For the first time, Chef Peter Cuong Franklin (R), owner of Ho Chi Minh City's first Michelin-starred restaurant Anan Saigon, collaborated with Seoul's Michelin-starred chef Kim Do Yun. Together, they crafted a tasting menu that offers a fresh perspective on Vietnamese and Korean cuisine.
Tasting menus, commonly found in fine dining restaurants, consist of smaller portions that tell a story of ingredients and cultural heritage. Peter and Yun's collaboration features 10 courses split into appetizers, main dishes, and desserts, with each dish served individually.
This experience, designed for just 15 guests per seating, takes place in a setting with bar-style seating, where chefs prepare dishes in front of diners and engage directly with them.
"Traditional ingredients like fish sauce, sesame, and soy sauce are incorporated into this menu, showcasing the intersection of Vietnamese and Korean cuisines," Peter said.
The menu opens with Chungmu Kimbap tart, inspired by the Chungmu kimbap from Tongyeong, South Korea. The original Chungmu kimbap dates back to the 1930s-1940s when local fishermen needed a meal to take with them on their fishing trips. It consists of seaweed-wrapped rice, served with seafood and dried pickled radish rather than being filled like regular kimbap.
The Chungmu Kimbap tart maintains the essence of the original dish by presenting its ingredients separately. The accompaniments include 8-9 month-aged salted shrimp and pickled radish. The rice and seaweed are rolled into bite-sized portions, while the twist lies in the tart shell.
The third appetizer is handmade buckwheat noodles with perilla oil. The noodles, handcrafted by Chef Yun, are blanched, chilled, and tossed with perilla oil and black sesame.
Chef Kim Do Yun shared that perilla oil is a common ingredient in Korean cuisine, used in dishes such as salads, mixed noodles, and stir-fries. This ingredient is favored in Korea due to its numerous health benefits.
Rounding out the appetizers is grilled ark shell with scallion oil, a Vietnamese-inspired dish by Chef Peter. He enhances the traditional grilled shellfish with a layer of stir-fried vermicelli beneath the mollusk, transforming the familiar into something unexpected.
Chef Yun personally mixes the noodles and serves them to diners at the table.
Explaining his decision to center the menu around noodles, he shared that he has an "obsessive passion" for them. The Michelin culinary guide describes him as a "master of noodle-making" in Seoul.
Beyond noodles, the Korean chef is also passionate about traditional ingredients. Inside his Seoul-based restaurant, he maintains a cold storage facility arranged like a laboratory, where he preserves over 500 types of ingredients. Each item is labeled with its production year and origin, ranging from fermented vegetables, dried herbs, beans, grains, and seeds to dried meats and fish. Some ingredients have been salted and fermented for up to 7-8 years.
"Each ingredient is not just a component of a dish but also a story of its origin and the creativity behind its culinary use," Chef Yun shared.
Chef Peter's second main course presents a Vietnamese classic: Hoi An thick noodles cao lau. While keeping its original flavors intact, the portion is adjusted for the menu, allowing guests to savor its multi-layered taste and texture.
Chris Clarke, a visitor from England, tried the noodles for the first time and remarked that the dish offers layered flavors and a diverse range of ingredients. The accompanying vegetables, including bean sprouts, scallions, and mint leaves, help balance the dish and reduce its richness.
The final main course is shaking beef with sticky rice. A popular dish in HCMC, shaking beef is served with potatoes, but Peter gave it a twist by pairing it with sticky rice instead. The sauce is made with Korean-style soy sauce, handcrafted by Yun.
To balance the richness, the dish is accompanied by watercress, bell peppers, shallots, and Phu Quoc black pepper.
"This menu is a culinary journey blending Vietnamese and Korean flavors, highlighting both the similarities and differences in ingredients and cooking techniques," says Peter.
Chef Peter prepares the dishes while simultaneously explaining the ingredients and their origins to diners.
He shared that collaborative menus with international chefs provide an opportunity for culinary exchange, allowing chefs to learn from one another while offering guests a multicultural dining experience. These special menus feature dishes from the participating chefs' restaurants.
The 10-course tasting menu is priced at approximately VND1.8 million (US$70) per guest.
