Cochin

Cochin comes from Cuu Chan, the old Chinese name for the southern part of Vietnam. Portuguese Jesuits probably heard it from the Japanese, whose pronunciation was close to Cochin. Europeans usually called it Cochin-China to distinguish it from the city of Cochin in India. The French annexed Cochin from the Vietnamese Emperor in the 1860s, making it their first colony in Indochina.

Vietnamese cuisine is distinctly regional, with notable differences between northern, central and southern food. Our menu is derived from the southern tradition, with an emphasis on the French influence, which was especially strong in the restaurants and homes of the capital, Saigon. These traditions are combined with Australian products in Cochin’s contemporary style.