An’s Saigon presents unmissable Vietnamese foodtainment experience for discerning diners

Sometimes the most perfect outcomes are pure serendipity, and the most perfect venues are built unintentionally, as if by magic.

If you were inclined to set up the most memorable fine dining venue in your city, you could try to get every detail perfect, spending months agonising over which location would give you the highest possible profile and then splurging on bright décor and elegant furnishings. You could attract glamorous clientele to post selfies with your food on influential platforms, or you could staff your kitchen with furiously talented international chefs, concocting startling fusion dishes as if performing the dark arts.

Or: you could do it by accident, with a venue hidden down a back alley where even those who notice you by chance may take a moment to register what they’ve discovered. You could do it without meaning to, by trying to stand apart from all the fake pageantry of swanky high-concept restaurants, by creating a venue that looks and feels just like home.

You could do it by trying not to do it; by deciding that your home-style venue will definitively not be a fine dining experience, but instead something real, crafted out of innocent enthusiasm for the subtleties of great cooking. And in doing so, you could almost inadvertently create the single most unmissable dining experience in Saigon, Vietnam; the one restaurant that any visitor to the city simply must try before they leave. The most unique, authentic and memorable high-concept dining experience the city has to offer. And that’s An’s Saigon.

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A house built on dreams and tragedy

The story of An’s Saigon begins not in some power meeting with business plans and profit projections, but in the heavy silence of a young woman processing her grief under lockdown. Vanny Luong, An’s founder and the source of the sunlight-rich character that permeates every corner of the venue, was just 20 years old when her father passed away. The responsibility for navigating complex family business issues and personal trauma fell squarely on her young shoulders; a burden that would forge the practical entrepreneurial grit that now keeps An’s engines running.

When the pandemic hit Vietnam, Vanny found herself in extended isolation, fantasising about escape. “I always wanted to build something like this,” she says, her musical Vietnamese accent honeyed by an acquired Melburnian drawl, “but after Covid, I thought it would be more practical to start something with guaranteed cash flow, like a nhau snack food venue. That didn’t happen. Every location we looked at closed their doors on us. Then we found this place, and somehow the door was open. So I looked at my head chef and said, I guess we’re building the dream instead.”

Vanny Luong, Founder & General Manager at An’s Saigon (photo: RABHUU)

Cuong Nguyen, Executive Chef at An’s Saigon (photo: RABHUU)

The dream was audacious in its simplicity: a city restaurant that looked more like a house than a dining venue, with all the informal luxuries of a five-star beach resort and none of the theatrics. A place where guests might check into the spa upstairs and stroll down for an exquisite dining experience a couple of hours later whilst still dressed in their pyjamas. Where students could turn up with laptops, buy a coffee, and sit out front half the day using free wifi without being brushed off.

“There’s no pressure,” Vanny explains. “We only have 37 seats in the general dining area, so you’d think that would be an issue. But I would rather see those seats filled by people who feel comfortable, who feel at home, rather than worry about the next paying guest. Hospitality is not just about the business. I tell my team to keep refilling the water, to bring out a little snack if we have something new to try, and to treat everyone as if they were a guest in our home.”

An’s is a home, crafted to offer an experience that draws people back (photo: RABHUU)

The philosophy of progressive Vietnamese cuisine

Vanny’s idealism extends seamlessly to executive chef Cuong Nguyen, whose extraordinary culinary talent was honed alongside Peter Cuong Franklin at Saigon’s internationally-lauded fine-dining gem Anan. Slender, gentle and good-humoured, Cuong brings a distinct philosophy to An’s kitchen that perfectly complements Vanny’s vision of radical hospitality.

“I’m not a fan of large portions,” he says brightly, flexing skinny arms as if for evidence. “I prefer dishes that are just one or two bites so I can play with the flavours and never get bored. When you come to a place like this, you want to explore different tastes, and if you have more than three bites of the same thing, it can start to feel monotonous.”

This approach forms the foundation of what An’s calls “Progressive Vietnamese Cuisine”—a concept that reconstructs traditional Vietnamese dining on the bedrock of core values such as communal eating, local ingredients, and the spirit of sharing. It’s a philosophy that refuses to elevate Vietnamese food because, as Cuong insists, “Vietnamese food is already elevated. We just present it through the eyes of young people, showing how we approach different dishes today.”

The centrepiece of this philosophy is mâm cơm, the traditional Vietnamese family-style meal uplifted to the calibre of top-tier restaurant dishes. While this style is currently making waves throughout Vietnam’s dining scene, it’s no exaggeration to say that An’s Saigon does the best mâm cơm in the country.

“Previously, no one had put mâm cơm into a tasting menu because it was too familiar, easily overlooked,” Chef Cuong explains. “But precisely because no one was doing it, that’s why we decided to go ahead.”

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For the team at An’s, the meal tray is not merely a way to serve food (photo: RABHUU)

Foodtainment as cultural immersion

Book a Chef's Table meal at An’s Saigon, and you’re setting yourself up for pure foodtainment. The dinner plays out like West End theatre, where creative Vietnamese dishes take the place of music and dance and the chefs are storytellers, artistically revealing more of Vietnam’s grass-roots culture than most travellers would pick up in a week of visiting well-trodden tourism hotspots.

The evening unfolds as an unforgettable hours-long journey through the Vietnamese palate across multiple, close-focused, bite-sized courses presented in full cultural context with fascinating anecdotes and intimate references delivered by Chef Cuong and his team. As if performing traditional theatre, Cuong presents his menu with the obvious pleasure of an artiste, guiding diners through a series of dishes that astonish locals and international visitors alike.

An’s current Chef's Table experience is structured around four emotional movements: Xin chào (Hello), Hỏi thăm (Asking after), Quây quần (Gathering together), and Chuyện trò (Chatting). This sequence forms an emotional journey carefully orchestrated from initial palate stimulation to the fullness of main dishes and the gentle conclusion of dessert.

“We always move from light to bold flavours, from crisp to soft textures, from cold to warm temperatures,” Chef Cuong explains. “The goal is to guide the palate purposefully while maintaining naturalness, like the feeling of returning home after a long day.”

The “Hello” section typically features sour and astringent dishes to awaken the palate. “Asking after” gradually builds in structure, temperature, and flavour intensity. “Gathering together” forms the heart of the meal—the mâm cơm section where multiple dishes are presented simultaneously, recreating the communal aspect of Vietnamese family dining. Finally, “Chatting” concludes with desserts that linger in memory like the final conversations of a perfect evening.

Recent guests have described the experience as transformative. One well-travelled diner who had experienced fine restaurants around the world told Chef Cuong after her meal: “I spent a week in Ho Chi Minh City, and just through this one meal, I understood Vietnamese culture more than in my entire trip.”

Each dish feels like a chapter, familiar, yet layered with novelty (photo: RABHUU)

The accidental fine dining revolution

Intriguingly, An’s achieved this cultural resonance by explicitly rejecting fine dining conventions. “We hate labels,” Vanny says with characteristic directness. The team’s resistance to traditional fine dining stemmed from a desire to eliminate barriers between restaurant and guest, to create genuine hospitality rather than performative service.

Yet what emerged organically was something that transcends conventional categories entirely. The intimate eight-seat Chef's Table, the theatrical storytelling, the precise orchestration of flavours and emotions all bear the hallmarks of world-class fine dining, yet delivered with the warmth and authenticity of a family home.

“When I worked with Peter, the market didn’t need people to stay for three to four hours for one menu,” Cuong reflects on their evolution. “That’s why our first menu was very short, about 60 to 90 minutes. But after we did that, we felt we needed to optimise the room. Because we do Vietnamese cuisine, the food itself cannot fully represent Vietnamese culture on its own.”

The result is a dining experience that challenges every assumption about Vietnamese restaurants, fine dining, and cultural authenticity. Guests can arrive in sneakers and t-shirts and receive an experience as sophisticated and emotionally resonant as any classy establishment.

At An’s, the “dinner tray” is not only restructured but also tied to a rhythm of storytelling (photo: RABHUU)

More than a restaurant: a cultural embassy

What makes An’s truly unmissable extends beyond the food. The venue functions as a complete ecosystem—part restaurant, part spa, part cultural centre, part community hub. The spa upstairs offers authentic Vietnamese treatments in intimate private rooms. The lounge areas welcome everyone from international travellers to local students. The garden provides a tranquil escape from Saigon’s relentless energy.

This holistic approach reflects Vanny’s original vision of creating a “house” rather than a restaurant. “We call it a house where we have a little garden at the front, the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom and the spa,” she explains. “Everything is designed for comfort and connection rather than transaction.”

The venue has become such an essential Saigon experience that travel publications now include it in “must-do” lists for visitors with limited time in the city. As one recent Metrolink article noted, “if you only have two days in Saigon, you should visit Cho Lon, explore Thao Dien, and dine at An’s.” That’s it.

Guests regularly arrive in the afternoon for spa treatments, shower and change, then descend for the Chef’s Table experience before heading to midnight flights, often asking if they can wear their spa outfits to dinner. The answer is always yes.

The Chef’s Table menu unfolds in four movements: Hello, Asking after, Gathering, Chatting (photo: RABHUU)

Vietnamese food is already elevated. We just present it through the eyes of young people, showing how we approach different dishes today.

By - Chef Cuong Nguyen

The heart of Vietnamese hospitality

What ultimately distinguishes An’s Saigon is its commitment to authentic Vietnamese hospitality values while pioneering new forms of cultural expression. The venue operates without service charges: everything is transparent and inclusive. Staff receive higher salaries than industry standards and participate in ongoing education programs. The team even maintains a small foundation for community outreach, quietly supporting local families and street vendors.

“We don’t aim for dining awards or magazine rankings,” Vanny states firmly. “When Cuong asked if I was joining the Tatler events, I said yes, not because I want to network or maintain relationships, but because I want to see and feel motivated by the energy. I enjoy seeing people achieve things on stage, whether I’m up there or not.”

This philosophy of authentic success over manufactured recognition has created something genuinely unprecedented in Vietnam’s dining landscape. An’s has earned international recognition not through pursuit but through passionate dedication to craft and culture. One prominent listing describes the experience as “worth a journey”—perhaps the ultimate recognition for a venue that began almost as an accident.

The future of Vietnamese dining

Now in its third year, An’s Saigon has proven that authenticity and innovation can coexist, that Vietnamese cuisine can be both deeply traditional and startlingly contemporary, that fine dining can be both sophisticated and utterly approachable. They’ve demonstrated that the most successful restaurants aren’t necessarily those that chase trends or court critics, but those that remain true to their founding vision while constantly evolving their craft.

For discerning diners seeking an unmissable Saigon experience, An’s Saigon offers something genuinely unprecedented: a chance to understand Vietnamese culture through its most fundamental expression—the shared meal—whilst experiencing culinary innovation at its most sophisticated and emotionally resonant. It is foodtainment in the truest sense, where entertainment and enlightenment merge into something approaching art.

The restaurant that never intended to be unmissable has become exactly that, a hidden gem that rewards discovery with an experience so unique, so culturally rich, and so emotionally satisfying that guests immediately begin planning their return visit and compiling lists of friends who simply must experience An’s Saigon.

In a city filled with dining options, from street food to international chains to ambitious fine dining establishments, An’s Saigon has carved out a category entirely its own. It’s not just the best mâm cơm in Vietnam; it’s a cultural institution, a culinary embassy, and a testament to the power of authentic passion over calculated ambition.

For visitors to Ho Chi Minh City, the question isn't whether to visit An’s Saigon, it’s how quickly you can secure a reservation for an experience that will fundamentally change how you understand Vietnamese culture, fine dining, and the magic that occurs when young visionaries follow their dreams down hidden alleyways and into the hearts of discerning diners worldwide.

An’s Saigon doesn’t strive to impress; instead, it aims to create a quiet space where memories can quietly unfold (photo: RABHUU)

Based on an original article published in Tatler Vietnam, June 2025 issue

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