The first time I met Vanny was at An’s Saigon, where she is the Founder and General Manager. Along with fellow District 0 writer, Liam, we were invited to a dinner to meet some other writers in HCMC. Dinner at An’s in the hands of Head Chef Cường Nguyen ended up being a four hour long extravaganza ending a little short of midnight. Needless to say, it was amazing. Dish after dish of delectable Vietnamese food. Cup after cup of flavorful Vietnamese wine. Story after story of interesting Vietnamese heritage. The whole thing from beginning to end was well done. Liam and I sat next to Vanny throughout the dinner and early on in the night I thought to myself, “What makes someone capable of running a place like this?” As the night progressed, the answer became clear—Vanny is an exceptional host.
What are some characteristics of an exceptional host? They don’t just make you feel welcome — they make you feel like this is your space too. They don’t just give you everything you want and need for a great experience — they are constantly observing and anticipating their guests' wants and needs. They don’t just know how to talk to people — they know how to make conversations fun, poking fun when they should and pulling back when they need to, allowing everyone to enjoy the ambiance for themselves. I observed Vanny do these things during that dinner. Having said that, there’s probably even more things that speak to her skill as a host that flew over my head. This was why I was so excited to have a sit-down with her a few weeks after visiting An’s where I got to learn more about her.
Vanny was born in Saigon. She attended the Australian International High School before moving to Sydney for university. During her university studies she gained experience in food and beverage at the Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts in Sydney, as well as another luxury hotel, The Langham Sydney. After finishing her degree, she directly enrolled into an MBA program at Torrens University Australia. However, because of family troubles, she decided to opt out of her studies. She was back in Saigon during her university’s winter break — or summer break in Vietnam. When her father fell ill, she decided to stay longer to take care of him. Eight weeks later, he passed away. Three months after that, her mother became sick and underwent three surgeries. It was then that Vanny decided to stay in Vietnam for good. She was just 21 years old.
Receiving the news that one of your parents has passed is a tragic moment for anyone. On top of that, her father left no will behind. Suddenly, she was faced with a decision that would change the course of her life. Your twenties are a pivotal time. School. Work. Many things are unfolding. Life begins to feel more real. Maybe you just finished school. Maybe you just got your first job. Maybe you just moved to a new city for the first time. For Vanny, that meant stepping up to carry the mantle of her family’s business. The weight of responsibility now rested on her shoulders. I could tell time has passed since that defining period because nowadays, she recalls those moments light heartedly, but I could also tell that it didn’t always feel like that. Shouldering the responsibility of a family business in a time of grief is a heavy burden to bear. But it is a weighty endeavor that she fought many years to keep carrying and still does. Vanny is still CEO of Kim Anh Real Estate which focuses mostly on commercial property in Binh Duong as well as waste management from nearby areas.
In an effort to maintain the entrepreneurial spirit in her family as part of the second generation, Vanny opened up An’s Saigon in 2022. Leading up to opening day, Vanny and Cường spent two years scouting out different areas looking for an ideal setting to build a cafe, restaurant, and spa all in one. Located across the street from the European International School in Thao Dien, the location that would eventually become An’s used to be an empty building. Vanny tells me they visited the place half a dozen times visualizing in their minds how they could unlock the potential of the space.
Once they secured the spot, they renovated it and split it into four parts. The gazebo area where guests are welcomed. The parlor where Vanny and I shared lunch while doing our interview. The upstairs area, where Vanny’s sister, An, runs An’s Spa. The spa partners with Breast Cancer Network Vietnam on the Pink Hair Salon project, a network of salons that collect and donate hair to create wigs for breast cancer patients. An’s Saigon also has its own charity foundation which does a few things like donate money for children’s books, pay for patient’s hospital bills, as well as a few other initiatives to help the local area. Finally, the star of the show. The backroom area is the Chef’s Table where Head Chef Cường, Brand Manager, Claudia, and the rest of the staff are ready and eager to serve the restaurant’s guests.
In terms of the dining experience itself, the vision goes back years. Around 2018 when Vanny was back in Vietnam, she observed how Saigon didn’t have a lot of fine dining restaurants. More so than that, people simply didn’t seem comfortable with the idea of fine dining. The whole experience can be overwhelming. You don’t know if you’re dressed properly. You don’t know what to order. You don’t know how to eat what you order. This can make you feel stiff and rigid. It can interfere with your sense of play when it comes to exploring a new dining experience.
So on top of scouting out a place that Vanny and Cường agreed needed fresh air, parking for guests, and in a good location, they also understood many people in Saigon—Vietnamese and foreigners—want to experience modern Vietnamese cuisine somewhere that feels calm and welcoming. An’s is just that. Point in case, the name of the restaurant, fittingly, translates to peaceful, quiet, and safe. More than that though, when visiting An’s you feel like it's your own space too, you feel your unique wants and needs being anticipated and taken care of, you feel like there’s room to laugh and joke around but also to relax and enjoy its ambiance for yourself. The next time you visit you’ll see for yourself up close like Liam and I did, that this is all thanks to An’s amazing staff and their exceptional host leading the way, Founder and General Manager, Vanny.
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