First restaurants in Vietnam awarded Michelin star
Source: AFP
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Vietnam's booming food scene was awarded its first ever Michelin stars Tuesday, with four restaurants selected by the prestigious dining guide.
Three eateries in Hanoi -- Gia, Tam Vi and Hibana by Koki -- and one in Ho Chi Minh City -- Anan Saigon -- were each awarded one Michelin star.
Although there were no stars handed out to traditional street food eateries serving classics such as pho -- a noodle soup -- or bun cha -- a vermicelli noodle dish with grilled pork -- Vietnamese flavours feature heavily among the winners.
Tam Vi largely focusses on northern Vietnamese dishes including ham with periwinkle snails -- served with fresh herbs, rice vermicelli noodles and fish sauce -- and crab soup with spinach, a popular summer meal.
Nguyen Bao Anh, whose mother, Tam, owns the restaurant and named it after herself, said her mum "had a dream of opening a restaurant where customers could come and feel like they were eating a home-cooked meal".
"The restaurant serves traditional food and I think now not many restaurants serve that kind of food that remind people of familiar flavours," Bao Anh told AFP after the awards ceremony in Hanoi.
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"This award is for my mum and I'm proud of her," she added.
Source: AFP
Sam Tran, the chef and co-founder of high-end contemporary restaurant Gia, spent 10 years studying in Australia before returning to Hanoi, her home city, to push the boundaries of Vietnamese cuisine.
"Through each dish at Gia, I want to tell the story of Vietnamese culture," she wrote in a guide to the ceremony.
"I want to tell the story of each stage of my life, the regions I have visited, the flavours passed down from generation to generation that I have tasted."
In Ho Chi Minh City, Anan Saigon was recognised for its modern take on Vietnamese classics, including a bone marrow wagyu beef pho.
Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide, said Vietnam's two biggest cities, Hanoi and commercial centre Ho Chi Minh City, offered a vibrant and varied dining experience.
"Hanoi has a laid back and relaxed vibe, with small shops and restaurants mostly from the Old Quarter", Poullennec said.
"Ho Chi Minh City on the other hand is a bustling and rapidly growing city, which offers a unique energy to all travellers and a very diverse food scene."
Hibana by Koki, which serves Japanese cuisines was the only non-Vietnamese restaurant to receive a star.
Source: AFP
