Hoang Huy Long, Founder of May Vegan: Telling the story of Vietnamese culture through vegetarian cuisine .
For designer Hoang Huy Long, May Vegan is not only a place where he can unleash his creativity, but also a place where he can share the unique aspects of Vietnamese culinary culture with friends from all over the world.
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| Hoang Huy Long, Founder of May Vegan. |
The "brainchild" of the interior designer.
Nestled at the end of Chau Long Street ( Hanoi ) or in an apartment building on Vinh Ho Street, May Vegan seems completely separate from the hustle and bustle of the city. With the slogan "Come home to eat vegetarian," May Vegan opens up a nostalgic space for diners, with bright red brick walls, sun-drenched verandas, and a lush green garden.
Founder and designer Hoang Huy Long shared with us that he spent all of 2023 contemplating the design of the Chau Long branch of May Vegan, just as he had been passionately immersed in the design of the first May Vegan branch in Vinh Ho. “From interior design to restaurant design, it wasn't a sudden detour. Because every time I get to design a new restaurant myself, I feel very happy,” Long said.
While founders often view each startup project as a significant turning point in their lives, for Hoang Huy Long, May Vegan is even more substantial. He has poured his heart and soul into May Vegan, considering it his "spiritual child." Every painting on the walls, every decorative item, every round wooden tray used for serving, and even the menu of up to 40 dishes at May Vegan were designed and selected by him.
Having been on the market for about a year, Mây Vegan has quickly received many positive reviews from customers, especially international visitors. The brand has achieved an average rating of 4.8/5 based on 100 reviews via Google Reviews.
Long said that, to achieve those initial results, Mây Vegan was partly due to luck and his own good fortune. But on the other hand, it was also because he had accumulated some experience from his business ventures since 2012 and his participation as a shareholder in another vegetarian restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City before starting Mây Vegan.
The founder, born in 1982, has incorporated Vietnamese culinary culture into the dishes at May Vegan with passion and creativity, despite not having any formal training in vegetarian cuisine. Long personally creates the menu, designs the dishes, thinks about the ingredients, quantities, and cooking methods, and then discusses with the kitchen staff to finalize the plan. Dishes like bun cha, bun nem, and bun dau are prepared entirely from plant-based ingredients at May Vegan, offering flavors that are both familiar and unique.
Long revealed that about 50% of Mây Vegan's customers are foreigners who love vegetarian food and want to experience Vietnamese culture in a different way. For this group of customers, Mây Vegan has created variations of vegetarian pizzas using local vegetables, such as young rice pizza, glutinous rice pizza, and bamboo shoot pizza.
“May Vegan tells stories of passionate and dedicated vegetarian cuisine in this place. I believe that, beyond just the food, May Vegan also offers you an impression of an emotionally rich space filled with art and tradition,” shared the founder of May Vegan.
Every two weeks, May Vegan adds a few new dishes to its menu. Each time, Hoang Huy Long personally writes the entire menu for both locations by hand. Even the marketing content on May Vegan's fan page—every image, article, and video— is handled by him.
"It's not that I don't trust my staff, it's just that I want to directly share the spirit of May Vegan with everyone," Long confided.
Developing the supply chain along a sustainable path.
The journey to opening the Mây Vegan vegetarian restaurant originated from Hoàng Huy Long's desire to spread a wider reading culture in the community. Long's mother is a literature teacher, so from a young age, Long read many books and found joy in their pages.
As an adult, he traveled with some friends to the Central Highlands and Northwest regions to raise funds and build free libraries. Later, he returned to Hanoi and, together with a friend, collected books from various stores to create a free reading space for everyone called "Cloud House".
"To sustain this reading model, I founded May Vegan. This way, we'll have enough revenue to go the distance and continue spreading the reading culture," the founder shared.
In March 2023, the first Mây Vegan branch officially opened on Vinh Ho Street (Dong Da District, Hanoi). In January 2024, Mây welcomed its second branch on Chau Long Street (Ba Dinh District). Each space is designed with its own unique features, but a common element is the presence of bookshelves reaching to the ceiling. Customers can read books and enjoy complimentary drinks without having to use any other services.
Long is preparing for the grand opening of Mây Vegan's third location, scheduled for the next few months. The opening of a fourth Mây Vegan location later this year is also being considered.
To standardize the process, May Vegan built a central kitchen, specializing in preparing all the base ingredients and sauces for cooking, then transporting them to each restaurant in the chain. “I want to emphasize that I will never franchise May Vegan, because it’s my own story. I want to develop the brand sustainably and securely,” Long affirmed.
To date, May Vegan has yet to raise any investment capital, despite several investment offers. Hoang Huy Long shared that he is considering finding a suitable investor, someone who is not only willing to provide funding but also a partner capable of spreading the image and values of May Vegan to the community.
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