The second of only two Vietnamese restaurants with a Michelin green star, Lamai Garden in Hanoi lives up to its accolade.
Located in a small house, tucked away in a residential neighbourhood, the 14-seater restaurant is helmed and owned by chef Tran Hieu Trung. He became a chef accidentally.
“I started cooking seriously a bit late, when I was around 30. I often think that cooking chose me, not the opposite. I think most of our careers choose us in life. When I was young, I chose to be an engineer and I wasn’t fit for it. One day I went to the kitchen and really enjoyed my time in it, and then I decided to do this professionally,” explains chef Trung.
“I really enjoyed cooking French cuisine and wanted to see what it was really like in France. I decided to go to France to be trained at Le Cordon Bleu. However, the more time I spent in France, the more I realised that I didn’t really like French cuisine and yearned for Vietnamese. In order to get to the end of something, we must have our heart in it.”
After studying in France, he returned and embraced Vietnamese cuisine. Though the chef was born and brought up in the south of the country, he decided to open Lamai Garden in Hanoi because his family decided to move back there.
Lamai Garden reflects his philosophy of seasonal and local ingredients, often sourced from his mother-in-law’s farm in the north and his organic farm 500m from the restaurant.
“The name of the restaurant comes from a combination of the names of my two children, Lam and Mai. Actually, the predecessor of Lamai was La Chérie, which was a bistro,” says chef Trung.
“But later I decided to separate the restaurant from the bakery, to develop a purely Vietnamese concept. I did not think too much when I started the restaurant. I just wanted my customers to feel the place and time; so when they eat at my restaurant they know what time of the year it is. Is it autumn or summer? I began with simple thinking.”
The bistro also served seasonal and local ingredients, and when the chef moved to Lamai Garden, he had more time to think about the concept. However, chef Trung says doing fine dining in Vietnam with local ingredients is a bit of a challenge.
“The ingredient quality from the farms in Vietnam aren’t as good when compared to France or Japan. Though we have good seafood, by the time it reaches to Hanoi, it’s not the same quality. If you eat pork in the mountains, it is very good, but here in Hanoi, you cannot find that species. So that is why most fine dining restaurants in Vietnam need to use imported ingredients,” he explains.
The small organic farm is where he grows seasonal vegetables and the restaurant’s front garden is full of herbs and leafy greens, often used in the dishes. In fact, it would not be out of the ordinary to see a chef pop into the garden during service to grab a few ingredients for the next dish. Farm-to-table doesn’t get any fresher.
“When I started Lamai Garden, I asked my mother-in-law to raise some ducks for me. To get good ingredients, I had to grow my own vegetables. Only later did I find farms that grow vegetables and raise animals in the organic way that I wanted to order from and use,” says chef Trung.
“The menu at Lamai Garden is loosely based on Japanese kaiseki, which is equivalent to the Vietnamese saying ‘each dish has its own season’. Looking at the distinct summer and winter markets in different parts of Vietnam, there are different produce available. Winter is the season of vegetables and citrus fruits, while in the summer squash and pumpkin are at their best. My menu also focuses on the different cuisines between regions. The ingredients based on geography, climate and people are also reflected in the dishes.
“In my hometown, I said I would only buy free-range pigeon and then the farmers said they would raise them for me and not use the cages any more. I think in time, when more people request better ingredients and produce, more farmers are encouraged to participate in this food chain.”
The restaurant’s garden is also home to mountainous herbs. There is even a plant that tastes like Coca-Cola, which the chef brought from the mountains and realised it could be grown in Hanoi. The chef chooses most ingredients and produce when he travels.
“Usually when I travel, I met many people who rear animals and grow unique vegetables and edible plants. I ask them if they can send it to me in Hanoi and that’s how I choose my suppliers. My menu often has ducks that my mother-in-law breeds, mountain goats and black pigs,” adds chef Trung.
“Even the food from the North and South differ with the south being bolder, while the North being more herbaceous. You can notice the differences in a simple bowl of pho and what is put into it. The north doesn’t put as many herbs into pho as the south and since I grew up in the south, I prefer it with lots of herbs and sauce.
“At Lamai Garden, the menu can also be described as my journey through Vietnam. Depending on the season, you will see my past in Ho Chi Minh City and some dishes from the north or south. Of course, when I add my personality, the dish that leans more towards the south is more my version. I used to spend time on presentation, but later on after cooking a dish, I wanted to serve it immediately. The beauty of the dish, is after all, in the cooking technique, even if it is just a vegetable dish.”
Chef Trung prefers meat to vegetables and that is emphasised in his menu. Even on the winter menu, one can expect to find dishes like mustard greens and cabbage, which he says “is very refreshing, but in a different way. Nothing is heavy and it feels very light, but not boring”.
The wild duck he serves weighs less than a kilo and are bred for his table alone.
“What I like about this duck is that it doesn’t smell like duck. It is not gamey but is fragrant, almost,” says chef Trung.
“It is imperative to note that I do not want to elevate Vietnamese cuisine; neither do I serve modern Vietnamese cuisine. At Lamai, we bring new breath to Vietnamese cuisine, honouring traditional values with our approach, which is sourcing the best product, following the seasons and making things simple.”