At the Independence Palace's Guesthouse area, lunch is served daily between noon and 1:30 p.m.
An experiential model combining culture and cuisine, it has been open to visitors since mid-August.
To enhance the guest experience, the event offers traditional costume rentals for VND300,000 a set.
There is a wide variety of traditional attire ranging from the Nhat Binh dress (royal court robe) and five-panel ao dai to traditional Vietnamese garments from different eras, complete with accessories such as conical hats, wooden clogs, and headbands.
There are two ticket options at VND1.6 million and VND1.8 million depending on seating.
Once guests are settled, the staff serve the first dish.
Visitors have 90 minutes to enjoy the experience, which includes seven art performances and a six-course menu.
The menu is inspired by traditional regional dishes, and includes sea crab spring rolls, northern-style pho, and grilled giant freshwater prawns served with lotus leaf-wrapped sticky rice.
Each dish is served in sequence alongside each performance.
General director Nguyen Huu Thanh said the art show draws upon cultural elements spanning from the Van Lang - Au Lac era (7th to 3rd century BC) to historical dynasties such as the Dinh, Early Le, Ly, and Tran (968-1400).
The performance opens with echoing drumbeats reminiscent of the iconic Dong Son bronze drum.
Throughout the performance, various scenes re-create folk heritage and traditional rituals, including the Xuan Pha dance, the Tich Dien (royal plowing) festival, and the Nghe (mythical creature) dance, accompanied by music from Vietnam's three distinct geographical regions - north, central and south.
Thanh said the auditorium is designed around the traditional Vietnamese concept of "round heaven, square earth".
The highlight of the venue is a central arena stage surrounded by tiered seating.
This layout allows guests in all seating areas to enjoy a clear view of the performance taking place in the center.
The scene re-creating the traditional Tich Dien (royal plowing) festival features a life-sized water buffalo model, painted with vibrant fiery flame patterns and a traditional Vietnamese five-color festival flag across its flank, at the center of the stage, followed by an actor portraying an emperor holding a plow, accompanied by local villagers making their way into the fields.
One foreign tourist visiting Ho Chi Minh City in late August, who booked the show through a local tour agency, said he was deeply impressed by the cultural experience, from the costumes and cuisine to the performance.
The highlight was the classical tuong (traditional opera) scene, where artists hand-paint their faces before showtime and use body language to convey the story.
"The combination of music, visuals, and cuisine allows foreign tourists to easily immerse themselves in Vietnamese culture without language barriers," the guest noted.
Some Vietnamese guests complained the ticket price is too high. With the costume rental, the total cost is around VND2 million.
The team that created the show explained that it studied cultural and culinary performance models in countries such as Japan, South Korea, China, and France before adapting the concept.
The opening scene of the show, reminiscent of the iconic Dong Son bronze drum.
