House team! Thank you for being a part of our journey in 2016. The year might have been rough and full of unexpected surprises, but now looking back, we are very grateful for all the new friendships we have gained, all the laughter we have shared, and all the memories we have made together. Heron House is a special chapter in our lives and we are glad we got to share this experience with the best group of friends we could ask for.

Wishing you a Joyous Holiday Season and A Very Happy and Peaceful New Years ahead, wherever you are in the world!

Best regards,

Loic, Van Anh and the whole Heron House team.

P/S: Van Anh tried to put real Santa hats on mama and baby buffalo but was getting really dirty looks from the mama so this is the best we can get, please excuse our poor Photoshop skill!)

#TeamBride

Natalie and Kris were the first couple that chose Heron House to be their home for their wedding weekend back in July. We were honored to host Natalie and her bridesmaids on the nights leading up to the wedding and then the newly wed couple on their wedding night. It was such a pleasure to be able to witness so much love and friendship at Heron House that day. The bridesmaids and family were coming from all over the world to our little town of Hoi An to be with Natalie on her special day.

Thank you Aaron Joel Santos and the team at Hoi An Events for the amazing photos.

We look forward to welcoming Kris and Natalie back to Heron House in the near future!

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Words of Encouragement

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Friends always think that we have a really cool job. Making drinks, talking with guests, chilling out by the swimming pool, living in this really cool town… Of course, we are so happy right where we are, but it is impossible to explain the long working hours, the stress of finding the right staff, the burden of getting our place more visible to the world. So, if you can picture how much motivation and happiness and energy and excitement we feel every time we read a review from our amazing guests. Well, multiple that by ten times and that’s how grateful we are with kind words from our guests.

Like this one from Travis and Camille, a lovely couple from the US that chose to spend 5 nights with us back in July. They were also the first couple that we went out for dinner with (a very boozy night at H’Mong Sisters indeed). Thank you Camille for a lovely drawing in our guestbook (it is exactly how we remember you guys!), and Travis for a beautifully-written review (our family thinks you must be, or should be, a writer!). We hope to see you guys again soon, in New York or Hanoi!

“Within this outpost of civilization and good taste, you will find wine, music, architecture, fluffy cotton towels, a gorgeous black-bottom infinity pool, and best of all, two perfect hosts and conversationalists, Loïc and Van Anh Diels. The staff, trained by your hosts and some of their international colleagues in the hospitality industry, is attentive and unobtrusive, which, as travelers familiar with Vietnam will know, is a perk not to be taken for granted. You will remember forever the rice paddies that sprawl into the mountainous distance around you; the loafing water buffalos, the perching storks. You’ll remember forever the house cocktails, conceived and executed by Loïc the artist, of lavender and rosemary infused gins. I say artist instead of “mixologist” because the latter term smacks of too much science. Nothing about this stunningly renovated French Colonial plantation house with gorgeous flooring and fixtures feels like cold, hard science even if your hosts both have masters degrees in hospitality and likely orchestrate very much when you aren’t looking. Finally, there’s the pricing. Belgian beers and imported wines are priced seemingly at cost. Guests will note a sense of honest restraint where they might elsewhere expect absurd mark-ups and service fees associated with, say, having food delivered or day trips organized. Here again we see that at Heron House the dismal science of life is suppressed, and the art of it set free.”

Pomelo Ginger Gin

It’s quite serious, Loïc has turned into some sort of chemist since we opened Heron House. He has dedicated his heart and soul (and probably liver too) to experimenting and infusing the best liquor and cocktails in Hoi An. And goodness, the final results are surprisingly good too. As much as I love the special Lavender G&T, which has become a part of my daily diet, I have to give Loïc credit for his creativity in turning the freshest local ingredients into delicious cocktails. And with the Vietnamese sweet pomelo in season right now, we have been busy testing out the best pomelo gin recipe to offer to our guests.

The Vietnamese pomelo is quite different from the grapefruit in America and Europe. Our rich clay soil and abundant amounts of water and sunshine ensure the distinctive sweet flavor in each juicy fruit. We experimented with mixing two different pomelo varieties in our recipe to produce a sweet but slightly bitter tasting cocktail. The left over pomelo meat after the infusion process was then preserved in the freezer to add texture and more flavor to each drink. Needless to say, this is one of our popular sunset drinks when our guests chill out by the swimming pool.

Enjoy the recipe and let us know if the pomelo or grapefruit from where you are can produce tasty cocktails as well.

Ingredients:

  • 45ml Pomelo-infused gin, using the best quality Vietnamese pomelo
  • 15ml Cointreau
  • 1 large spoonful of frozen pomelo (save it when you make the gin)
  • Basil leaves for garnish (straight from our garden)
  • 10ml Basil syrup (also made from the basil in our garden)
  • 120ml Soda water
  • Ice

Instructions:

  • Place pomelo gin, Cointreau, half of ice, frozen pomelo, basil syrup, and a tablespoon of basil leaves into the blender
  • Blend on ‘Icy Drink’ setting or equivalent if possible
  • Pour contents over some ice in a glass
  • Top off with soda water, stir, and serve chilled
  • Place basil leaves on top as garnish

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Our First Summer BBQ

During our time living in Hanoi, some of our best summer weekends were spent BBQ-ing with our friends at our rooftop apartment. We would shift from swimming in our rooftop pool, eating bellini popsicles, to sitting around the little balcony waiting for Loic’s famous yogurt chicken and Greek burger, and eventually moving inside for some drinking games or random Youtube session. With such great memories, we decided to invest in a nice BBQ the moment summer began. What is summer without nice pool BBQ parties after all, right?

Loic chose a custom-made Texan BBQ from a company in Saigon, and as you can guess from the name, it is huge! The BBQ also doubles as a smoker, which makes us immediately dream of smoked salmon and smoked sausages and smoked everything. We were so eager to try out the big boy that the moment we met David and his family who were hugely into food and having a good time, we had to ask if they would like to let us test out the BBQ and prepare them a special meal.

You can tell Loic was dying to get back on track with his passion of cooking the moment he started brainstorming the menu. After going through what we could pick up at the local market and big supermarket in Danang, we settled on pita with hummus and tzaziki to start, continuing with Loic’s famous watermelon haloumi with tahini honey walnut sauce, and finishing with a grand finale of big coconut-smoked platter: beef tenderloin, red snappers, potato with sour cream, and fresh vegetables from the organic garden (more recipes to come on the blog soon!).

The whole meal was such a big hit, and the conversations that carried on the night were even better. There was so much laughter around the table. David, Arlene, Mel and Alex were another group of guests that turned into our friends. We were even invited to visit their beautiful Airbnb castle near London (yes, we have friends who own a castle!). This new adventure has certainly taken us to places that we never thought of before.

Thank you everyone for such a good night and we hope to see you again in the near future!

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Thanh Ha Terracotta Park

We always tell our guests there are enough things to keep them busy for a week at this little town. We love going to the beach, diving, snorkeling, taking cooking classes, bicycling, shopping, sightseeing, eating, drinking and so much more! And just when we thought that we had already known the town as the back of our hands, there were something new to do! This time, it was taking two of our favorite guests to Thanh Ha Terracotta Park by the Pottery Village north of the Thu Bon river.

This is certainly not a full day trip, but it well deserves half of your day to explore all the cool little exhibitions at this museum. Opened in 2015, the park nestles in the heart of Thanh Ha ancient pottery village which is famous for traditional terracotta artifacts. It took us a long walk around the property to understand why it had taken four years of construction to finish. Everything to the tiniest details was made with so much care, from the miniature World-Heritage-list sites around the world to the terracotta walls that told the stories of Vietnam’s struggle throughout history. We also had to laugh at all the quirky statues randomly placed around the park. You can also join one of the on-site workshops to make your own souvenir to bring home, kids would love that I’m sure!

There are several ways to get here but we enjoyed a scenic route through Cua Dai – Tran Hung Dao – Hung Vuong that slowly weaved into beautiful country road all the way to the fish market of Thanh Ha village. The park is just a few hundred meters down the road to the left.

Hope this has given you a nice day trip idea to explore the surrounding villages of Hoi An. And thank you to Jean-Pierre and Tina for sharing the photos as well as a lot of laughter with us!

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A Bohemian Affair

It was one of those days that summer felt like spring. Sweet honey sunlight, cool teasing breezes, a perfect occasion to put on flowy dresses and add flowers to your hair as these beautiful ladies did for their friend’s bohemian chic bridal shower that Heron House got to host a few weeks back.

It was truly inspiring to feel so much love in the air. Born and raised in Hanoi but flew in from all over the places, the bride and her friends brought so much positive energy to Heron House. It seemed like just being together, catching up with random endless stories, laughing at past jokes, swimming and dancing under thousands of stars were more than enough.

They talked about everything, from friends who were much missed, secret crushes from the past to serious current issues, and where they would be even just one year from now. Life is full of changes but it is always comforting to know that you will never be alone.

Thank you the crew for letting us be a part of your big journey, it was so nice to host you, we hope the bride would come back soon with her then-husband so we can share more stories of future and past.

And thank you to Trang J.An for capturing these precious moments of a lifetime.

Big kisses from Loic and Van Anh.

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Getting from Cua Dai Beach to Heron House

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For any poor souls who may worry about finding their way from Cua Dai Beach to Heron House, we wanted to provide a brief instructional video on the 2 km ride by scooter to our little slice of heaven.  Hope you enjoy and remember that our staff are always happy to come find you if you should make a wrong turn in the rice fields!

Peace out, time to return to the beach!