HANOI, Vietnam, May 14 (UPI) -- Western travelers in Vietnam weary of Pho noodle soup for breakfast stumble gratefully into KOTO in Hanoi.
Laura Bush loves the place. She dined there when she and the U.S. president were in Hanoi last September for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
The restaurant, whose acronym stands for Know One, Teach One, serves a full "English" breakfast. This tourist treat comes complete with meaty back-bacon, sausages, baked beans and tomatoes. And omelets cooked to order. And muffins and doughnuts. And croissants flaky with butter. And muesli and yogurt and exotic fresh fruits.
All of these -- along with lunch, dinner and cocktails served on the Treetop Terrace -- are prepared by youthful Vietnamese girls and boys between the ages of 16 and 21 who have been rescued from living in despair on the streets.
Jimmy Pham, scarcely old enough to be their father, is their savior. A Vietnamese who left for Australia as a baby, on a visit to Hanoi in 1996 he stumbled upon a group of young street dwellers.
Asked by him what they hoped for from life, they replied they needed skills to find stable jobs.
Back in Australia and determined to help them, Pham took a job as a guide taking tour groups around Southeast Asia. Borrowing money from his mother, he set up a small sandwich shop in Hanoi employing nine kids off the streets, supported by volunteers who trained them.
Every spare moment Pham had away from his groups he spent at KOTO, "until (the travel company) told me the job was suffering," Pham smiles.
By 2000, KOTO had become an 80-seat restaurant, with 20 trainees. And five months ago it moved to its city-center four-story location opposite the Museum of Literature. In a "minimalist" space that would fit in happily in downtown Manhattan, trainees cook dishes from both Vietnam and Europe.
Martin Satchell is in charge of training each of three classes of 20-plus interns on 18-month-long courses. Half are studying cookery and half front-of-house hospitality and management. A professional chef, he had several restaurants of his own in Australia until he read about KOTO.
"Someone sent me a piece about KOTO. I thought about it for six months. Then I sold my businesses and came here." It's been a life-changing experience for him, he says, as it is for the kids.
In the beginning, the not-for-profit was staffed by overseas volunteers. But now, among the 27 professionals who help educate and advise the 75 trainees on each 18-month course, are 10 graduates of the program, a figure that Irish Chief Executive Officer Darah Halpin hopes will increase far more.
Other graduates go on to work locally for the Sheraton, Hilton and Hyatt hotels, and branches in other Vietnamese cities.
During the program, trainees are taught English and life skills, along with three days a week in cookery or hospitality work at the training center. They are set up in houses provided by KOTO, four or five to a room, and given medical insurance and a small allowance.
Not surprisingly, there's a high demand at KOTO's open days for places. KOTO contacts Social Services centers and puts out feelers for trainees through detention centers.
"We get about 100 kids on an open day," Satchell says. "We look into their backgrounds; we have to make sure they really are disadvantaged." About half get through. Ninety percent of trainees graduate and move on to full-time employment. But during the course, "two or three out of each 25 drop out."
Some of these may not, despite support from KOTO and volunteer counselors, be able to kick a serious drug habit picked up on the streets. Or an unquenchable appetite for thievery.
Until now, KOTO has been supported by donations, corporate sponsorship and fundraising. But its directors hope that increased revenue from the new restaurant will cover costs. And then they can open other KOTOs in other cities.
The Vietnamese love salads. This Rau Tron Kieu Viet Nam makes good use of leftover roasted or grilled meat.
-- Serves 4
-- 2 stalks fresh lemongrass, outer leaves discarded, thinly sliced
-- 4 ounces of leftover roast beef, pork, lamb or chicken, finely shredded
-- 1 bunch scallions, washed and finely chopped
-- 2 carrots, finely grated
-- 1 red chili pepper, finely sliced
-- 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced and crushed
-- 3 tablespoons Nuoc Mam or Nam Pla (fish sauce) sauce
-- 9 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime or lemon juice
-- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
-- 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
-- Smash the sliced lemongrass with the back of a cleaver or heavy knife to release the flavor.
-- Mix the lemongrass with your meat of choice, then add the scallions, toss well and incorporate the grated carrot.
-- Mix the chili, garlic, Nuoc Mam sauce and lime juice together and stir well, pour over the salad and toss well.
-- Add the basil and cilantro and toss again.
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