Poon showing the premium fish sauce imported by An Viet. — Photo: ALICE YONG
Caren Poon is so concerned about the huge amount of food waste worldwide that the restaurateur opened An Viet in her bid to encourage people not to waste food.
“It was during our holiday in Vietnam when I noticed that every part of a plant or animal was used creatively in Vietnamese cooking. There’s very little wastage, as such the Vietnamese food philosophy embodies our cause to reduce food waste perfectly,” she says.
She wants to encourage An Viet customers to enjoy and finish the food that’s lovingly cooked from scratch using good quality, natural ingredients.
“Hopefully they’ll value the extra efforts we put in and they won’t have the heart to waste the good food we serve.
"That’s why we allow customers to choose their preferred portion sizes of rice and noodles at 100g, 150g or 200g.
"For every customer who finished eating all the food they ordered, An Viet will donate 10sen to Food Aid Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that rescues surplus food and distributes it to those in need.”
Besides staying true to the key characteristics of traditional Vietnamese cooking, Poon says An Viet strives to use fresh, natural produce as much as possible and makes stock and sauces from scratch.
“The baguette for our banh mi is produced in our central kitchen in Shah Alam.
"We also make our own chicken stock powder without preservatives or additives, and import key ingredients such as premium fish sauce and coffee from Vietnam.”
Citing herself as an “accidental” restaurateur, Poon worked in Singapore in 2004 after graduating with an Economics degree from the University of Singapore. She was responsible for helping Singapore food enterprises to gain a foothold in the global market. During her two-year tenure, she often led Singaporean restaurateurs and food business entrepreneurs participating in and visiting international food trade shows.
Then she joined Sakae Sushi with the intention of helping the brand break into the US market. Before she could do so, the owners requested her to gauge the viability of Sakae Sushi entering the Malaysian market.
“I spent a weekend at the Curve (in Petaling Jaya) and upon hearing my positive feedback, they entrusted me to open the first Sakae Sushi restaurant there,” recalls Poon. She played a key role in expanding the Sakae Sushi chain throughout the Klang Valley and Penang, opening 17 restaurants for the group before her departure.
An Viet in Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur. — SAMUEL ONG/The Star
She then became general manager of the Putien restaurant group, opening the first Putien restaurant in Malaysia at 1 Utama shopping centre in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya. Although she revelled in her role at Putien, Poon harboured dreams of running her own restaurant.
When she finally opened An Viet in 2015 at The Gardens mall in Kuala Lumpur, she realised trying to juggle between her responsibilities at Putien and her own restaurant proved too challenging. Her priorities laid with An Viet so she parted ways with Putien.
Determined to make An Viet known for serving lesser known but no less delicious Vietnamese specialities, Poon says: “There’s so much more to Vietnamese food than just pho and spring rolls. In order to educate our customers and showcase a wider variety of Vietnamese specialities, An Viet will be introducing new dishes and seasonal menus regularly. We’ll probably retain certain dishes that are popular with customers.”
When it comes to working with her husband William Tan, Poon says they complement each other.
“Having risen from the ranks, William has a wealth of experience so he is responsible for restaurant operations.
"His structured and meticulous approach also helps to streamline paperwork and financial aspects at the back end. It means I’m free to focus on the business development and marketing direction for An Viet,” she adds.
Poon affirms that they form a united stand at work and is mindful not to contradict each other when dealing with staffing and business-related issues.
Going forward, the couple will continue to improve An Viet’s food quality and dining experience in addition to strengthening the sense of ownership among their existing team.
“Shaping and fostering our company culture is an ongoing, work-in-progress exercise.
"We’re cautious when it comes to expanding the An Viet brand even though we have potential investors asking us to bring An Viet to Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore,” says Poon.
She hints that they may consider opening a joint-venture restaurant with like-minded partners who are keen to spread their philosophy of reducing food waste further.
When you dine at An Viet, you can be assured that you won’t just get to enjoy good Vietnamese food, but you will also be doing your bit to reduce wastage.
