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"If there is one thing I crave most away from home, it is the meal my mother cooked" - that is a simple saying that touches the memories of many people.
In recent years, amid the bustling pace of life, the pressure of modern urban areas and the explosion of outdoor dining services, the trend has returned with the flavor of homemade rice gradually returning. Not only finding a familiar space, home-cooked meals also help people eat in a healthy, safe culinary environment, contributing to protecting their health from risks from external food.
In fact, it is undeniable that many Vietnamese families, especially in big cities, have had their home meals lost. I have met many young people who leave home to study, work in big cities all week, even a month without enjoying the taste of their home-cooked rice. They are used to fast food restaurants, used to ordering shippers to bring industrial meals.
An iPOS report, through a survey of young people, shows that more than 17% of Vietnamese people eat out every day, nearly 30% eat 3-4 times/week. Another report from Grab also shows that the trend of using apps to order and find new dining locations is becoming more and more popular.
An acquaintance of mine in Ho Chi Minh City - a family of 4 members but each person has a different direction in the evening. His mother ate with colleagues, his father went out to eat with friends, his younger brother ate with classmates, and she ate according to work schedules. "The family relationship is still good but there are rarely meals together," the wife shared. She was also worried that if there was a lack of home-cooked rice flavor, in the long run, the bond between the members would be lost.
In Hanoi, where the tradition of attaching importance to family meals is still preserved, Ms. Ngoc Anh's family (dermatologist) still chooses to eat 50 - 60%. Im tired of working 3 shifts a day, I dont want to cook anymore, she said.
In recent years, the trend of returning to home-cooked rice has been clearly visible. When turning to home-cooked rice, people not only turn to a familiar space that seems to be swept away by modern society but also the feeling of being eaten in a healthy culinary environment.
Many nutritionists warn that eating out often becomes a lifestyle of urban families, which will be accompanied by risks of food insecurity.
Data from the Food Safety Department shows that 70 - 80% of street food is at risk of infection. Incidents such as dirty sausages, animal organs, chicken feet of unknown origin... raise a question: If not discovered, where will this food go? Of course, it is mainly sneaking into sidewalk shops and food areas that are not well controlled.
Choosing to eat outside is also associated with an increased risk of being overweight, obese, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. After 10 years, the rate of obese children in Vietnam has doubled.
Therefore, the trend of returning to home-cooked rice is gradually taking shape, especially in the middle class, young people with nutritional knowledge. Many families have agreed to cook at home more, especially on weekends. The trend of green living and healthy eating is making many families reconsider the value of home meals
Now's home meals are not only a need to eat, but also a space to help the family connect, convey positive emotions, and more importantly, a healthy and safe culinary environment.
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When I was assigned to work in Vinh city (Nghe An) for nearly a year. My beloved colleague - a middle-aged man nearly 50 years old - living alone away from home, took me to a restaurant on Nguyen Thi Ngoc Oanh Street. The shop is called "Com nha". He said: "At least the name makes me miss home, but here they do it in the family style so it's probably suitable for me".
And I noticed that the concepts of "home stall", "family stall", "old stall", "mother's stall"... are considered by many restaurants to be factors to attract customers. Many of my friends, even if they are successful businessmen and have the conditions to go to luxurious places, often say when inviting each other: "Finding a place to eat at home to sit".
I was also shared by a family restaurant owner: "The trend of returning to the taste of homemade rice is real because the more people increasingly recognize the value of homemade rice. House meals help us proactively choose fresh ingredients, limit fat and additives. This is the first shield to protect health in the context of widespread dirty and unsafe food. Eating at home helps the family easily control sugar, salt, and fat - things that often exceed the threshold when eating out. A family meal is a time for family members to chat, share, and relieve pressure. There is no space that can replace the feeling of gathering at the table. And importantly, the space for home-cooked rice, the flavor of home-cooked rice nurtures cultural values. Through home meals, traditional dishes, family cuisine habits, childhood memories are passed down from generation to generation....
As it turns out, finding the taste of homemade rice is also the way to create a brand. I noticed that in the list of Vietnamese restaurants honored by the Michelin Food Handbook in 2025, the trend of finding the origin and family rice is quite prominent.
For example, Gia restaurant in Hanoi. According to the introduction, "Gia" here originates from the word "Family", which is also the way Gia took advantage of to build all the quintessence of the restaurant. Gia's founders all hope that not only Vietnamese people far from home but also foreign visitors to Vietnam, coming to Gia can experience Vietnamese flavors in a luxurious, classy, and professional space.
Or Tam Tam originated from the desire to serve traditional Vietnamese meals to family members. Coming from a large family and with a traditional family culture, cooking often becomes a "big deal", requiring care and meticulousness. The simple wish of the founders and operators of "Tam Phuong" is simply to open a small store, serving popular dishes every day of the Vietnamese people.
Or "Sorrying rice" is the desire of a group of young people to share a love for home-cooked meals. They understand that eating familiar dishes always brings a feeling of comfort and ease that we can't find anywhere else.
I have eaten very popular dishes in "Tam Vi", or "Xoi com" such as crab soup bowl, fried rice with onions, boiled pork plate... all of which are dishes that any family can cook for themselves. But their success is recognized by Michelin experts as upgrading seemingly mediocre, popular dishes into a culinary feature with a cultural space. Dishes are not just for eating, each dish is a story, a little soul and above all, the flavor of family, of love and attachment.
I always remember the words of a famous writer: "Go to the end of the nation, meet humanity". This is very true for cuisine. Returning to the soul of the Vietnamese ethnic group in each dish and each space, Vietnamese cuisine is quickly adopted by world cuisine.
Traditional dishes are not only about flavor, but also a way to convey love, to keep the connecting threads that are easily broken and fading in modern life. When a person studies a delicious family recipe, it is also because they want to nurture the seeds of love, adding a " family-hip love" between generations.
The recent successes in Vietnamese cuisine do not come from the sophistication and variety but rather from spreading a space full of identity and culture: The flavor of homemade rice.
