Tôi Tên Là Dining
The restaurant industry has been different since COVID-19 hit us four years ago. Especially when the economic depression hit the entire world, the Food and Beverage industry was also affected. Everybody was suffering from keeping their business running, but for some reason, restaurants in Saigon kept opening new locations. Some were risky enough to open new locations just to close them.
One unpopular dining style has been surfacing in the Food and Beverage market, which is Private Dining. Private dining usually happens within a restaurant where you can book out a section and have your private party. There are only a few chefs in Vietnam does private dining since it’s still a new concept in Vietnam.
One of the private dining “brands” that I got to test out multiple times and still came back to is Tôi Tên Là, hosted by Chef Quang Minh. Tôi Tên Là means My name is, and is a way to introduce yourself in a new setting, every relationship starts with an introduction of your name. Chef Quang Minh started cooking for his friends as a hobby when he was still living in Singapore, and then it became a side job for him besides his daily job as a marketer/graphic designer.
Two weeks before Tet, Toi Ten La threw a Year-End dinner. A group of strangers shared a table and had dinner together. Conversation after conversation, and strangers became friends. The dinner has a modern twist on all the traditional food during Tet. The dinner included six courses, and all the dishes were paired with complimentary white and red wine.
When all the guests arrived, the chef handed us a welcome drink, which was a refreshing cocktail, then after the guests had arrived and seated, the first pour of white wine and the first dish were served. A very Tet-inspired menu was created but with a modernized Western twist, from Banh Chung, canh chua, “canh kho qua”, thit kho tau, thit ngam nuoc mam… Everything was served in perfect sizes, and filling, but left the guests craving for more.
Then after dinner, we played some bingo, with gifts for the winners, that was the time when we all got to know each other more and talked about the future or some experiences that we had in the past.
Each time Chef Quang Minh threw a private dinner, it was always at a different location, sometimes at a bar, at his own home… and this time, it was on the rooftop of a furniture store, located in Sala, District 2. It was a perfect night, I made some new friends, and some new connections, and the breeze was simply a small yet perfect addition to the night.
