Luu Tich (The Living Archive) marks the latest chapter in CoCo Dining's, a 1-star Michelin Vietnamese restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, years-long exploration of Vietnamese food culture. Rather than treating the menu as a seasonal collection of dishes, the restaurant approaches it as the result of research into ingredients, techniques, communities, and culinary knowledge passed down through generations.
Previous menus explored Vietnam's geography, migration, and cultural exchanges, while Luu Tich focuses on the knowledge that has endured through generations of farmers, fishermen, artisans, home cooks and how that knowledge continues to be carried forward. The concept inspired its English name, The Living Archive, reflecting the idea that culinary heritage continues to change as each generation interprets and passes it on.
CoCo Dining's head chef, Vo Thanh Vuong, sees heritage not as something preserved unchanged but as knowledge that continues to evolve. His approach involves studying traditional techniques, regional ingredients, and their cultural contexts before interpreting them through contemporary cooking.
"People often think of an archive as a place where history is stored," Vuong said. "But for us, an archive is alive. Every generation inherits knowledge, interprets it through their own contemporary lens, and leaves a new layer of custody for the next."
Rather than replicating traditional dishes, the kitchen examines the techniques, ingredients and circumstances that shaped them. The aim is to identify the underlying values behind Vietnamese culinary traditions and explore how they can be expressed in contemporary dining.
"Vietnamese cuisine has never stood still," Vuong said. "It has always adapted alongside trade, geography, migration, and the shifting of generations. What we want to preserve is not the rigid form of a dish but the core values and spirit that created it."
The restaurant's approach combines preservation with innovation. Its team researches and works with local communities to better understand regional ingredients, production methods, and culinary practices, rather than modernizing traditional food solely for novelty.
The approach reflects a broader movement in Vietnamese gastronomy, as chefs increasingly explore local biodiversity and regional culinary traditions to develop contemporary interpretations of Vietnamese cuisine. CoCo Dining received consecutive Michelin Selected recognition before earning its first Michelin Star in 2025.
Managing Director Daniel Dang says that growing international attention on Vietnamese cuisine also creates greater responsibility for restaurants to present local culinary culture accurately.
"The more international attention Vietnam receives, the greater our responsibility to tell our stories authentically," Dang said. "Not just sharing recipes, but celebrating the people, the lands, the artisans, and the cultural values that sustain this culinary landscape."
Chef Vuong will represent Vietnam at the World Gourmet Festival 2026 in Bangkok in October, joining chefs from Asia, Europe, and the Americas. His participation will extend the ideas behind Luu Tich to an international audience.
Rather than focusing only on internationally familiar Vietnamese dishes, Vuong plans to introduce diners to the role of memory, biodiversity, craftsmanship, and cultural exchange in the development of the country's cuisine.
"I don't want people to leave the table simply thinking they've eaten Vietnamese food," Vuong said. "My hope is they leave understanding that the story of Vietnamese cuisine is still actively being written every single day."
The invitation to the World Gourmet Festival comes as Vietnamese chefs and restaurants gain greater visibility internationally. For CoCo Dining, the development also reflects a broader shift among Asian chefs toward drawing inspiration from their own landscapes, communities, and cultural knowledge.
"For many years, conversations about fine dining in Asia looked outward for inspiration," Vuong said. "Today, we're seeing more chefs looking inward—towards their own landscapes, communities, and cultural knowledge. We're honored that CoCo Dining can contribute to that conversation while representing Vietnam."
According to Chef Vuong, Luu Tich and CoCo Dining's participation in the World Gourmet Festival represent two parts of the restaurant's continuing effort to research, document, and reinterpret Vietnamese culinary culture. Its approach is based on the view that preserving culinary heritage does not mean keeping it unchanged but allowing traditions to continue evolving through new generations.
