With his latest menu, Ra Khơi, CoCo Dining’s Chef Vuong has created more than just a collection of dishes; it’s a narrative woven from the threads of his childhood, the salty air of the sea, and the warmth of family meals. Each plate tells a story, bridging the gap between his coastal upbringing and his current status as a celebrated chef.
He still remembers.
Settling in on one of the boats striking out to sea in early May to catch squid — the breeding season when the squid gravitates nearer to shore and would be easier to catch. Vuong and the crew would eat them right there on the boat, stuffed with squid eggs, minced pork, ginger and shallots, and steamed. The smaller ones they’d sprinkle with salt and dispense into jars to make mắm mực.
A Love For The Ocean
“I spent my childhood on fishing boats. We’d often embark on long trips to sea. I guess even now, the resilience, patience, and love for the ocean that I developed during those years are deeply rooted in who I am,” Chef Vuong explains.
Vuong and the rest of the crew would eat the squid with instant noodles — a convenient quick fix out at sea — with its tangy sweet and sour, umami broth.
When they eventually got home, they’d cook their bounty and spread it across the table, family-style. There’d usually be some other catch to go with it, like Bình Thuận blue crabs, which, unlike semi-wild Cà Mau crabs, live wild at sea, usually to be found not far from islands and inlets, which fishermen would row out to, braving monsoon rains, to catch.
On other days, once the storm had passed, the sky would clear to blue, like a windscreen wiped clean. A gentle breeze would fetch itself from somewhere offshore, fanning fresh air, and in its wake scallops would wash in, which divers could easily collect.
“A flavor profile that’s etched into my soul.”
“But, the family meal would usually come later,” Chef Vuong remembers. “The first thing we’d do, to dispel the chill that had settled into our bones while on our boat deep out at sea, would be to have a bowl of bánh canh chả cá, a thick noodle soup with freshly caught mackerel that’s a specialty in the part of the Central coast where I grew up.”
The seafood-rich cuisine there is unique, he thinks, because of the intermingling of Vietnamese and Cham cultures that happened there.
The aroma of the day’s catch would always hang heavily in the market. “But for me, it smelled fresh and vibrant, and it told wondrous stories of the day’s catch,” he smiles. There were other unmistakable scents too – the sweet smell of ripe dragon fruit, and the comforting smell of bánh mì crisping in street-side ovens.
“Mostly, I’d say, Phan Thiết is more than a taste or smell. It’s a flavor profile that’s etched into my soul. It’s the essence of coastal life, the perfect balance of land and sea that’s shaped not just our cuisine, but our entire way of life. And when I cook, these are the sensations I try to capture and share; a taste of my hometown in every dish.”
More Than Just A Combination Of Ingredients
Lots of these memories came rushing back one night in the CoCo kitchen. “It was late, and I was surrounded by the quiet hum of our kitchen appliances, when I realized that each dish we create is more than just a combination of ingredients – it’s a chapter of a larger story,” he remembers.
That story became the foundation for his menu, called Ra Khơi, a series of dishes that felt personal, like he was inviting guests into his own home. “Creating something so personal was a bit scary at first, sure, but mostly it felt right. Like this is what cooking is all about – not just feeding people, but connecting with them, sharing a bit of who you are through what you create,” he smiles.
CoCo Dining is perfect for this kind of storytelling. Dark like a dream, the memory of a brick wall disappearing into the black space of forgetting, punctuated by the half-remembered trill of tropical flowers, the scratch of branches, the distant echo of a piano.
That Nostalgic Feeling
Chef Vuong is an amiable storyteller. And right now he’s feeling especially nostalgic. The MICHELIN selected award, given to CoCo Dining for the second time, was another milestone and a reason to reflect.
Even though his childhood memories are vivid, he’s come far from the Phan Thiết of his childhood — Top Chef winner, Chef Sakal Phoeung protégé, and now running two renowned restaurants in the same complex – CoCo Grill and CoCo Dining.
So, for example, those urgent bowls of bánh canh chả cá, slurped down steaming hot right by the shore, became his Bình Thuận mackerel with ST25 bánh canh, and an umami ‘tea’ broth. It’s a refined dish that still tastes of the sea and feels reassuring, like the steady embrace of dry land after stepping off the boat.
The instant noodles became a dish called ‘Nautical Wind’ with wind-dried tiger prawns, a rich prawn broth with prawn floss, and foie gras and Chí Thiện chili.
And the family meal, called ‘Homecoming,’ became a spread featuring Iberico and wild mallard, in which the Iberico is served with salted daikon and black pepper glaze, and alongside it, the wild mallard comes with sticky rice and five-spice sauce.
“Digging into my old memories for this menu felt like flipping through an old photo album, but instead of pictures, I had tastes and smells,” Chef Vuong sighs. Naturally, not everything was sepia-tinged. “It definitely wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows,” he shakes his head. “There were tough times – long nights at sea, worrying about the catch, feeling the weight of helping my family at a young age.”
“What really hit me was how strong these memories still were. I could almost taste the salty air and smell the fish grilling. It was like being transported back in time,” he adds finally. And in his Ra Khơi tasting menu, you can taste the memories too.
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