Phu Quoc Story: Surviving Tropical Luxury Or How To Cook In Your Hotel Room

More weeks went by. Dinners were next on the agenda. Luckily, a 10 minute masked walk down the beach to King Kong Market gave us inspiration. Besides tasty local food products like black, white and red peppercorns and spiced cashews, the Kong was a one stop shop for everything from beachwear to housewares.

Days of lockdown turned into weeks.  We all began to think practically how we could make this slice of paradise more like home.  As long as Saigon’s COVID daily case count remained in the many thousands, we knew our time here may last months. 

We now needed to fully realize the claim on the Cassia’s website: “This is a place where time stands still, leaving you to savor simple pleasures.”

So at our little wood table with our new Portuguese friend, Diogo, on our sea view veranda at sunset, we shucked day old oysters, a squeeze of kumquat, a pinch of local black pepper.  We washed down the subtle flavors of Vietnam with glasses of crisp Italian white wine.  The toast: “If this is Lockdown, sign me up!” 

Mostly shuttered for lockdown, a few plucky businesses luckily remained open to deliver us inspiring ingredients. We gleefully ordered a case of wine from the Red Apron and edible delights from Tickle My Pickle, a Belgian run gourmet deli on the south end of the island. Chief among the Pickle’s surprising selection was fresh Ha Long Bay oysters. People were not allowed to fly during this strange time but oysters sure could!

them back to our room to make lunches.  The Spice House made wonderfully crusty homemade sourdough bread - sliced and toasted to order. 

To aid our cause of making our tropical getaway into home, there were several gourmet food and wine shops now established on the island. This was far

From the criteria we normally would consider when vacation planning.  But since we only just escaped the COVID explosion in Saigon on one of the last domestic flights, we overlooked the rapid high-end resort and condo development all over this once sleepy agricultural and fishing centered island. 

was in its full glory!  First soften the sliced shallots in the butter.  Once removed and stacked on top of the 

scissored sausages in the mixing bowl, I began to make the roux.  The flour toasted slowly but surely and with plenty of whisking with a fork, created a super thick sauce with the milk. 

In went all the cheeses, sausage and shallot and the room was slowly perfumed with the scent of home.

We got started by organizing a room to room happy hour with special cocktails. 

Room 1A Mint Julep 5-6 fresh mints leaves .5 oz simple syrup 2 oz cheap bourbon plenty of ice cubes sprig of mint for garnish Drop the leaves into the glass with the syrup. Muddle to release the mint leaves’ oils into the syrup. Fill glass with ice. Pour in bourbon. Use a swizzle stick to gently combine the liquids. Top up with more ice and garnish.

We began collecting yummy sausages, a variety of cheeses and the small packets of butter from breakfast.  The ultimate comfort food dinner was in sight: Mac and Cheese. 

Jer’s Mac and Cheese 2 c macaroni Lots of butter! 1 c flour A pinch of turmeric 2 c milk 1 tsp deli mustard Lots of cheeses! 3 shallots, thinly sliced Handful of leftover breakfast sausage, scissored Salt and Pepper to taste

Emmental, Gouda, Brie, Cheddar and Blue filled a plastic take-out container in our mini-fridge.  We grabbed some Banh Xeo flour mix (which included rice and wheat flour, salt and turmeric), a tetra pack of organic milk and some more shallots from the wet market.  This time we borrowed our neighbor’s hot plate to boil the macaroni outside on our red-tiled porch. Inside, the crock pot

We were on a roll. A few days later: beer boiled brats with side orders of fries and salad from the Spice House. The crock pot simmered the sausages perfectly in

three cans of Saigon Special, the watery national lager.  Add some spicy sweet brown mustard from the deli and we were in hotel room heaven.

Most people enjoyed spreading mulberry or passion fruit jam and peanut butter on their large slabs. But one morning I asked for extra bacon and a ramekin of mayo to accompany my toast.  Along with my breakfast salad of sliced tomato and red pepper

and fresh lettuce - Voila - I built a BLT at my table! I covered my precious plate with a lime green restaurant napkin and returned to my room to store in the mini-fridge for later. Making sandwiches of all kinds with yummy breakfast buffet ingredients became a trend among our crew.

King Kong had aisles of great supplies to outfit our secret kitchens.  One plug in crock pot (slow cooker) for us and one butane canistered hot plate for our neighbor.  

Throw in a cheap thin metal pot with lid, a small metal mixing bowl, a small round wooden cutting board and wooden spoon, a small plastic handled knife, tongs, a pair of scissors and a mini cheese grater - we were all set!

Early on, we had joined a pool to bet on the date we would fly off to Saigon.  Now as we read the news of COVID’s slow retreat, that date seemed to creep closer.  None of us wanted to leave!  Tropical luxury or no, home is made with good food and good friends.

The athletes among us challenged each other to beach volleyball and 4PM Zumba in the Monsoon Pavilion; early morning beach running and walking routes; pool laps and open ocean swims; and sunset yoga. It began to feel like a cross between summer camp and retirement home for our little community.  

At first, taking meals at Cassia Cottage, our four star boutique beach resort for a ten day vacation, was fantastic. Their Spice House restaurant with its breezy ocean views and waving coconut palms, was a treasure.

Island Mini-Fridge Pickles 1 Repurposed Jar For the brine: 1.5 c Apple Cider Vinegar .5 c Water 2-3 Tbsp Palm Sugar Paste 2-3 Tsp Salt 3 Garlic Cloves, crushed 6-8 Small whole cucumbers, washed 4-5 Sprigs fresh dill 4-5 Stems fresh green peppercorns 1-2 Red Vietnamese Chili, whole

Making pickles is one of my regular homemaking projects.  I’ve made many kinds with different veggies and brines.  I have to say, this batched turned out great!

The first foray into cooking an in-room dinner was courtesy of Tickle My Pickle’s fabulous selection of imported and homemade Italian products: packaged gnocchi and tortellini; jars of Bolognese, Arrribiata, and fresh three cheese pesto sauce; hunks of Grana Padano and Pecorino

cheese. This night was simple: spaghetti with pesto and leftover bbq chicken and olives from the Spice House.  Into the crock pot went the chicken, olives and sauce!  Into the metal pot went Cassia’s fresh well water to boil the pasta on the butane stove.  A snowy mountaintop of cheese grated on top and we had a satisfying “homemade” meal.

Many of our friends began to cook for themselves as well.  Juan Carlos, a teacher from the Canary Islands, shared his own version of Bailey’s that he had concocted in his room.  

Phu Quoc Island Cream 250 ml (1/3 bottle) cheap scotch 250 ml condensed milk 250 ml coffee and regular milk Pinch of ground cinnamon As Cassia Cottage is named for the cinnamon trees of Vietnam, he added ground cinnamon. Delicious on the rocks!

But after 8 glorious days, Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island, like the rest of the country was suddenly ordered by Directives 15 and 16 to close up as another wave of COVID made the rounds.   

No longer could we leave our resort.  No more bike rides. No more trips out for lunch or dinner.  

More in-room lunches followed.  We supplemented our Spice House ingredients with occasional trips to the local wet market.  Though Saigon was experiencing vegetable and fruit shortages during this lock down, not here!

Phu Quoc Gauc 1 Avocado, mashed 1 Tomato, chopped 1/2 Shallot, minced 1 Vietnamese Chili, minced 1 Kumquat Salt

The Old Runway by George Marshall

The artists took advantage of the natural beauty around us and sketched, took photographs and painted.

Our room had everything you could want in an apartment, everything that is except a kitchen. The only kitchen like tools in the room are a

mini-fridge for beer and soda and a hot water kettle for instant coffee in the morning. So we began our creative quest slowly by ordering extra breakfast foods from our resort and sneaking

How about a crock pot full of chili?! You betcha!

Hotel Room Chili 1 smoked pork knuckle (from the deli) 2 cans of beans (kidney, red or white) 1 can of sweet corn 1/2 a can of tomato paste 2-3 Tbsp of harrisa sauce (Tickle My Pickle again!) 3 shallots, chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 2-3 packets of Vietnamese chili sauce Salt and Pepper to taste Optional garnishes: cheddar cheese, cilantro, and chopped shallot

For my husband Chris and I, home is a place where we cook, often very elaborate meals. We missed choosing special ingredients and creating our own fusion cuisine. We needed to get creative. And at first, we also had to be sneaky. We learned to cook in our hotel room. Our luxurious room here at the Cassia had it all: Outdoor living spilled onto our covered wrap-around

Carnitas del Mercado 1.75 kg Pork Shoulder, cut into 2-3 inch by 4 inch chunks 3 cups Lard 2 Oranges, sliced 3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and crushed Handful Black Peppercorns

What else can you do with a crock pot?  Slow cook pork, of course!  Rather than braise the pork in fresh squeezed orange juice and garlic, this version of the central Mexican classic, used freshly rendered white pork lard from the market to poach or “confit” the chunks of pork.  Once the meat was fall apart tender, we used some of the orange scented lard from the pot to quickly fry the individual pork pieces to crisp the edges.  

Many nights we enjoyed a lovely sunset dinner by the pool. The plates were and are still full of yummy homemade Vietnamese food. The smiling staff always helpful.

Salsa de Molcajete 2 Shallots, peeled 2 Garlic Cloves, peeled 6 Long Red Chilis, whole 10-12 Cherry Tomatoes, whole 1 Tbsp Coarse Salt 1 Kumquat

To cut the fattiness of the carnitas, we made this roasted Mexican salsa in our new molcajete, a large stone mortar and pestle, which we found at King Kong! The carnitas burritos with this salsa were divine.

Others created all-age board game tournaments and trivia nights. 

red tiled veranda with cushioned wicker chairs offering regal views of the crashing surf beyond the lush tropical gardens and private pools. From inside,

there were big windows on three sides below a vaulted ceiling with exposed wood trusses.  We even had a living room with a couch, two arm chairs and coffee table topped by a vase of fragrant yellow lilies I picked up at the wet market. 

Into our third month at the Cassia Cottage Phu Quoc, we had shared many birthdays, many meals, 

Leftover chili is perfect in a homemade tortilla.  Unbelievably we found a rolling pin and plenty of freshly rendered lard at the wet market.  Making tortillas, especially flour ones, is one of Chris’ inheritances from his mom.  We are so lucky Dolores taught him well!

Mamma’s Tortillas 2 c high gluten bread flour 3 tbsp lard or vegetable shortening 3/4 tsp salt 3/4 c warm water

and many fabulous sunsets.  Though some had been friends before we came, this unexpected community had grown quite close.  

But spoiled with food options, at dinnertime our merry crew of international educators,“trailing spouses” and their children chose to mix it up: some nights we ventured out on scooters to really fun American BBQ, Thai or Indian places which dotted the island’s beaches.

For all who take the chance to live their best life in the most unexpected and challenging circumstances. To my husband, Chris, whose great raft of creativity always has plenty of room for everyone. And to my Cassia Cottage community for their essential company and support.

Island Deviled Eggs 3-4 Hard Boiled Eggs 2 Tbsp Mayo 1 Tsp Deli Mustard 1 Island Mini-Fridge Pickle, diced Fresh ground black pepper

Who doesn’t love a good deviled egg?  They are Chris’s favorite too.  Once again, we secretly gathered hard boiled eggs from breakfast and then gave the pickles a few days to sit.  

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