From sidewalk eateries to Michelin tables
Vietnamese cuisine has a strange attraction. Just going from the beginning of the street to the end of the street, you can encounter a delicious dish that makes people willing to queue for hours to wait for their turn.
Perhaps that's why in my years working in tourism, I always felt lucky. Each working trip opens up a new journey of discovery, taking me through all kinds of culinary spaces, from popular eateries nestled in small alleys to restaurants honored by the Michelin Guide.
I used to sneak into the crowd waiting in front of Ngan Nhan noodle soup, sit close to the sidewalk to enjoy a bowl of Thin Lo Duc pho with smoke billowing, or go to eateries that have become rendezvous points for both local people and tourists. In some places, there are only a few sets of plastic tables and chairs, signs that have been old over the years, but the flavor is enough to retain diners for decades.
There are places I visit just because of curiosity after reading a introduction. There are places because the name is too famous. But there are also shops that make me come because of a very personal attachment.
Hiệu Lực tilapia soup (Hanoi) is one of them. I was born and raised in Hung Yen, where tilapia soup is a dish associated with mornings going to the market with my mother, with family meals and even times away from home when I miss it. Therefore, when I learned that the restaurant was recognized by the Michelin Guide, I told myself I must stop by.
That morning, the restaurant was already full. Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyen still quickly scooped soup, fried each piece of perch, not forgetting to greet customers warmly. Only when there were fewer people did she have time to sit and chat.
Since being recognized in the Michelin Guide, customers from many places have come more. I am happy that perch soup is known by many people, some people even come back after eating and introduce more friends," she shared.
Sitting in a crowded restaurant, I suddenly felt proud in a very simple way. The dish I grew up with still retains its familiar flavor, but has now become the choice of diners from many regions, even many countries.
Perhaps the most beautiful thing that Michelin brings is not only recognition for a restaurant, but also helping Vietnamese simple dishes have the opportunity to tell stories about their homeland and culture to international friends.
Out-of-menu conversations
Behind each Michelin table is always a longer story than what diners see. And luckily, the job gave me the opportunity to hear the chefs themselves tell about that journey.
I still remember the remote conversation with Christian Le Squer, chef of La Maison 1888 (Da Nang), a French chef with three Michelin stars. Before that, I thought a chef at the peak of world cuisine would spend most of his time talking about the technique or strict standards of fine dining. But he started with the emotions of a professional.
My cuisine is like haute couture in fashion. Each dish is a well-studied work in terms of flavor, texture and color," the chef shared.
What impressed me was not that comparison. Throughout the conversation, Christian Le Squer mentioned a lot of respect for the ingredients, for those who created them and for the land where the dish was born.
For him, the chef is not only creative in the kitchen but also responsible for preserving and spreading culture through each dish. Behind a perfectly presented dish is not only technique, but also understanding of the land that created that flavor.
If Christian Le Squer brings the perspective of a world-leading chef, then chef Viet Hong of CieL Dining, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, helps me see how fine dining tells Vietnamese stories.
“Technology is just a tool, not a destination. Fine dining with CieL is not a display of technique, but a balance between depth and comfort” - he proudly said.
He told me about his journey to find ingredients, from ducks in Hoa Binh to seasonal vegetables, products that seem very familiar but all carry the imprint of the land where they were created.
Each menu, for him, is not simply a meal but also a way to introduce Vietnam with flavor. Sitting and listening to him share, I understand that fine dining is not about bringing expensive ingredients to the table, but about raising the value of locality with creativity and pride in the homeland.
After each conversation like that, I realize that Michelin has never been the most mentioned thing by chefs. They talk about their homeland, about the ingredients associated with the land where they grew up and how to bring those values to diners through each dish.
Journalism takes me to many places, meet many people. In those journeys, Michelin tables leave a very unique mark. Not only because of the elaborately prepared dishes, but because behind each menu is always a land, a culture and people who diligently preserve their identity.
Perhaps because of that, after each trip, the thing I remember most is not the flavor of the dish, but the stories that made up that flavor.
