Vietnam is witnessing a culinary renaissance with traditional local flavours seamlessly intertwining with international influences to create a tapestry of exquisite finer-dining experiences.
On this episode of "You Don't Know Vietnam", Jovel Chan, a F&B marketer turned blogger, founder and consultant, talks about how the next chapter of Vietnam’s culinary story is being written right now.
Who’s writing it? Experimental Vietnamese chefs who are proud to showcase their exciting take on Vietnamese classics.
Through meticulous preparation and inventive techniques, chefs at finer-dining establishments such as An's Saigon, Esta Saigon and Anan Saigon are leading the charge, elevating Vietnamese flavours to unprecedented heights.
Chefs up and down the country are reimagining classics such as banh mi and pho, infusing them with new levels of sophistication by using ingredients and techniques that have the potential to redefine the food Vietnam is famous for.
From hand-pressed dumplings resembling Mekong Delta boats to consomme-inspired noodle soups, the game is changing.
“A lot of the chefs, depending on where they're from, have a very different take on what this modern Vietnamese cuisine is and want to do something different… as a sense of national pride,” says Jovel.
These chefs, many of which are returning to Vietnam after years abroad, are eager to showcase their heritage through gastronomic creations that challenge convention and celebrate authenticity.
“They come back here and they're finally able to do something,” says Jovel. “They have constantly been occupied over and over using ingredients that they were only given because they had no money… or they’ve been living abroad in someone’s foreign ass country.. cooking food to serve other people… So now you ask them to keep making [street] food, and all of a sudden they're like, ‘we have money, we have skills, we want to do something different.
This is the only time we're seeing this happen and that's why it's very interesting.
Jovel Chan
F&B founder, blogger and consultant
The once-taboo territory of reinterpreting traditional Vietnamese classics is now a playground for chefs eager to showcase their skills. While experimentation with Vietnamese cuisine was once met with scepticism, the tide is turning.
"There's a lot more openness to that change now, and it's actually being embraced," says Jovel, who says that global recognition such as the first ever Michelin Guide has helped validate modern Vietnamese cuisine in the eyes of traditionalists.
“Vietnamese people are opening up their palates to international flavours across the spectrum,” Jovel adds.
Twenty years ago, any deviation from traditional fare risked uproar among the masses. But today, the landscape has shifted. From Korean instant noodles to Taiwanese hotpot, the influx of international cuisines, masterfully localised, permeates every echelon of Vietnamese food culture.
“Sustainability of the industry and the cuisine is as much rooted in the finer dining space as it is in traditional street food,” she adds. “Because it makes people recognise and realise the sanctity of Vietnamese cuisine and ingredients and products, and it pushes up the willingness to pay for a lot of it.
“If the only way to make it is through street food, you will lose some of the brightest minds in the country… You're asking people to work a lot for very little. That used to work in the past, but that would never work now. You're going to push all the young people away and then you'll never have Vietnamese food anymore.”
