A wise man once said: “Never trust a skinny cook.” That adage immediately jumped to mind on my first visit to Ba Chi Canteen, when my attempt to order a soda chanh was met with a blank stare from my waiter. But by the end of the meal, overlooking a graveyard of chicken wing bones and empty steamer baskets, faith had been restored through recognition that a new generation of Vietnamese restaurateurs can successfully straddle the line between tradition and innovation.

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