Andrew Duong brings a little bit of Miss Van’s to The Inn at Edgars

Posted on 21 February, 2025

Miss Van’s may have closed its doors but for those pining for flavours from their favourite Vietnamese chef, Andrew Duong is taking over the kitchen at The Inn at Edgars.

In a two-night pop-up “Cooking with Friends” event on 5-6 March Andrew will crack out his creative talents and bring his heartfelt, family-inspired and always-creative Vietnamese genius to Ainslie.

Andrew closed his restaurant Miss Van’s at the end of last year due to financial pressures in the industry, but remains a much-loved Canberra culinary identity.

As part of a series of Cooking with Friends which started with another Canberra star, AK, of XO and AK’s Diner, The Inn has invited him to create a special menu to be cooked by Executive Chef Wayne and Head Chef Elliot. Andrew and venue manager Kierain, meanwhile, will do the serving and the chatting.

Photo by Cassie Abraham

And what will that menu entail?

“The brief provided was to come up with stuff that you would cook for mates if they came over for dinner and I think I’ve created a pretty cool menu that leans partially on flavours and cuisines that people might know me for, built into a fun, casual but hearty meal that has stuff I’d cook for family and friends if I was hosting.”

The Inn has a gigantic wood-fired barbecue pit, so Andrew plans several of the dishes will be based around that.

Think wood-fired flatbread with Maggi beurre noisette and labneh, prawn and chestnut dumplings with the “OG” chilli oil, grilled pork belly spare ribs and a “banging” caramelised banana dessert with pandan custard and ovaltine.

Photo by Annabelle Lester

“Just fun stuff to eat on a Wednesday or Thursday night out, nothing too serious,” he laughs.

While Andrew has felt the warm embrace of both the Canberra community and his beloved industry colleagues since he announced his decision to close Miss Van’s, he is extra chuffed to be invited into The Inn’s kitchen for the special event.

“I’ve had a LOT of love from the Canberra community, both from customers and people who work in the industry. There was a lot of support and messages from people who I’ve met over my past 20 plus years in Canberra hospitality,” he says.

“I had many conversations with peers who were facing similar hardships last year, and it doesn’t seem as if this year has improved significantly for them. Four months after the fact, I feel a very big sense of relief having closed the restaurant down. It was a hard slog with very little return – I’m at peace with it all and happy to be moving on and doing something more productive with my time.”

He promises “good food and great chats” each evening, saying he was excited to be back on a restaurant floor serving and chatting to customers, with more pop-up invitations on his dance card.