Rating: 
Summary: a good read and nice recipes, BUT...
Review: ... what happened to authenticity (I am Vietnamese), and who stole all the pictures? There are two pages of photos, one of frequently-used spices/herbs/etc. and one of a few prepared dishes), and that's it. I just bought this book yesterday and, having read every recipe it contained, am a tad bit disappointed. As was earlier said by another reviewer, this is more creative than authenic, especially the desserts. oh, well.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Authentic & Can't-Miss Directions!
Review: After two years of living in Southeast Asia, I spent a lot of time in the States looking for a cookbook that would let me cook with ingredients I could find in the States (more specifically, in South Carolina, not exactly an Asian grocery store mecca), but would taste like the food I had come to love in Asia. This cookbook is it--good information on adapting Asian cooking to American kitchens, the taste is exactly right, the directions are great (I haven't screwed up a dish yet), and like other readers I found her personal anecdotes made this a good book as well as cookbook. The laap kai especially is outstanding!
Rating:
Summary: A perfect blend of Thai, Vietnamese and Californian Cuisine
Review: All of the recipes in this book are excellent. I have the pleasure of knowing Mai Pham and I can tell you all, she is a first rate, authentic chef. She explains that her recipes are an amalgomation of Vietnamese (she is from Viet Nam), Thai (she grew up in Thailand) and Californian cuisine (where she currently resides and cooks). Her recipes are what she serves in her restaurants and I can tell you, it's a pure taste treat to dine in her restaurants. Please do not hold her to the strict guidelines of only Vietnamese cooking for that is not what she is all about. If you are Vietnamese, and you are looking for something authentic and not adventurous or creative, this book is not for you. However, if you are artistic, creative, fun-loving, good-food-loving and adventurous, BUY THIS BOOK! You'll be glad you did!
Rating:
Summary: Nouvelle Vietnamese recipes
Review: As can be gathered from the reviews below, there is some disagreement as to whether the recipes in Mai Pham's cookbook represent "authentic" Thai and/or Vietnamese cooking. I'm neither Thai nor Vietnamese, but my guess would be that the recipes, which come largely from Pham's American restaurant, have been adapted somewhat to appeal to non-native palates (the spice level in the Thai recipes seems low, for example). Those looking for "authentic" Thai or Vietnamese recipes may want to look elsewhere.That having been said, I sometimes find the authenticity fetish a bit much. If you read Pham's chapter introductions, you discover that she is a woman who has moved around a great deal, and her cooking has been influenced by multiple native traditions. Cooking in America is a real melting pot venture, and while this has led to some deserved ribbing from those whose countries have more developed palates, it has also led to a dynamic, creative treatment of food. I think Pham's work falls on the positive side of this dichotomy. To put it plainly, her recipes taste good, are well written and tested, and combine different cuisines with good results. Her recipes are not fusion, and are not ground-breaking in the way of those of say, Ming Tsai, but they are simple and tasty.
Rating: 
Summary: Authenticity aside, the recipes are good
Review: As can be gathered from the reviews below, there is some disagreement as to whether the recipes in Mai Pham's cookbook represent "authentic" Thai and/or Vietnamese cooking. I'm neither Thai nor Vietnamese, but my guess would be that the recipes, which come largely from Pham's American restaurant, have been adapted somewhat to appeal to non-native palates (the spice level in the Thai recipes seems low, for example). Those looking for "authentic" Thai or Vietnamese recipes may want to look elsewhere. That having been said, I sometimes find the authenticity fetish a bit much. If you read Pham's chapter introductions, you discover that she is a woman who has moved around a great deal, and her cooking has been influenced by multiple native traditions. Cooking in America is a real melting pot venture, and while this has led to some deserved ribbing from those whose countries have more developed palates, it has also led to a dynamic, creative treatment of food. I think Pham's work falls on the positive side of this dichotomy. To put it plainly, her recipes taste good, are well written and tested, and combine different cuisines with good results. Her recipes are not fusion, and are not ground-breaking in the way of those of say, Ming Tsai, but they are simple and tasty.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites even without photos!
Review: Ditto on all the other reviews of this book. It was one of the first I bought (I own over a dozen and cook all kinds of Asian cuisines at least twice a week). Every recipe is a pleasure to make and to taste. I, too, prefer gorgeous photos to inspire my hunger, but Mai's descriptions and sidebars are enough. There are a lot of people photos in this book for a wonderful glimpse behind the culture that's as beautiful as the cuisine. That's enough. How many other books do you have where EVERY recipe comes out just right? This is the one.
T
Rating:
Summary: Superb dining at home
Review: For many years, our family has been devoted patrons of Mai Pham's Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento and most of our "special occasion" celebrations are held there. It is such a delight to be able to cook these same delicious dishes at home. The flavors are so complex and balanced, it is surprising to find how easy the recipes are to make. They truly reflect the specialties of the restaurant. Be sure to try the Thai green curry with chicken and the lamb chops with spicy peanut sauce (satay). Thank you, Mai Pham, for sharing your creations.
Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: I always read the user reviews before making a book purchase, and the one major dissappointment that everyone seems to express about this book is the lack of pictures. Maybe it is because I'm Vietnamese and know a little bit about cooking, but at the time, I didn't think the lack of pictures would make a difference. But after making a couple of dishes I wished the book did have picture; there definitely enough room on the pages in the margins for it. This it too bad since the food seems pretty authentic. The lack of pictures makes the book "almost perfect".
Rating: 
Summary: Is this a memoir or is this dinner?
Review: I am a Vietnamese woman whose mother never taught her how to cook Vietnamese food. I've bought all of the popular Vietnamese cookbooks on the market. I had high expectations about this one since Mai Pham's cookbooks are probably the most popular Vietamese cookbooks available. I was sorely disappointed. Here's a list of all of the things wrong with this book:
1) Pretentious prose. Mai Pham mentions in this book that she use to be a TV anchorwoman. I'm not surprised judging from her too precious prose about her oh so wise and generous grandmother and her mischevious sister Denise and her charmed childhood before the war, yada, yada. Is this a memoir or is this dinner?
2)No pictures of the food. There are no photographs of food, no illustrations of food, nothing except photographs of her wise and generous grandmother, her mischevious sister Denise, her and her husband on their wedding day, etc. This is cookbook - the food should be the star.
3)Compromises on authenticity. Ginger twinkies? The recipes in this book are representative of her cooking at her restaurant instead of the Vietnamese culinary tradition. That's fine, but the title is misleading.
4)Caramel Sauce recipe doesn't work. I've tried this one 4 times and I've ended up with candy chips everytime. I've tried several of the recipes here - some of them are good, some ok. I generally find that she doesn't use enough fish sauce and that the recipes are almost always Americanized.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't bother
Review: I bought this book because of the good reviews. I'm vietnamese and since moving away from home, I wanted to replicate the home cooking. Instead, what you're find is that it's not real Vietnamese or Thai but maybe a cross between the two? Requires too much ingredients (like a restaurant) so unless you want to spend up a storm of money to get a mediocre meal, don't bother. I think it's tailored more to American audience then authentic viet/thai. After about 4 recipes, I've basically gave up. The other cookbook I felt was more home/authentic in the vietnamese food dept is written by corinne trang. Hope that helps.
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