Marking the upcoming Vu Lan season, Vietnam House Restaurant proudly presents a curated vegetarian menu tailored for intimate family gatherings across its two distinctive locations: the classic elegance at the Dong Khoi street and the contemporary design language on the 3rd floor of Union Square. Drawing from familiar ingredients in every Vietnamese kitchen, Vietnam House Restaurant skillfully reimagines them, infusing contemporary Vietnamese culinary philosophy into vegetarian dishes that are both delicate yet rich in flavour, light yet deeply satisfying.
While both venues harness the familiar ingredients of Vietnamese gastronomy, Vietnam House Restaurant offers two distinct expressions of vegetarian dining. If the à la carte menu at Dong Khoi evokes the comforting warmth of a traditional Vietnamese home-cooked meal, Union Square presents an imaginative contemporary set menu thoughtfully curated from appetizer to dessert, delivering a complete and holistic dining experience.
The Vu Lan vegetarian menu at Vietnam House Restaurant @ Dong Khoi features three specially crafted dishes, refined in seasoning to strike a balance between impressive depth and graceful subtlety. Highlights include rooting shank mushroom, lingzhi, deer antler and king oyster mushrooms slow-braised in black pepper sauce - offering a rich, aromatic profile that pairs perfectly with steamed white rice. Accompanying this is pan-seared tofu filled with carrots, wood ear mushrooms, leek, crushed tofu, and dill, featuring a lightly golden exterior, a tender, fragrant center, and a rich tomato sauce that accentuates the dish's delicate nature. Rounding out the selection is a comforting sweet corn soup with vegetarian abalone, cordyceps, snow fungus, lingzhi mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms, delivering a clean sweetness finished with a subtle hint of sesame oil that leaves a soothing lingering impression.
If the Dong Khoi space evokes nostalgic flavors, Vietnam House Restaurant @ Union Square delivers a culinary journey balancing tradition and innovation through a dedicated Vu Lan set menu. The experience opens with mixed mushroom and cordyceps pho 'Xiao Long Bao', awakening the palate with a clear, sweet broth and savoury mushroom filling. This is followed by a delightful appetizer duo - “Tien Vua” salad, pumpkin flower, bell pepper, termite mushroom, lotus root paired with Banh Khot, truffle paste, mung bean, coconut foam. While the salad comforts the palate with its signature freshness, the "banh khot" captivates with a golden crispy shell, earthy green beans, and soft coconut foam. At the heart of the experience are two main course options: slow-cooked vegetables ragout, Hai Phong mini baguette to fully savor the flavourful broth, or dried vegetarian Pho featuring a delicate balance of chewy rice noodles, vegetables, and mushrooms. The meal gently concludes with house-made jasmine silken bean curd, ginger sago syrup, and coconut, offering a clean sweetness and comforting warmth.
Amidst a fast-paced life, the Vu Lan season offers a precious moment to slow down, reconnect with cherished values, and honour one's parents. At Vietnam House Restaurant, this sentiment is woven into every wholesome vegetarian creation, transforming each gathering around the table into an enduring memory of love and gratitude.
