On the penultimate night of Hozo City Tết Fest, Chef Vuong from MICHELIN-starred CoCo Dining served 32 guests an eight-course menu that turned Tet customs into contemporary cuisine. The setting: a shared table along the Saigon River, enclosed by a reflective latticed canopy, with the city’s skyline rising behind. Three days of culinary and architectural dialogue converged into one statement dinner.
“Tonight, as the finale of Hozo City Tết Fest’s culinary-cultural component MÊ VỊ®️, Chef Vuong will showcase the best of the 8-course set menu called Mâm Vị Giao Thời,” CoCo Dining’s Managing Director, Daniel Dang, announced from the wooden platform of the DRIFT Pavilion – constructed by LAITA Design to capture the energy of their partner restaurant. Below, the dining table stretched with space for 16 guests on each side.
Adding Another Layer
When Tien Vo – the festival’s creative director – and the organizing team started planning the food program, they pushed past standard festival dining. “The conversation was about possibility: what role food could play if we treated it as culture, not just content. As the idea evolved, another layer was added that made MÊ VỊ®️ even more interesting: bringing together eight founders of eight architecture firms and pairing each of them with a restaurant.”
“This has been a special event creating an evening banquet built around a truly compelling theme,” Dat Dinh, founder and head of 324PRAXIS, one of the participating architecture firms, said.
“It’s bold in its concept, bringing together eight architectural studios and eight restaurants,” Tuan Anh, co-founder and chief architect from sgnhA, agreed. “The dialogue between gastronomy and architecture marks a first-time collaboration of its kind,” his co-founder Tran Quoc Khoi Nguyen added.
“MÊ VỊ® was created from the passion of us – Vietnamese who have so much love for Vietnamese culture and cuisine. So we can create more value for Vietnamese food,” Nguyen Thanh Giang, general director of Hozo City Tết Fest and president of The Purpose Group, said.
All that planning led here – the finale staged beneath gathering Saigon stars, not only the ones in the sky but many arriving to enjoy the dinner.
The Space Inbetween
The table was strewn with lotus flowers, orchids, banana blossoms, and watermelons carved for lunar new year. Around it, Kieu Lam from LAM Weaving Spaces constructed a latticed canopy of reflective material that caught light and cast geometric shadows across the dining space.
Through the gaps in the weave, passersby glimpsed the dinner in progress: guests seated, courses served, the temporary kitchen working. The installation turned the meal into theater while maintaining intimacy, announcing something significant was happening inside without blocking the view entirely. The sun cast colored light on the installation as it dipped between the Vietcombank Tower and the Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel on the other side of the river.
A Banquet In A Cinematic Space
Those two towers, visible from almost anywhere along the Saigon River, tell the story of everything that changed in Vietnam between their openings. The Sheraton opened in 2003 and needed to convince investors Vietnam could support international hospitality. By 2015, the Vietcombank Tower opened with Heineken, Johnson & Johnson, and Baker McKenzie already leasing space.
Ten years later, Thu Thiem across the river remains largely undeveloped – an expanse of reclaimed land that now hosts festivals and large-scale events. With unobstructed skyline views, the Saigon River as backdrop, and Thu Thiem Bridge arcing overhead, it’s become one of the city’s most cinematic event spaces. The location itself maps Saigon’s trajectory: from convincing the world it was ready, to proving it, to claiming the recognition that comes after.
That same arc applies to Vietnamese cuisine. Three years since the MICHELIN guide launched in Vietnam, modern Vietnamese cooking has moved from validation to visibility on the global stage. Chef Vuong earned his star as part of that shift.
Translating Tradition Into MICHELIN-Starred Dining
Chef Vuong from CoCo Dining earned the final MICHELIN star announced at the guide’s third Vietnam ceremony in Danang last year. The menu that caught judges’ attention was Ra Khơi – a narrative built from his coastal childhood. It tasted of squid and ginger, instant noodles, salty air, and grilled fish. His formative years, reimagined through modern technique.
The Mâm Vị Giao Thời brief demanded similar work: revisit Tet traditions, translate family reunion meals into MICHELIN-starred dining, keep the nostalgia intact.
“Because we know in Vietnamese culture we like to eat together, so it had to be a communal eating experience,” An Ha, the festival’s culinary strategic director, explained. “We wanted to bring the Tet tradition into contemporary dining.”
At the head of the table, the organizers erected a temporary kitchen capable of executing eight courses of MICHELIN-standard dining. Inside, Chef Vuong worked alongside the VỊ Battle® winners – Chef Linh from The Monkey Gallery DINING and Chef Tâm and Chef Duy from Quince Saigon. Together, they tied the festival’s elements into one menu, translating Tet traditions into contemporary technique the way Chef Vuong’s Ra Khơi menu translated his coastal childhood into starred cuisine.
A Crowd-Pleasing Combination
The eight courses explored Tet customs – opening doors to good fortune, celebrating with spring flowers, offering meals to families joining together – into dishes paired with non-alcoholic beverages by Duc Tran, bar manager at CoCo Bar. “I needed to understand our chef first, know his cuisine and cooking technique, to match the drinks with his food,” Duc said about his zero-alcohol cocktails: Cloudy, Solara, and Funky Honey.
The menu committed fully to its concept without compromise. Kinmedai wrapped in Phú Long rice paper became spring blooms signaling prosperity. Northern king crab with Phan Rang fermented grape honey and Da Lat sturgeon caviar embodied harmony.
Watermelon, pickled shallots, and fermented shrimp pulled childhood Tet memories into sharp focus before the meal pivoted through kombu-cured snow fish with green tamarind and marigold, then stilled into lobster consommé with Lý Sơn garlic – a palate cleanser before the communal rice course and desserts built from coconut, pomelo, salted kumquat, and bánh thuẫn.
Nothing casual about it: this was a statement dinner that treated Vietnamese ingredients and Tet traditions with the same rigor typically reserved for French technique.
“It’s very light, refreshing, and brings those spring flavors into the food. Chef Vuong’s a magician,” Alistair Minty, General Manager at Saigon SOFITEL Plaza, said. “It’s sharing together, it’s celebrating together,” Miyu Minty – Luxury Hospitality Media Expert – agreed.
MÊ VỊ®️ Offered Gratitude, Positive Emotions, And Fulfillment
For Shaun Pham, founder and CEO of Spotlight Asia, the location and concept presented something excitingly new, but his expectations were already high from previous visits to CoCo Dining. “I once again experienced the techniques and the balance of flavors that CoCo Dining consistently delivers to its guests.”
Over three days – the 27th to the 30th December – Hozo City Tết Fest’s MÊ VỊ® component brought Vietnam’s culinary and architectural scenes into direct dialogue. Four restaurants competed in the VỊ Battle® – Quince Saigon and The Monkey Gallery DINING taking the wins. Eight architecture firms built pavilions interpreting eight restaurants, from Anan Saigon to ST25 by KOTO. And on the final night, it all converged here: 32 guests, one shared table, eight courses translating Tet traditions into MICHELIN-starred technique.
“I just feel gratitude, positive emotions, and fulfillment,” Chef Vuong said as the guests drifted off back into the night.
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