Chef Phuong Nguyen prepares dishes at his restaurant.
Located in O Cho Dua Ward, Ben Restaurant serves only a handful of diners daily. There is no fixed menu, and dishes vary depending on the ingredients the chef sources, often from trips to the northern mountains of Vietnam.
Nguyen memorises each returning guest to ensure no dish is repeated. Diners begin with tea, listen to his stories about the day’s ingredients, then wait as he cooks.
The chef shares information about the ingredients with his guests.
Signature offerings include soup made from fruit picked from a century-old tree in the north, grass carp caught in the Lo River, and sticky rice from Tu Le Commune in Lao Cai Province.
“We see each trip as a journey of discovery. The food isn't about recreating tradition but about evoking it with new perspectives. I pay more than market rates to secure the finest ingredients,” Nguyen said.
The restaurant’s small space fits only four or five tables, creating an intimate atmosphere. Many guests say the experience feels like taking a taste tour.
Nguyen Hai Yen, a 32-year-old Hanoi resident, said she was impressed from her first visit: “The place is small, cosy, not noisy. The food is always different, like a journey by taste.”
Nguyen Hai Yen shares that she is impressed by the food here from her first visit.
Do Nhu Quynh, 33, recalled being struck by a soup made from fruit of a 100-year-old tree: “I thought it would be like the usual vegetable soup, but the flavour was sweet, light and lingering, turning a rustic dish into a memorable experience.”
Singaporean guest Kelvin Ong, 26, was most surprised by sticky rice cooked with Tu Le glutinous rice and forest olives: “It smelled like the mountains, with chewy rice mixed with the nutty, slightly bitter yet sweet taste of the olives. I had never tried anything like it.”
Nguyen insists that his cooking has no secret recipe, only the ingredients, which are the soul of his restaurant.
