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Our blogs provide all necessary information about Vietnam from culture to destinations, from local food and drink to Vietnam tradition, or festivals and events. Besides, We also give the latest travel news, travel experience, useful advices and tips when traveling to Vietnam. 

How to buy on a budget the best kitchen knife?

A special step in becoming a good home cook is to have a good set of kitchen knives and learn to sharpen your kitchen knives at your own home.

You might be curious to know what is included in a basic kitchen knife set. There are four styles of chef’s knives and how we would tell you to determine which kitchen chef’s knife is right for you.  Because out of all of your kitchen knives, your kitchen chef’s knife will be your most used tool in your home. 

Even though the market is filled with various styles of kitchen knives, it all comes down to finding a chef kitchen knife that fits your own hand – for it will be the kitchen knife that will take your cooking to much higher levels.

If you are a home cook or a chef, it can be overwhelming knowing what to look for in a kitchen knife with shapes, handles, blades, knife set, sizes, steels and finishes. Choosing a kitchen knife is not as hard you might think, it just seems like it because of all the choices available. The cost and the fear of getting it wrong can be stressful but don't worry, we're here to help you figure it all out and get you a knife so sharp your onions will cry in fear.

Let's cover one the biggest fears first - a good knife can cost a lot of money and it's sometimes scary hovering over at the kitchen store or online. When you buy a kitchen knife in Australia, you're buying something you should be able to use for the rest of your life if you look after it. When a chef decides to buy knives they look for something to use daily and for his and his cooking career because they learn how they can look after their kitchen knives.

It's not the most efficient way to use your knife on a tomato, capsicum or eggplant.  It's a great demonstration of the sharpness of kitchen knives. If your current knife can't manage this, it might be time for you to think about sharpen your kitchen knives or upgrade to something better.

We often get asked for a recommendation and we nearly always give the same answer if a customer doesn't have a specific style in mind or they're after a general use chef knife and that's to buy something from the range. They have it all - beauty, sharpness, a quality edge and hard wearing carbon steel and an excellent price tag. 

If you're after a little more then we recommend heading to the homepage and browsing all our ranges where we've written about and reviewed each knife and and there's a good selection to choose from to cater to all tastes and budgets. 

It's worth bearing in mind that because nearly all of the knives on the site are handmade in small forges by one or two blacksmiths and as such supply is not guaranteed and when a knife has sold out it can sometimes take months to restock. 

If you're keen on a particular knife don't leave it too long to buy it because it might be gone and in the case of some ranges for several months or more.

Read more here as we will guide 7 steps for you how to choose the best kitchen knife for your home. 

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8 Sauces For Your Everyday Vietnamese Cooking

8 Vietnamese sauces for your everyday’s pantry

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Banh Xeo Recipe (Vietnamese Pancake)

Banh Xeo is Vietnamese for ‘sizzling cake’ which is the delicious sound when pouring the pancake batter into a hot pan.

Banh Xeo is a favourite dish in Vietnam which is mostly enjoyed as a lunch or dinner meal. Banh Xeo has now become a popular dish in Australian Vietnamese Restaurants.

If you love Banh Xeo as much as we do, or even if you have never tried it before, this recipe is easy and fun to make yourself at home.

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The Best Fish Sauce For Home

Best fish sauces are the umami of Southeast Asian foods. We know the magic it holds, but which brand is the best? Thailand and Vietnam have fish sauce brands sold in Australia, the US or the UK. Is the Vietnamese nuoc mam really superior to Thailand’s nam pla? Here we have some best fish sauces advice for you.

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Fresh produces at Farmer markets

If you keep it simple and buy ingredients at farmers’ markets, the food can pretty much take care of itself. Do as little as possible to the food; consider leaving out an ingredient and relying on instinct. We have a list of shopping streets and farmer markets in Melbourne for you.

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Eating Guide – Japanese Restaurants in Melbourne

Japanese restaurants are our favourite places to explore in Melbourne. Whether it’s a steaming bowl of ramen noodles, freshly sushi or a great kaiseki meal you’re after, you’ll find them on our Japanese restaurants’ list. Create a list of Japanese restaurants in Melbourne is a difficult task. We thought it is a little guide for Japanese restaurants’ lovers in Melbourne. Though they are NOT all the best Japanese restaurants in Melbourne and they are a great reference for you.

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Mother’s Day Gift Voucher

Finding a great Mothers Day gift can often be hard. Trying to find something that will show just how much you appreciate your mum can be a difficult task. But shopping for the perfect Mothers Day present needn’t be a chore. If you’re looking for Mothers Day gift ideas or inspiration, take a look at our cooking experiences.

Select any of the voucher here for choose any of the classes. Either way the gift voucher will be delivered to your mum email instantly with 3 year valid. Why not join the class with mum later for double the fun?

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