About Me
Welcome to my kitchen!
My name is Thanh and I love food, cooking and photography.
I am an Australian-born Vietnamese, married to a Frenchman and living in Switzerland. By day, I work full-time in the corporate world. And the rest of the time, you can find me in the kitchen, a place I escape to where I can unwind and relax.
I spend a fair amount of time on planes, travelling to different destinations whether for work, to visit family members across the globe or for little getaways. While I probably travel more often than I would like, I am always grateful for the opportunity to visit new places and to meet new people, eating different foods along the way and creating special taste memories here and there.
This blog will be devoted to reviewing recipes, most notably from my vast (and growing!) collection of cookbooks. And of course, it will also be a place for me to do some show and tell through my food photography, a skill which I hope to fine-tune with each post. I have been saturating my friends and family with my food photos over the past few years that perhaps it is only fair on them to start widening the circle a bit!
The phrase, “eat, little bird”, was discovered a few years ago by my husband on a Hallmark greeting card which he sent to his brother as a comic (but brotherly) gesture. Since that time, the phrase has been thrown back and forth between them and has somewhat developed into (teasing) words of endearment at the dining table to encourage others to eat.
As you may have noticed, I also love illustrations and have been a fan of Megan Hess ever since I first bought her book, “What Friends Are For”, many years ago in a bookstore in Brisbane, Australia (where I grew up). I am super-thrilled that she agreed to create some illustrations for my website and I hope you love them as much as I do!
All photographic images and content on this site are my own work, unless otherwise specified. All rights reserved.
You can contact me at thanh[at]eatlittlebird.com
In the Press
Featured on The Huffington Post for my post on Rhubarb Custard Tea Cake, 9 March 2013
Featured on The Kitchn for my post on Swiss Walnut Christmas Cookies, 11 December 2012
Featured on Manfrotto Imagine More for “The Best Food Photography Blogs and Web Sites”, 6 August 2012
Featured on The Kitchn for my post on Rhubarb Custard Tea Cake, 29 March 2012
Featured on The Kitchn for my post on Thai Sticky Chicken, 27 January 2012
Featured on Goosto.fr for a selection of Christmas recipes, December 2011
Featured on Foodista as Food Blog of the Day for my post on Black Pepper Tofu, 25 July 2011
{ 80 comments… read them below or add one }
Well done, I have always admired your photos and stories behind them on FB, look forward to more. on your blog xx
Thanks Shazza! That means a lot to me. I look forward to seeing you both here and on FB!
Love the introduction Thahn, so poetic and endearing! Thank you for starting off with Marlene’s Best Ever Chocolate Pound Cake, she will be thrilled! There is still a chocolate cake between us though!
Still I love everything about your blog and with this beautiful intro, you have set everything in motion beautifully!
Thank you, Sam!!! It’s great to see you here
And yes, I must still try the Epic cake and can’t wait! Thanks for all of your wonderful recipe ideas – my cooking repertoire has certainly improved because of you!
Hi! I am so pleased to have stumbled upon this link…..what a pleasant surprise! The first time I could actually say I “new” her before it all! So you are bookmarked and I will certainly
be bumping into you in more places than one……again AUGURI!
Great to see you here, Teresa!
We certainly have a few meeting points! Grazie mille!
i’m loving the new illustration band at the top, very parisienne feel about it. Gorgeous.
Oh thanks, Julia!! I’m super excited about the new illustration and am so thankful to the wonderful Megan Hess for her artistic brilliance. I’m glad you like it too
Pop back again soon because I have some other changes in the pipeline to the blog design!
Creme, I just had to stop by and say how much I love the new header – it’s wonderful! I loved the one you did before but this has such a better fit – it finishes off the site beautifully, makes it complete. Lovely :0) x
Thanks Jo!! I’m also in love with the new header and think Megan Hess did a super brilliant job in illustrating it. Don’t you just love the shoes??!! I would still like to tweak a few things here on this blog, including making the header bigger!
Thanks for stopping by!
Lovely little space you have here. I find it fantastic that you are keen to cook all kinds of cuisine.
Enjoyed my time browsing through them.
Hi Anita! Thank you for visiting my blog! I just love food and am always happy to be a bit adventurous with my cooking
I am travelling at the moment but I hope to have a few more posts up next week!
Just wanted to say Hi Creme Brulee aka Thanh, Didn’t know you had a blog. Love your illustrations.
Hello Ayodele! Great to see you here! I only started my blog recently and, so far, it has been a lot of fun
I’m so glad to hear that you also love the illustrations – I’m still over the moon about them!
hello thanh ! really excited to discover your blog (via julia of mélanger in brisbane). love your masthead ! we have lots and lots in common (zürich, french husbands, overflowing cookbook collections, a love for cookies & travel & more…) looking forward to following you along here !
What a wonderful website, well done. I love the way you did it and the illustrations are really nice. You should be proud.
Thanks Tatjana! I’m so happy you’ve found my blog
This is awesome Thanh. Now when I am searching for something new to cook I’ll just have a browse through here. Such a large variety and wonderful photos to see what it’s really like. Congratulations for getting it up and running.
Oh thanks Ceinwen!! It’s been a huge learning curve for me but hopefully I’ve learnt all I need to know about hosting my own blog! You also have some really wonderful recipes which I’ve tried to replicate at home but they’re never as good as yours. I still remember your butterscotch slices from when we were in Tasmania … heavenly
Well done Little Bird (Thanh)! I’ll never have to buy a cookbook again! Your blog looks fantastic and your passion for food and cooking is obvious. I can’t wait to try out some of your suggestions… especially the Vietnamese dishes…
Anna xxoo
Hi Anna!! Thanks for visiting my blog
Was great to catch up with you today in your beautiful city! I hope you’ll get your slice of Crèmeschnitte mit Erdbeeren soon … it was really delicious! See you again soon 
Thanh x
Hi Creme, really loving the look of your blog, your photography is wonderful, you gals from N.com are so talented.
Hi Natalie! Thank you for stopping by! It is great that some of us have still kept in contact since the N.com days
Something good that came out of the whole thing. It’s great to be able to talk about food and cooking with like-minded people 
hey thanh so fun! i live in zurich, too. and just like you: i love ottolenghi and his aubergines… we should create a food blogger get-together in zurich, right?
keep up the fantastic work.
xo
s
Hello,
You have a wonderful site, I must congratulate you! Also, isn’t it weird how many of us seem to have the same dream – run a small bnb, cook, entertain folks, have a great time, make your living in a more slow and “natural” way?
Hope you buy your grey shingled bnb.
Cheers!
Alex
Hi Thanh. Great blog. I love the cleanness of the pages, the fab illustrations and your photography is absolutely divine.
I look forward to following your work and reading about your cooking adventures.
Rachel
What a lovely blog. Your photos are absolutely stunning. I’m excited to start following you and to start looking through your recipes.
I stumbled upon your blog today. How beautiful!
Oh you live in Switzerland, like me!! (well I’m swiss so nothing incredible in my case..) I’m in Lausanne by the way. You are lucky to know all these countries..I just discovered your blog from Tastespotting, and it looks very pretty and yummy!
Salut Aurelie! I’m happy that another Swiss has found my blog
Lausanne is just beautiful. I hope you will enjoy reading my blog!
Creme, I’ve found your blog at last! It’s mouth-wateringly beautiful! I shall be a regular visitor! Hannah.x
Hi Hannah!! Yay, I’m so happy you’ve found my blog
I look forward to “seeing” you around here! xx
This is a truly great blog Thanh! Really love the layout and the food photography is all the better for it. Keep up the good work, I especially love the walnut cookies and will be attempting them for Christmas Eve. Website bookmarked and will be visited as regularly as Cannelle et Vanille and the British Larder.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for your lovely compliments! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoy my blog, and to be mentioned alongside Cannelle et Vanille and the British Larder is such an honour. Words like these mean a lot to me
I hope you will enjoy these cookies – please let me know how they turn out for you. I wish you a Merry Christmas and wonderful start to the New Year!
Thanh – how we did not know about your blog earlier! What fine work you’ve done here
It’s so delightful and I love it. I’ve always enjoyed your FB food diary and am very proud of what you’ve produced here. I will definitely be visiting very frequently even if it is to just check out your beautiful photos 
x
Thank you, Anna!! I wanted to have it all up and running before I announced it to you guys, but time got away from me … But here you are
I’m so happy that you like what you see so far 
I miss our foodie get-togethers back home. And I miss *you*!! I hope we can catch up soon 
Thanh xx
Yay, you finally did it!!! I am so happy for you and can’t wait to read and see all the delicious creations you make honey:) hope you come back to OZ soon and visit xox
Hi Emma!!! It’s so lovely to see you here!
I hope all is well with you. We so need to catch up soon! I’m hoping to make a trip to Brissy later this year … fingers crossed! Thanh xx
Just visiting your blog after joining your fb page yesterday ! Looking forward to flicking through your recipes ! xx
Hi Pat! It’s so wonderful that you’ve found my blog
I hope you will enjoy the recipes!
Hi Thanh,
I love your website, the illustrations are gorgeous! xx
Thanks, Kylie!! I hope you will enjoy visiting my blog! I hope everything is well with you
Thanh xx
Hi there! I love your blog! I tried a recipes tonight and I loved it. And the blog itself is so beautifully done!
Hi Florence,
I look forward to seeing here more often!
Thank you so much! That’s wonderful to hear that you enjoyed the recipes
Thanh, your website/blog is an absolute inspiration. I love it. AND I love your recipes. I just did your latest bread recipe as muffins and it’s fabulous!
Hi Davo! Lovely to see you here
And thank you for your kind words! I’m glad you liked the bacon and cheddar muffins – that was super-quick of you to try the recipe! Hope all is well at your end 
Thanh xx
hi Tanh, so pleased to have find your blog. Great recipe and blog so well done. How can I become a follower? Hope you’re ok.
Love,
Laurence xx
Salut Laurence! That’s so wonderful that you have found my blog
You are welcome to subscribe to my blog by entering your address in the box at the top of this page, or by “liking” my eat, little bird page on Facebook, or even following me on Twitter! So many choices
Hi Thanh, firstly greetings from Melbourne, Australia! I absolutely adore your blog and am definitely keen to try some of the recipes you have posted up! Looking forward to more posts from you! x
Hello! How lovely to have another Aussie visitor
Thank you for visiting my blog and I also look forward to following your delicious blog as well 
I discovered your blog just yesterday and am smitten. I love the variety of recipes, especially the baked goodies and Vietnamese dishes. The illustrations are charming. Just out of curiosity- is the illustrator Megan Hess related to fashion illustrator Kerri Hess in any way?
Thanks, Meenakshi! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoy visiting my blog, and that you also like the illustrations
Yes, I think Megan Hess and Kerrie Hess are sisters, both being incredibly talented fashion illustrators. I just adore their work.
I cannot wait to start following your blog! The fact that you have some many different food experiences draws me in even more. :]
Thank you, Bene! I hope you will enjoy your visits here
Hello Thanh,
I am so happy to have found your blog via Pinterest. I am also an Australian living in Switzerland (Geneva). Where are you living? I very much look forward to following all your travel adventures and recipes. And, I am especially interested in any recipes for figs, as we have an enormous fig tree in our garden… oh, and a quince tree…
A bientot!
Kylie
Hi Kylie,
And I’ve also been experimenting a bit with quince, especially after our neighbour gave us a jar of homemade quince jam which is just beautiful with cheese and cold meats. Thanks for the suggestions which I will definitely keep in mind!
Lovely to hear from another Aussie here in Switzerland! I’m based in Zurich. How lucky you are to have a fig tree in your garden and a quince tree! I wanted to buy a small fig tree for our balcony but wasn’t sure how big it would grow, or what to do with it over the winter … I do cook with figs quite a bit so I will keep that in mind for some future posts
Beautiful blog and beautiful photos. Congratulations ¡¡
Thank you for your lovely words!
Oh wow! I’m in love with your beautiful blog! In fact I think I want to BE that girl in your top illustration! hehe, And your recipes are so delicious! Keep it up
Many thanks, Amy! The girl in the illustration is pretty stylish, isn’t she? I wish I could say that I’m dressed like that everyday but you’re more likely to see me in ballet flats. Though I do pop out each morning for our daily baguette
Thanks for coming by.
Happy first birthday, Eat Little Bird!
Such a great achievement and a great blog! There is already so much on here but I can’t wait to see what else will appear in time to come. I’m always available for taste testing / quality control / general ‘market’ research
Good luck for the coming year xxoo
Thank you, Anna!! It’s so wonderful to have support from friends like you
I just wish we lived closer as I would no doubt be over every few days with something to share! xx
Your blog is just gorgeous! Can’t wait to explore it more. Thanks so much for stopping by my “place”-so glad to have made the connection.
Hi Heather,
Thank you for popping by my blog! It was lovely to find yours
Thanh, Just as to let you know what a big fan I am of your blog, I have a versatile blogger award waiting for you on my blog, Congrats!!
Oh how wonderful!! Thank you, Anita
I am honoured!
Hello,
I just wanted to let you how much I enjoy reading your blog. I love all the recipes and photos. I especially think your logo is creative and awesome. Thanks for inspiring me!
That is so sweet! I just had a quick look at your blog and you are very inspiring! It’s so wonderful to see someone as young as you so passionate about food and cooking. Please keep up the great work!
Thank you! I just subscribed to your blog so I can continue to read your posts. I hope you will continue to check out my blog!
Hi Thanh,
Stumbled across your website and have fallen in love! It is lovely. Funnily it seems we have a lot in common – I am also Australian and have moved to Geneva to be with my french boyfriend. Since I have been I have really taken up cooking as a hobby and am such a fan Miss Khoo (aren’t the croque madame muffins amazing?)haha. Anyway, if you do any cooking lessons let me know, I’m still very much a beginner
Merci beaucoup!
Hi Josephine,
Rachel Khoo has some fabulous French recipes and her book is a great starting place to learn about French cuisine. I hope to upload another post shortly containing some more reviews of her recipes. I hope to see you here again 
It’s nice to know of another Aussie here in Switzerland
Hey Thanh,
I’ve been following your blog for a while now and decided it was finally time to say Hi! and say how much I really love your recipes, your layout, your photos and illustrations… Being an Aussie-born Portuguese bloke I really relate to many of the Aussie classics (ex.: Meat Pies, Lamingtons and the Pikelets to name a few) you have on here and they remind me so much of how it was growing up in Australia. Anyway, keep it up.
Hi David,
It’s great to hear from another Aussie reader and that the Aussie recipes I have posted are appreciated by some. I have some more Aussie classics in the pipeline which I hope you will enjoy!
Thank you for your popping by to say hi
Hi! Thanh,
I came across your website while searching for a recipe for orange and ginger marmalade.
I really love the clean look of the site and would like to build a similar one for my wife where she can write about Slovak recipes. The photos also are amazing you have done a great job. Please if you do not mind tell me the name of the wordpress theme you used for the site.
Thanks,
Mark,
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your message. I’m happy to hear that you like the look of my website. I’m using the Thesis theme which is very flexible and great for customising. I hope this helps. Please do let us know of your wife’s website once it is up and running!
Hi! Thanh,
Thanks for the quick reply, I will have a look at the theme now, and will let you know when the site is up and running.
Thanks again,
Mark,
Hi Thanh,
I just discovered your blog thanks to Pinterest, and I am already in love! Your pictures and recipes are amazing, and these illustrations are just gorgeous! Very inspiring blog, think I’ll visit it pretty often
Thank you,
Marie (French lady living in New England)
Thank you for your lovely message! I hope you will enjoy your visits here
Hi Thanh
Greetings from a fellow ‘Zurcher’! Discovered your website via Pinterest today. You have a lovely blog. I ll be coming back often.
Cheers
Shruti
Hoi Shruti! It’s great to hear from another local
Thanks for visiting my blog … off to have a look at yours now!
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