Before we went to Vietnam, I was researching contemporary pottery as we have had success in buying beautiful dishes in Vietnam. I found a brand called Amai. It was developed by two Dutch expats. They had a couple stores in Ho Chi Minh. I contacted the concierge at the PH Saigon who said one of the stores was now a cafe. We went to the other store that allegedly carried the product. It didn't. We learned that the ladies had sold the brand to a large dishware company when they relocated.

We arrived at Amanoi. At our first meal we saw they were using Amai dishes. We asked Joy if she knew how we could order some. She said to let the hotel know before a return visit what we wanted and they would order for us. She subsequently came to us and said she had gone thru their inventory. There were three sizes where they had enough new stock that she would sell some pieces to us. We accepted her offer, the (amazingly reasonable) price was put on our bill, and the hotel packaged the pieces into a well padded box for us to do a handcarry home. It was very smart by the hotel as whenever I use those dishes, I am reminded of the kindness at Amanoi.