Phonomenal Nights

Phởnomenal Nights is a Vietnamese cookbook for entertaining, featuring vibrant shareable dishes, interactive feasts, impressive party boards, and playful cocktails from James Beard finalists Yenvy and Quynh-vy Pham.

Drawing on their family’s restaurant legacy in Seattle’s Little Saigon, the Phở Bắc sisters show home cooks how to throw a dinner party that nobody wants to leave. This spirited Vietnamese cookbook combines bold flavors, doable recipes, and unforgettable family stories—because the best entertaining should feel generous, joyful, and just a little chaotic.

Whether you’re hosting two people or twenty, Phởnomenal Nights helps you pile the table high with color, crunch, fresh herbs, and dishes designed for sharing. Fish sauce is your new best friend. Stuffy gatherings are officially off the menu.

Inside you’ll find:

Part Vietnamese cookbook, part cocktail book, and all-out celebration, Phởnomenal Nights offers a fresh approach to hosting with food meant to be passed, wrapped, dipped, poured, and enjoyed together.

This distinctive hosting cookbook also makes a memorable housewarming, wedding, holiday, or host gift for adventurous home cooks, Vietnamese food lovers, cocktail enthusiasts, and anyone who believes a crowded table is the start of a phenomenal night.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Phởnomenal Nights about?

Phởnomenal Nights is a Vietnamese entertaining cookbook filled with shareable recipes, party boards, interactive meals, batch cocktails, and personal stories from Yenvy and Quynh-vy Pham.

What types of recipes are included?

The book is divided into five sections covering batch cocktails, tableside wraps, party boards, make-ahead dumplings, and one-pot dishes. Recipes include salmon ceviche on black sesame crackers, roasted lemongrass ribeye wraps, Prawn and Brown-Butter-Leek Dumplings, and buttery roasted chicken phở.

Is this book only for large parties?

No. Its flexible recipes and entertaining ideas work for gatherings ranging from an intimate dinner for two to a lively party of twenty.

Does the book include cocktails as well as food?

Yes. It combines shareable dishes with creative batch cocktails, making it both an entertaining cookbook and a playful cocktail book.

Who are the authors?

Yenvy and Quynh-vy Pham are James Beard finalists and the sisters behind Seattle’s celebrated Phở Bắc restaurants. Their approach to food is rooted in Vietnamese flavor, family, hospitality, and community.

Who would enjoy receiving this cookbook as a gift?

It is a strong gift choice for enthusiastic hosts, adventurous cooks, Vietnamese food fans, cocktail lovers, newlyweds, and anyone who enjoys bringing friends and family together over an abundant meal.

QUYNH-VY PHAM was born in Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City. As the second-oldest of five siblings, her earliest memories are tied to her parents’ first pho restaurant, which set her on the path as a lifelong restaurateur. When she’s not behind the bar or adopting more Pomeranians, you’ll find her living a life of leisure, hanging out with her nieces and nephew, or catching up with friends over good food, strong drinks, or both.

YENVY PHAM was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, where she grew up as the youngest of five in a big Vietnamese family. Yenvy started working in her family’s restaurant at the age of 12, and food has been her north star ever since. Her love of Vietnamese flavors is at the core of everything she does. She opened her first coffee shop in 2021 to celebrate the art of roasting and brewing. These days, she splits her time between running the restaurants, developing recipes, and navigating the daily challenge of keeping the businesses alive and thriving. She lives for lively dinner parties, karaoke nights, and making sure her neighborhood feels vibrant and full of life.

Format: Hardcover
Size: 7-1/4 x 10
ISBN: 9781632175915