A big factor that makes foreign tourists “crazy” about Vietnamese food is that these dishes are very popular, easy to buy, easy to eat, easy to… get addicted to. Tourists can stop by any roadside restaurant to enjoy a delicious sandwich or a hot bowl of pho with a strong Vietnamese flavor.
However, Michelin is the launching pad that truly brings Vietnamese cuisine into the "holy land" of global culinary quintessence.
From 2019 to 2023, Vietnam has won many culinary tourism categories voted by the World Travel Awards for 5 consecutive years. In 2022, the famous travel magazine The Travel announced a list of 10 countries with the most attractive cuisines in the world , including Vietnam. In early 2023, the famous travel magazine Travel + Leisure also suggested Vietnam as the top culinary destination in Asia in the 2023 travel itinerary. All of these honors show that Vietnam is a country of street delicacies, it is not an exaggeration when Philip Kotler, a marketing legend, once suggested: "If China is the world's factory, India is the world's office, then Vietnam should be the world's kitchen"...
But why is the Michelin Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City launch ceremony taking place on June 6, 2023 considered by many experts in the tourism and culinary world to be a historical milestone marking a new beginning, a new chapter of Vietnamese cuisine? Why do we possess dishes that have been constantly praised by the world media over the years, but Mr. Nguyen Xuan Quynh, General Secretary of the Vietnam Chefs Association, still yearn to bring Michelin to Vietnam? Because Michelin is a guarantee for a high-class cuisine. If we do not own this "bible", Vietnam will forever stand on the edge of the culinary elite universe.
7 Vietnamese restaurants to be awarded Michelin stars in 2024
As the General Secretary of the Vietnam Chefs Association commented, Michelin is a term that exudes the scent of creativity and strict rituals for culinary art. In 2023, the French company Zephlto announced that the world's most luxurious travel experience will become a reality in 2024. Accordingly, a hot air balloon will take visitors out of the edge of the earth at an altitude of 25 km and hover there for 3 hours, so that guests can admire the curve of the earth while enjoying Michelin cuisine.
It can be seen that the upper class is willing to spend a very "expensive" amount of money, up to more than 3 billion VND to book tickets for this meal, and even the pre-booked tickets have been sold out until mid-2025. Obviously, money is not a problem for the rich, what they need are experiences that are not for the majority, and if we only use the word "class" to describe it, it is certainly not enough.
That is why the most prestigious names on the global culinary map such as Italy, France, Spain, Japan… do not miss a long list of Michelin-starred chefs and restaurants.
Vinh Khanh Food Street (District 4, HCMC)
In Vietnam, Michelin-starred restaurants also clearly demonstrate this. Hibana by Koki, Anan Saigon, La Maison 1888, Gia, Akuna, Tam Vi, The Royal Pavilion are not the 7 famous names for banh mi, pho, bun cha, banh cuon - the dishes that are first mentioned when foreigners talk about Vietnamese cuisine. Even for Vietnamese people, the number of people who know and have the opportunity to experience the cuisine at these restaurants is not much.
Without Michelin, who would have known that right in the basement of the luxury boutique hotel Capella Hanoi, there is a high-class restaurant Hibana by Koki, the first in the capital Hanoi, bringing the art of Japanese Teppanyaki cuisine to diners, led by chef Yamaguchi and chef consultant Yoshida Junichi - the first Michelin-starred chef in the art of Teppanyaki in the world. Who would have known that right next to Hibana by Koki is Backstage, considered a bright gem in the capital, honoring the cuisine of Northern Vietnam in the most magnificent and luxurious space in the center of Hanoi. Or how to discover a La Maison 1888 (Da Nang) like an ancient French mansion in the Indochinese style standing out in the fresh green space of the primeval forest, possessing the most expensive dishes in the world...
Foreign tourists eat Huynh Hoa bread (District 1, HCMC)
Michelin stars have led the world's rich "gourmets" to know the elite of Vietnamese cuisine; knowing that Vietnam has no shortage of restaurants possessing luxury in space, politeness and thoughtfulness in service style and class in each dish. As the Exoticvoyages website commented: "Vietnam's launch of the Michelin Guide is a big change in the evaluation of Southeast Asian cuisine. The country famous for its banh mi, pho, bun cha dishes, has the opportunity to prove itself in the field of more classy cuisine".
The Michelin star has led the upper class to a classy aspect of Vietnamese cuisine, and also guided food lovers around the world to explore every corner to admire the diversity of dishes in Vietnam. If the first time we welcomed Michelin last year, Vietnam only had 4 restaurants (1 in Hanoi and 3 in Ho Chi Minh City) awarded Michelin stars, honored in the Michelin Guide - the world's leading culinary guide published in 1900; then for the second time - in 2024, the number of Michelin-starred restaurants has increased to 7. In addition to the 7 restaurants awarded stars, Vietnam this time also had 157 more dining establishments and 58 restaurants awarded the Bid Gourmand award thanks to "good food quality, affordable prices" and 99 restaurants selected by Michelin (Michelin Selected).
Not only did Michelin bring the restaurant's name to the world, it also immediately filled the wallets of the owners. Right after the Michelin Guide's honor night in early June 2023, the keyword Michelin and the names Gia, Tam Vi, Hibana by Koki or Anan Saigon immediately became the search content with a breakthrough increase in Vietnam, according to Google Trends rankings. The Michelin title has made the already crowded restaurant even more crowded, especially foreign customers.
Ngon's Northern dishes
Gia - Hanoi restaurant received 1 Michelin star in a burst of joy, almost full of customers until 3 months later, right from the time the tire company's star was announced. To eat at Anan Saigon restaurant, it also takes 1-2 months to make a reservation. Peter Cuong, the restaurant owner, said that if previously the restaurant's customers were mainly foreigners, now more Vietnamese customers have come. The head chef of Hibana by Koki Japanese restaurant, Yamaguchi Hiroshi, commented that the Michelin star has brought good growth to the restaurant, even though the cost of meals here is high, from 8.5 million VND/person. Many international tourists have booked tables 1-2 months in advance of their trip to Hanoi. The names of Ba Ghien broken rice, Ky Dong chicken vermicelli, Dac Kim vermicelli with grilled pork... are searched more on international tourism forums. And after 6 months, the attraction of these restaurants and eateries has not cooled down.
One year after being honored by Michelin in the Michelin Selected list (restaurants recommended by Michelin Guide), Ms. Nghiem Thi Kim Loan, owner of Hoang Van grilled pork noodle shop in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, said that the restaurant's business has become more favorable, with a lot of customers coming to the restaurant, especially foreign customers. To meet the needs of customers as well as the work at the restaurant, the owner had to hire more staff. "There are customers who come to the restaurant to buy grilled pork noodle, and they buy 2 portions to save and eat at home the next day. I am planning to open more branches of the restaurant in the near future if conditions allow," Ms. Loan excitedly said.
Meanwhile, the owner of Pho Huong Binh (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) emotionally shared that it was Michelin's recognition that revived the restaurant that had been open since her grandmother's time in Saigon in 1958. Huong Binh has been named by Michelin Guide in the Bib Gourmand category for two consecutive years. As the third generation to inherit the family pho restaurant, Ms. Tran Thi Phuc Thinh confided to Thanh Nien reporter: There was a short period when she inherited the restaurant from her mother, many regular customers "turned their backs" on the restaurant when the pho taste was no longer the same as before. From that concern, she spent a lot of time and effort to find the old pho taste of the restaurant from her grandparents' time, by reviewing the recipe and adjusting the ingredients. Now, she is proud to have found the pho taste of the past, which is highly appreciated by diners.
“Since receiving Michelin recognition last year, the restaurant’s business has become more favorable, and it welcomes more customers, especially foreigners. Normally, my restaurant is only crowded on weekends, but for the past year, it has been visited almost every day of the week. Thanks to Michelin, not only new customers but also many old customers have come back to support the restaurant. Michelin has revived my family’s pho restaurant!”, Ms. Thinh expressed.
Bread workshop organized by Thanh Nien Newspaper at Van Lang University
In fact, many small streets in Asian countries, thanks to the Michelin Guide, have become famous all over the world, becoming destinations that tourists cannot miss, bringing great benefits to the tourism industry. Typically, in 2017, Michelin Guide was first present in Bangkok (Thailand). Of the total revenue from tourism, culinary-related businesses accounted for 20% in 2017. Within 5 years (until 2022), the launch of the culinary guide in Bangkok is estimated to boost tourist spending in Thailand by 10%.
Or when Michelin visited Japan in 2017 and published the Michelin Guide Japan a year later, 300,000 books were sold in just over a month. After 2 years, Tokyo surpassed Paris (France), winning the title of the capital with the most Michelin 3-star restaurants. Since then, Japan has dominated the rankings of the countries with the most appearances on the list of the most expensive Michelin restaurants. Although it is very difficult to make a reservation at these restaurants, usually having to book about 3 months in advance, sometimes 1 year, and the prices are not cheap, people still flock to Japan to enjoy the star-rated restaurants.
Therefore, Vietnam's unique cuisine, certified by Michelin, is expected to open a new path for tourism, like what Japan, Thailand, Korea or Singapore are achieving.
Artist Tran Thi Hien Minh, Vice President of the Saigon Professional Chefs Association, said that when she went abroad, she also went to restaurants recommended by the Michelin list. These are all restaurants that not only have delicious food but also have meticulous service, cleanliness, hygiene, as well as stability in the quality of the dishes. For example, if the food is rated 8 points, every time diners come, they must enjoy the dish that is rated 8 points, without any fluctuations in quality. In Vietnam today, there are also many restaurants where the chefs are always meticulous, elevating the dishes to a level of sophistication. Even simple dishes with a street feel, when brought to the restaurant, will be transformed into "culinary quintessence", stimulating all the senses, delicious in taste, beautiful in image. Besides, there are dishes that are renewed and diversified, bringing a new feeling to diners.
“It was not until Michelin was established that all these efforts and attempts were truly recognized and spread strongly to tourists from all over the world as well as Vietnamese people themselves to better understand and love Vietnamese cuisine. Recently, when the Saigon Professional Chefs Association represented the Vietnamese team to compete in the Continental Culinary Competition in Penang, Malaysia in 2024 (a prestigious award for Asian chefs), a German judge kept praising Vietnamese spring rolls as delicious, and even joked that if the chef could make spring rolls as delicious as those in Vietnam, he would immediately award them a medal. It can be seen that not only bread and pho, but also delicious Vietnamese cuisine has been deeply ingrained in the subconscious of many international diners. However, to have a complete culinary foundation from delicious to beautiful, from street to classy, Michelin is the missing piece,” artist Tran Thi Hien Minh analyzed.
However, looking throughout the journey of promoting Vietnamese cuisine, it can be seen that most of the Vietnamese dishes and Vietnamese culinary arts that tourists know are introduced by foreign travel agencies, foreign travel websites and even foreign film studios, not by us in a systematic way. That is why foreigners also mention pho and banh mi, but only in a small corner, not bringing the dish deeply into the subconscious of diners. Meanwhile, in Korea, kimchi covers every corner, is introduced continuously, throughout daily stories and movies, making kimchi a symbol of Korean cuisine beyond the territory.
Food at Hue Festival – Culinary Capital
Zucchini salad served at Michelin launch party in Vietnam
Ms. Hien Minh believes that promoting cuisine through films and through systematic international campaigns like the one Korea has done very successfully requires a huge amount of funding. Bringing Vietnamese cuisine to the world more widely does not only depend on the reputation of a few restaurants but also requires long-term policies from the government.
“Vietnamese cuisine has many opportunities but we do not know how to seize them to promote and build a brand. The State does not have a clear promotion and development strategy. Currently, Michelin has created a very good launching pad, has “carried” a rather heavy part of the world's attention to Vietnam, the rest is just waiting for a strong push from macro policies so that the image of Vietnamese cuisine can really shine. We need a worthy promotion strategy, a worthy investment plan to successfully bring Vietnamese cuisine to the world,” the Vice President of the Saigon Professional Chefs Association emphasized./.
Thanhnien.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/viet-nam-buoc-vao-thanh-duong-tinh-hoa-am-thuc-toan-cau-185240706201224882.htm
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