The art of waiting, serving, and hosting is dying a slow, mournful death. Back when dining wasn’t as casual as it is now, when the concept of fast food and chain restaurants still weren’t a thing, going out to eat was much more of an occasion. Images of white-table cloth meals come to mind, with chefs serving up elaborately prepared dishes that put the fine in dining. Alongside the chefs and just as indispensable, you had the waiters: teams of servers who were skilled not only in the technicalities of managing a dining service, but doing so with confidence, care, and a charm that transformed people who entered a restaurant as customers into friends by the time they left. Of course, the fact that eating out has become more casual nowadays isn’t all a bad thing—Not everyone wants a show while they eat and at least it’s made dining out more accessible. Having said that, there is a sadness that comes with the realisation that a craft that once used to be considered a lifelong profession is now fading into black. Waiting tables doesn’t get the same respect that it used to. Having met Kim Ngan of Loi Choi a few months ago, I know I won’t ever be discrediting that line of work again.
Kim was born in the coastal city of Nha Trang. Growing up, her family had two businesses. First, they were fishermen. Besides that, they ran a quán nhậu. The idea was anything they caught fishing would be served up on the menu. This was Kim’s first taste of working in a restaurant. She remembers being a kid carrying beers for the customers and witnessing how some newbies eventually turned into regulars. That underlying sense of community and connection intrigued her which is why from an early age, she knew that this was the line of work she wanted to pursue. There was something magical about the work. It showed her how special it was to look after people, and even to this day she still loves that sense of having someone come over to her space and letting them relax while she takes care of all the work.
Upon graduating from high school, Kim made the move to Saigon. Enrolling in HUTECH University, she studied Hospitality and learned all the different aspects of working in the service industry. Unlike her years spent helping her family out in their quán nhậu and a bánh xèo restaurant they later owned, university provided a formal learning experience that equipped her with the knowledge of how to work in hotels, bars, and restaurants. This sparked her curiosity for the variety of roles in the service world and informed the choices she would make during her time at HUTECH and after graduating. For instance, her first job in Saigon was at a cafe where she learned all the nuanced duties that made up working in such a place: how to be a barista, work the register, make desserts, even, to my surprise, learning about how a cafe handles its storage. All of these lessons served as early proof of her desire to soak up as much information as possible. To this day, it’s a mark of who she is and wants to be not only as an individual, but as a professional.
Then came RuNam d’Or. Part of the RuNam chain of European-style high-class cafes and restaurants located in Vietnam, RuNam d’Or takes this a step further by blending classical and modern elements to create a Parisian garden in the heart of Saigon. Kim says working there played a major role in deepening her understanding of hospitality. It was at RuNam she learned the minutiae that separate your run-of-the-mill restaurants from other places that are a little more thoughtful and service-oriented. This meant learning how to stand properly and bow correctly, but more than that, her new environment encouraged her to embody a spirit of quiet warmth. By this she meant that even an act as simple as placing a wine glass on a table should be done with a warmth, precision, and quiet that makes it so that the guests feel you there but aren’t distracted by your presence. For anyone who’s had the opportunity to dine in a fancy restaurant, you might’ve noticed how servers always seem to come and go at the right time, almost as if they know what you’re thinking. Whenever you do have a request, they’ll be over in a second, happy to oblige with a smile on their face. Acts like these embody that idea of quiet warmth and the quality was something I’d noticed Kim had from the moment we sat down to talk. However, until she verbalised it, I wasn’t quite able to put my finger on what it was.
After RuNam d’Or, Kim moved on to work at Belgo. Once again, that curiosity to learn as much as she could played a pivotal role, with Kim’s growing interest in beer and beer culture heavily influencing her decision. Adding onto that the fact that numerous craft beer brands were popping up in Saigon at the time, Kim was getting a crash course in all things beer-related. From there, she joined Kiba. A Spanish-Vietnamese fusion restaurant, this was where she honed her knowledge of wine and tapas culture. However, more importantly, it was also where she reunited with Minh Tâm (they worked together at RuNam d’Or for a year) and where she first met Đức, the two chefs with whom she’d eventually start Loi Choi popup. She looks back on that period fondly. They were young adults, poor but loving every second of work and life as they felt as if they were really learning, really getting better and improving by the day. This was in part thanks to the two Spanish owners who taught them all sorts of things related to Spanish cuisine and dining culture such as how to cut beef and the proper way to serve paella. Everything seemed to be going well. Then Covid broke out and Kiba shut down.
Despite everything going on in the world, one thing remained clear: Kiba had sparked Kim’s love of Spain. This was why after the restaurant closed, she wasn’t entirely ready to move onto learning about a different cuisine and culture. It wasn’t long before she started working as a supervisor at Iberico, a Spanish restaurant in District 2. Her knowledge of Spanish cuisine continued to broaden: from the Jamón Ibérico and how one leg of pork can contain a whole palette of flavours to all the many nutty, earthy, and rich cheeses on offer. Given the many parties and events Iberico hosts, Kim describes this period as one of the funnest in her career in the service industry.
More recently came Mamacita, a Latin restaurant in Thảo Điền. As the restaurant manager, Kim was handed the reins in assembling a team of front-of-house staff and with this team, created an environment that aligned with the spirit and conviviality that makes up Latin culture. Once again, there was more learning. This time on Mexican, Peruvian, and Brazilian cuisine, not to mention all the many types of cocktails and spirits popular in the region. She enjoyed the work. It felt like another non-stop party. That being said, something else was tugging at her. Minh Tâm, Đức, and Kim had kept in touch over the years and had always talked about creating something together. They could cook and she’d take care of the rest. At that point, they’d talked about the idea on enough nights over enough beers that if they were really going to start, there was nothing left to do but pull the trigger. In June of this year, that's what they did.
Their first event was a private dinner serving up Vietnamese food in a fine dining style setting. By collaborating with Zolo Time and Chew & Cheers, they were able to create an intimate, one-seating-only dining experience with the idea of telling the story of food from their childhood. It was a hit and gave Kim, Minh Tâm, and Đức the confidence to continue hosting more pop-up style events. Round two came at Neo-. Longtime friend and something of a mentor, the owner, Tung, was always willing to collaborate and the first instantiation of this was a Vietnamese/Spanish fusion night. Leveraging their combined experience from Kiba and Iberico, they were able to craft an evening that brought the best of both cultures under one roof. The success of that night resulted in a second collaboration with Neo-: this time a day-long event in the garden at Tung’s friend’s villa. Featuring art workshops, live paintings, and more of Loi Choi’s select Viet-Spanish menu, though the rain came down hard for the two hours in the evening I was there for, none of that could dampen the fun I ended up having.
While they’ve only been around for several months, Loi Choi has hit the ground running. Beyond Viet-Spanish fusion, they’ve also worked with Mita 2-4-7, a sake and natural wine bar with whom they created a menu that featured dishes like ceviche alongside the ever-popular Japanese yakitori. More recently, they took their skills abroad with a popup event at Pasta Grove in Singapore. I sat down with Kim after she’d returned and she told me how well it went. However, that wouldn’t be the end of her travels. Another popup was scheduled in Malaysia, not to mention the fact that Loi Choi will be hosting another event at Neo- in November, this time with a Vietnamese chef friend who lives in Malaysia. All in all, things are starting to snowball. So what, then, does Kim have planned for the future? More than anything, she wants to bring Vietnam to the world. Beyond phở and bánh mì, so much of the cuisine is still unknown to foreigners which she believes, like the dying art of good service, is a shame. There’s a vast array of tastes, textures, and smells that she wants people around the world to experience, and she hopes to do this through more overseas popups where Loi Choi retains its Vietnamese essence rather than trying to be something they’re not. And then one day, when it's all said and done, Kim wants to return to the coast of Nha Trang, the same place she remembers being a little girl growing up, carrying beers around, and watching strangers turn into friends overnight. Only then will she have her own shop, back where it all began—home.
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