Uyen Luu

UYEN LUU: ‘VIETNAMESE FOOD IS ABOUT EMOTIONAL WELLBEING’

THE AUTHOR OF MY VIETNAMESE KITCHEN ON HER EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY FROM REFUGEE TO COOKBOOK AUTHOR

Hell yes! When I had the bright idea to start my own supper club, it was purely because I wanted to have other people’s homes. I would...

This photograph copyright 2014 James O Jenkins

For the years I have been visiting Vietnam, I witnessed the continued fast development of the country. From...

Although I can swim, I have a fear of deep water. My mind can not comprehend the fact that my body can float, that it can hover...

I recently read a review about my supper club where each dish was given a ranking out of five. Although the marks were on the high end,...

I loved watching food TV from a very young age and what I remember most as a child is watching Masterchef with Loyd Grossman. He spoke funny...

My grandmother passed away this summer. One of the last things I whispered into her ear as she laid unconscious was, come home bà nội, please feed...

I haven’t really worked in a professional kitchen before. I have set foot into one a few times here and there over the years because of doing...

My mother & father on their wedding day in 1976

Last year, my little cousin Thuy got married and I went back to Vietnam...

After the book launch, I had a couple days off in Newcastle. I had been years and years ago, passing through to Edinburgh in my first car,...

It took 6 months to write, photograph, test recipes and edit the book. Six weeks to organise the book launch and it came a went like a...

The women of Vietnam seem  to run the whole country. They start from the kitchen and work their way out by any means to feed the family...

Amazon are dispatching my book, people are tweeting pictures of it on their kitchen tables and book shops from London to Singapore! I’ve been going on about...

Our first days in London in Nov 1983 I saw my breath for the first time when I pushed myself against the steamy window of my father’s brown...

I am getting back into film making. I shot this with Mia Redemo, a Swedish, singer/ songwriter who currently lives in Hackney, London. I met Mia in...

I have had a few dinner parties in my time and with hand on heart, some of them have been amazing fun and have become fond memories...

Maria Nguyen Thi Bich1934 – 2013

Tell me, now that you are high above floating between the milky way and galaxies and beyond, do you see the small...

Michael Buble – To Be Loved Tour, The 02

Sometimes when something happens, I don’t think much of it until years later when I piece the events together...

Every Monday morning, I see you sitting on this bench by the birch tree. Every Monday morning, a sharp knife scores my heart with fear, that you may...

After spending a good few months writing a cook book, I felt reluctant to blog.  All my words were used up in the book and I stood...

The greatest gift I ever received was a Canon AE-1 SLR camera from the 70s. My uncle gave it to me when my mother, brother and I...

It was the last of summer but the sun clung onto us as if we were talking about a revolution. We drank white wine spritzers under the...

Crispy pork belly with vermicelli

Last Autumn, I received a publishing deal with Ryland Peters & Small to produce a Vietnamese recipe cook book. I was really happy....

Film Still: A Vietnamese Christmas

I was opting over four chocolate eclairs or two custard tarts and my waist line at my local supermarket when I sensed the...

My mother’s sister, has been making bánh cuốn for years. Every morning, her husband wakes up at 3am to start a fire in their little clay oven....

:My cousin Binh and I met when I first came back to Vietnam for the first time in 2000. He was about 8 and I...

Gregg Wallace & me

A little voice, deep inside inside had always squeaked something at me and I couldn’t really hear what she was saying until it surfaced...

Sushi/ Sashimi selection

Seewoo has a Japanese fusion restaurant in Paddington, just off Praed Street by Edgware Road station, in by the bit with the canal. I’ve been...

I have just been on a photography trip to Vietnam for my forthcoming book. You can see some of the photos I have take on Instagram. As...

I shot a short film about the supper club with Crane.tv. Click on the You Tube below to view:Also on The Guardian

As I trained in film...

I have met some incredible people in the last three years. It is three years this week! Three years ago, I invited some friends over for a...

I had a very special guest, Raymond Blanc, in my kitchen the other day. I will write more about it in the near future. Photo Credit: Edward Smith/...

I first learned what the English ate for breakfast back in home economics class with Mrs Dooley when I was about eleven years old. Its all about...

one of the best books I have read – Man Walks Into A Room – Nicole Krauss

This summer, I have spent the most joyous weekend afternoons and...

Thursday night. I came back from holidaying in the South Of France to an email, saying, can you style a shoot for Bill Granger, for The Sunday...

The Skinny Bib is one of London’s top restaurant bloggers. Thai in origin, “Perm” trots the globe for exciting culinary knowledge and brings home his blog...

Salmon En Croute from Donald Russell, photo by Danny McCubbin

I have been doing supper clubs for a few years now for perfect strangers. Some I have become...

I will be doing a cooking demonstration at The Vietnam Festival on Saturday 14th July at 12:30, Spitalfields. For more details and a recipe for Saigon summer...

potato crème brûlée

Bottle Apostle had an extra seat at their supper club table in the basement of their beautiful wine shop in Victoria Park so...

I had to take many deep breaths as I was reading “Ru“, a novel by a fellow Vietnamese whose path through history lead her and her family...

I was invited to cook lunch at Jamie Oliver’s test kitchen at Fifteen for his Food Revolution. I made a huge pot of phở  and got everyone...

I ate the best steak of my life in Aberdeen at Mal Maison. That was because Donald Russell supplied them with the meat. Rib-eye, rare. They also...

Table Lumiere

I was about 21 years old when I first set foot in a fine dinning restaurant in mid Europe with The Hungarian Count, his mother and...

Join me for a special Vietnamese cooking class on Sunday 20th May at Fifteen for Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day where I will be passing on some...

Happily on standby without knowing so, (there is a food chain and I am usually found somewhere at the bottom), Richard Vines, Food Critic at Bloomberg invited...

It had been three years and a bit since The Guitarist and I had met for lunch. Since then he got married and I changed my...

New Post on Ohh You Pretty Things:

Never tired of my heroine’s melodies, my heart almost broke as I watched Feist perform at the magical  Royal...

Octopus w potato & hazelnut milk

If one day, my pocket allows me to eat regularly at Viajante – I would be a frequent flyer. I love the...

As a Blogger, you can sometimes get spoiled rotten. I was invited to eat Korean food at the modern, Kimchee in High Holborn. As I love Korean...

“I used to watch Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals when I was inside,” says Kevin McBarron,  22, “I was put on the hot plate duty where I would...

Luiz Hara – The London Foodie

The London Foodie was one of the first food blogs I got into and one of the first food bloggers to come...

If you are interested in our views on love, please check out and follow a series of blog posts on the subject on my other blog Ohh...

Joachim Friedrich

The most beautiful thing about New York City is its people, sings Joachim “YoYo” Friedrich, an artist I met on my first night in Manhattan, they...

View from The New Yorker Hotel View from The New Yorker Hotel I wanted to leave the room quietly and close the door behind me so I flew away,...

My name is Leluu, I have a supper club. People have heard about my supper club and they email me to book a place, and I say,...

Who pays on the first date? The man, I would say and most of my friends would agree. Especially if he suggests the place and orders...

The Look Of Love – (Upcoming Art Exhibition By Leluu & Fatine)

That moment, the moment at the end of the night when its time to go...

A full packed brilliant year – it was the start of (just) Leluu and the end of Fernandez & Leluu

Jamie Oliver and I did a supper club...

Carp for pre Christmas dinner

I often get extremely excited about Christmas. I love giving gifts, I love receiving gifts and I love being festive. I’ve been...

After meeting Stanley Tse and his daughter Lucy Mitchell at a lunch, my favourite oriental supermarket, Seewoo, asked me to write recipes and take photos for them....

The car drove me from Hackney through to Mayfair and Bond Street. Christmas lights were already up, sparkling away in cold London town. We stood still in...

When a boy offers you the last of something tasty, scraps all of the fish meat from the bone and gives you the last bit (that he...

I love a bit of fine dinning every now and again but when I discover a restaurant that is all about serving great and delicious food –...

Nuno Mendes

Last week, I had the pleasure of dinning at Viajante, Bethnal Green with Douglas Blyde (journalist), Christopher Turner (editor of Icon and Cabinet Magazine) and Signe...

Douglas Blyde took me to Bray to Heston Blumenthal‘s The Hind’s Head for lunch. I am a lucky bunny!

I loved the pea and ham soup which...

I love Jamie Oliver, I have always loved him and I have grown up with him via the television and he is my hero. He is not...

  I was introduced to Feist back in 2006 by a lovely French/ Belgium girl called Caroline who used to work in my boutique. We played the entire...

Francesco Mazzei & his son

On sunny days, I often think of my time in Cervo, the Liguria region of Northern Italy. I went there about three times...

Photo By Meemalee’s Kitchen

What a great few weeks its been for me! I’ve been partying & dinning out a lot! The single life is settling in nice...

The Skinny Bib nominated me to write My 7 Links. This is what it is about:

Bloggers publish his/her 7 Links on his/her blog. One link for one...

Photo By Guilherme Zauith

When Simon Fernandez gate crashed a dinner party of mine, that day changed both our lives. I fell in love with Simon, his...

Darrell

This week is definitely a different week. Neither did we expect what would happened to Tottenham on Saturday nor the events that unfolded into London, burning. (What...

  This morning, I decided to wear my I love London T shirt. I didn’t know that today London would be under attack by ill mannered little kids....

Seawater cured Kentish mackerel, orache, broccoli and warm elderflower honey

I splashed out and went to Roganic in the posh Marylebone area! Could’ve had the 10 course for...

In the small town of Phan Thiet, a small town by the sea, where the traffic isn’t as condensed and the noise isn’t a hum that vibrates...

If you are in the biz, you may have heard of this guy, because he has directed awarding winning pop promos from Lily Allen to Mark Ronson,...

Photo: Simon Fernandez When I have been single in the past – I thought I was happy to be single – then bamm – I met-a-guy and my...

A View From Hue

I don’t remember going to prison. I was too young.  But I do remember my mother carrying a bag of rice with us onto...

My Grandparents on their 60th Wedding Anniversary

When my family first came to England, I remember my father asked my brother and I, aged 5, to sit in...

Me & My uncle Yung shared a chicken heart

The earliest memory I have is of the monsoon rain falling hard and fast on to the pavement outside...

Thanks to Codorníu – I got invited to Beas Of Bloomsbury for an event my lovely friend and fellow Blogger peer, Rachel McCormack was running – the...

I went to The Big Feastival today. As I was trying to get some Japanese pancakes, as you get drawn to a crowd – I saw Jamie...

Stanley Tse & His Daughter Lucy

When we were little, my mother used to drag us to China Town especially to See Woo Chinese Supermarket on Lisle Street...

Photo By Paul Winch-Furness Photo By Paul Winch-Furness

The first question I get asked is what-made-you-start-a-supper-club? I did it out of the love to feed people. I have always...

Where is the Figaro? (photo by Pascal Holme) Figaro Posing (Photo By Pascal Holme) (Photo by Aaron Oxley on Aaron Oxley’s Polariod)

It all started when I was 21, a...

I first met my friend Beni in New York in 1998. My friend Anja Siemens and I were at Central St Martins in our second year but...

On the brink of the digital age, when I studied at Central Saint Martins, we used to cut 16mm film on Steenbecks. This way of editing is...

By Leluu

Again, I find myself in Saigon sitting on a red plastic kid’s chair at a red plastic kids’ table, slurping steaming hot beef pho. The broth...

By Leluu

Some people keep going back to the same places year after year and these days, I’ve become one of those people. Sometimes, it is just so...

By Leluu

Jordan’s Cereals asked me to host brunch for fellow bloggers and I had the greatest pleasure in doing so the morning I flew out to...

The History Of Love

I received a great gift from my lovely friend Anja Siemens- mother, photographer, film editor and wife. She knows many things about my creative...

Its always such a delight to be on a beach. I found a nice stretch near Hoi An in called “Cua Dae”, Vietnam, it used to be...

I am starting to fall asleep but it is not dark yet. The thunderous skies are starting to calm down but the rain keeps splattering on the...

By Leluu

My brother and I have been eating cereal for dessert since 1981. We arrived from Vietnam late that evening and the government placed my family in...

By Leluu

Here is what I have been cooking up lately.Photos Courtesy of SecretDinnerParty.com You can also learn how to make some of these things and more at...

O my God, she yells quietly in her head, that is John Malkovich! Yes, its John Malkovich standing in the door way…act calm, don’t make any sudden...

There have been many times in my life when I had to say goodbye – seems like its a staple, a landmark, an end of a chapter...

By Leluu (@loveleluu) I think that I was born under a very lucky star and among many sad moments in life, I am blessed in equal amounts of...

The other day, I was reading this amazing post by Uncle Typewriter, written from a Reverb prompt – what would you do if you had only this...

By Leluu Clapham Common Station near Recipease

In 2003, I opened a boutique on Earlham Street, on Deven Dials just off Shaftesbury Avenue and I was there for five...

So, The King’s Speech won every award going. I really liked the film, who couldn’t, its a lovely story and its a very likeable film. Someone told...

By Leluu

Where are you lovely single men?We’ve been to the pub but you don’t seem to be there. We’ve joined art classes, writing classes, trying to date...

By Leluu

As you may well know, I am a die hard Jamie Oliver fan! After meeting him in person, I fell in love, (sorry Jules) not with...

By Leluu

Meeting Jean Christophe Novelli was much like meeting a handsome French Prince on his shiny white horse with a full French love armour in coat. He’s...

 By Leluu

It was about time, I had been promising to do a singles event for ages seeing that the supper club seems to be the perfect place...

Me & Stacy, 1988

When I was ten years old or so, someone from my class called Claire had her birthday party. She invited everyone. And we all...

By Leluu EDIT: In Vietnam, 2011 is the year of the Cat. In China, its the Rabbit. Welcome Mr Cat! Banh Chung Welcome Mr Rabbit! Thanks for turning up when...

Last night: we did creative writing with Creative Writes. Before that, we had dinner. I cooked chicken and mushroom pie from Jamie’s 30 Min Meals. Went down...

Yoga: I had been a couple of times in my life, OK maybe once or twice before, I can’t remember, I just remember the chanting bit and...

By Leluu

I am a supporter of independent businesses and would source locally and independently as much as I can because I am also an independent business woman...

Buried under a rug was a hand written envelope address to me, just my first name. Immediately, the rush and thrill of seeing mail that is personal...

By LeluuFirstly, please note that I am not a fish expert and I am writing this post with what I have gathered from documentaries, literature and...

By Leluu 

When I was a teenager, I spent some afternoon during Religious Education classes with Sister Teresa daydreaming about how I hoped my parents took the...

By LeluuMeticulously organised by The London Foodie and One Million Gold Stars – (two very generous and social spirits), I was on the invite list to The...

By Leluu Going on a diet? Me? Never! Well, it depends on the diet – I could never imagine restricting myself to just apples or wheatabix. I...

Is it a fantasy to meet someone in a supermarket?

In research for The Singles Night that I am holding at Fernandez and Leluu in February, and also...

I asked everyone to bring cheese and they certainly did. The cheese board turned into the cheese table. Why don’t I have a photo of that? ...

Thank you for giving us such a great 2010, coming to our supper club, enjoying yourselves, spreading the word, blogging, writing, pressing. Its been so great! We...

Simon & I would like to wish all our followers, readers, guests and friends a wonderful Christmas and all our best wishes for the New Year. Thank...

By Leluu

Can I just say that single ladies are some of the coolest people I get to meet at the supper cub. They do such fun things...

Nov 2013 Update: Please visit this Classes to book in for the classes. Thank you!

A few weeks ago, we did something absolutely amazing with a very famous and...

For five Sundays, I attended creative writing courses, from Creative Writes held by Nichola Charalambou. They were held at the beautiful North Bank in Muswell Hill, London,...

By Leluu

The supper club phenomenon is thriving, and there are new ones sprouting up everywhere. For lovers of food and entertaining, this domain is the platform to...

I hate winter.He burns that wretched fire beneath me and its bloody hot. And then he’ll have visitors over for dinner and shine that awful light over...

By Leluu

On the second trip last weekend, we went to Pistachio & Pickle, a new supper club in the east end of London ran by Matt &...

By Leluu

There is something happening to the London food scene and its fantastic! Obviously the supper club phenomenon has hit it and it’s changing the way we...

This photo by Simon Fernandez Finally got round to going to The Pale Blue Door – it was on an off chance, a friend of mine couldn’t make...

By Leluu

You know sometimes, you are in town, the shops are shut and you walk by a fancy kitchen shop and you stare in like a hungry...

In another world, another time, another era, she walks into Bob Bob Ricard, “I am Isabella Rosellini and I am going to devour you,” her alter ego...

By Leluu Photography/ Copyright Alfie Hitchcock 2010 Photography/ Copyright Alfie Hitchcock 2010 Photography/ Copyright Alfie Hitchcock 2010 Photography/ Copyright Alfie Hitchcock 2010

We did a pilot for The Hairy Bikers Cook Off...

By Leluu

Last week, we hosted a dinner party sponsored by Unearthed & Campo Viejo in aid of Action Against Hunger’s Fight Hunger – Eat In Campaign.

It was...

Back in the day of long sizzling summer, when our toes were hungry for ultra violet and our knees became a shade darker- we had mega picnics,...

A few weeks ago, we had some top guests at the supper club – people whom we admire and look up to.The Food Urchin came to help...

By Leluu

A couple of weeks ago, the BBC chose us to visit their studios and help the Hairy Bikers make a pilot for their new show coming...

By Leluu

Fatima and I went to see Turin Brakes at The Brixton Academy at the release of their second album Ether Song back in 2003. We fell...

By Leluu

My mum is the most amazing woman I have ever met. I would say that because she is my mum. And because I am her daughter,...

  Uyen Luu talks supper club joys and disasters

Uyen from Fernandez and Leluu’s supper club is back with another great guest post. This time, Uyen tells us the...

Uyen Luu talks supper club joys and disasters

Uyen from Fernandez and Leluu’s supper club is back with another great guest post. This time, Uyen tells us the...

An insider’s guide to the supper club phenomenon

This week we’re proud to have a guest blog post from Uyen Luu, supper club owner extraordinaire. Here, Uyen writes...

Thanks to Qype and www.onthebeach.co.uk holidays, we won a holiday. (Read here and here and watch here). They have asked us to bring our holiday back to...

By Leluu “Do you need any credentials to be a Blogger?” Queries Mich Turner – MBE, Queen of all the cake makers. She makes cakes for Elizabeth –...

Croatia By Fernandez & Leluu from Uyen Luu on Vimeo.

A Film By Fernandez & LeluuEdited By Uyen Luu

See full post on  http://www.fernandezandleluu.co.uk/2010/08/eating-croatia-part-two.html

 Croatia By Fernandez & Leluu from Fernandez & Leluu on Vimeo.

Thanks to Qype – and Word On The Beach – We won a holiday and we went to Croatia! We are back now – all sunny glowed...

By Leluu

We love mail! Sometimes we get very exciting ones like:

“Remember writing this review http://www.qype.co.uk/place/1489131-Portoghetto-Beach-Cervo of a peach of a beach?

Congratulations, because you are...

An insider’s guide to the supper club phenomenon

This week we’re proud to have a guest blog post from Uyen Luu, supper club owner extraordinaire. Here, Uyen writes...

By Leluu

There wasn’t a moment of consideration when we were invited to meet, learn from and eat with Gennaro Contaldo at L’Atelier des Chefs – (a...

This is where the real Italians go for holidays! From the working classes with the Vespas to the Germans with the towels. It’s baking hot and every...

We are still pinching ourselves to see if we would wake up! Not really sure why we are on such a lucky star. We were asked to...

All tea comes from the plant – Camellia Senensis There are many types of teas but they all originate from this same plant. What makes a tea...

They say that what goes up, must come down. There is a black and there is white, Ying and Yang and all that. There is no one...

We stumbled onto Atariya and stopped to have a quick bite. The place was deserted compared to all the other tourist traps on James Street, (just behind...

I found these sausages by Clonakilty Sausages at Taste Of London yesterday and it provoked a head full of happy memories. I love them, I have been...

My date bailed to the French Alps so it took me the best of the day to get someone to come with me to a party at...

Eight years ago, I was a struggling artist, working freelance here and there for a bit of dough. I had great ambitions after my first taste of...

When we speak of ‘tea’ in the UK – where we are known to drink so much of it, most of us immediately think of ‘builders tea,’...

The other day, my friend, Ben is telling me how hugging trees makes you grow roots. At first, I laughed at him, or rather – at it...

Seoul is a city that has its soul buried a little below the surface. Blocks of blacked out 4 x 4s and Bentleys cover the 6 lane...

Facebook told us ‘Due to cancellations, – 4 places for dinner tonight’ Saltoun Supper Club. We jumped on it. We love going to supper clubs as well...

I am also on the search, following my last post on happiness, inspired by Francois Lelord’s book, “Hector & The Search For Happiness.”

I heard from some...

Its been a week since we hosted an evening for After Eight’s new campaign featuring Supper Club maestro Jim Haynes in association with Qype. Every day since...

Two peas in a pod. Cat & Dog. Bonnie & Clyde. Harry & Sally. Day & Night. Black & White. Tom & Jerry.

When Simon and I were asked by Sian Meades at Qype London and Editor of DomesticSluttery.com to host an event with Jim Haynes, we did a double...

(Sticky Chicken Wings)

Menu: Fri 12th / Sat 13th February 2010 -The King’s New Year Sticky Rice Cake Slices w/ Pork Belly & Yellow Bean,  Vietnamese Ham & Pickled Shallots

-Steamed Rice...

Elizabeth Shepard, co-owner of Green Onions Secret Supper Club and I have been corresponding via Twitter about tea, Radio 4, dinner dates and such things like “not...

Fatine & Milllie at Earlham Street – LELUU

Kitchen Italia - 43 Earlham Street, Covent Garden www.kitchen-italia.com

“Nowadays the power of the blogger is everything”, says Jamie Barber, ex lawyer turned restauranter, Kitchen Italia – a...

There is something about my Grandmother’s noodle soups that is so amazing that I will live a life seeking for the standards she set upon my taste...

If I can sit anywhere on the bus, I would sit at the top with the window on my left, in the middle by the stairs. According...

Presenting a new collection of Autumn/ Winter Fashion, Love Leluu, will be channelling the fun and frivolous girl in us all. In the new store located on...

The streets of Saigon are filled with people living closely next to each other, families are close knit. To me, Vietnamese people love sharing food, especially with...

We have just been on a food odyssey to Vietnam to get inspiration for the Miss Saigon Menu – more posts coming up…

Every lunch time in rainy...

We had the most successful night so far…Full house. We are filled with reward from happy smiles, popping eyes, empty plates and compliments from all who came.

We...

Photography By Adam Thompson

We had an amazing time with everyone on Friday: Here are some emails we got which really cheered us up again! Big Smiles!!!Aaron“He he, what a night!...

Friday 9th October 2009

Vietnamese Menu With A Colony Of French Influence.

Starters-Black Thai Basil Seed In Rock Sugar Water & Seaweed Jelly

-Banh Mi – Vietnamese Hams Selection With...

Love Leluu Boutique Owner, Uyen Luu – from Carnaby, London has teamed up with avid foodie, Simon Fernandez and opened up the doors to her home in...

One of the nicest airports. Very clean. High ceilings and big windows makes a massive difference. The floors are sparkling all the time. And every time I...

Italy – June 2009

He is drunkShe is tipsy

They are in a pub on a warm, sunny Spring day, somewhere in the urban London.In total silence, he sits there and looks...

Unit 1.1 Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, London W1b 5PW

We LOVE LELUU!!!

We keep blowing our speakers because we love our music!

We LOVE Dressing Up!

We LOVE Dancing!We LOVE Disco!

We LOVE Love!

Amen.

I have rode my purple bike into work this morning. It is sunny and glorious. I had fiddled with the gears – I had been riding a...

I love this picture! Mia looks like she is carrying every essence of life. Drawing in inspiration of a late summer Friday evening.

It was taken by William...

My date bailed to the French Alps so it took me the best of the day to get someone to come with me to a party at...

http://www.beautyandthedirt.com/show.asp?ID=3554Tea for two at LeluuSo you already know from our piece on Newburgh Street, that if you want to stand out from the crowds Carnaby is THE...