FIRST VIETNAM RESTAURANTS GET MICHELIN STAR

HANOI: Vietnam's booming food scene was awarded its first-ever Michelin stars on 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 flavors feature heavily among the winners.

Tam Vi largely focuses 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 mom "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 reminds people of familiar flavors," Bao Anh told Agence France-Presse (AFP) after the awards ceremony in Hanoi.

"This award is for my mom, and I'm proud of her," she added.

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 flavors passed down from generation to generation that I have tasted."

In Ho Chi Minh City, Anan Saigon was recognized 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 center 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 travelers and a very diverse food scene."

Hibana by Koki, which serves Japanese cuisine, was the only non-Vietnamese restaurant to receive a star.

2023-06-07T16:14:10Z dg43tfdfdgfd