If there’s any bar and restaurant keeping Thảo Điền, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City’s creative dining hub electric and vibrant, it’s definitely progressive Vietnamese tasting room Upstairs and gastro wine bar Little Bear—the former located right above the latter along Nguyễn Bá Huân.
Both are owned and run by serial F&B entrepreneur Long Tran, who is also the co-founder of Gia in Hanoi and Seroja in Singapore. The two brands aren’t just making their mark locally with their impressive Michelin recognitions; they’re also crossing borders and leaving their imprint across Asia, cooking alongside chefs from Tokyo, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Bangkok, Singapore, and Manila.
Introducing, the Chef’s Luggage
At Little Bear, the collaborative concept takes shape through Chef’s Luggage, a series built around the restaurant’s gastro side. The idea is for the visiting chefs to bring more than just a few of their signature dishes in their suitcases when they fly to Ho Chi Minh. They also carry the things that make their cooking theirs: ingredients, techniques, childhood memories and the places that have influenced them along the way. Little Bear’s wine team responds by injecting a bit of Vietnamese flair as well as creating pairings around each chef’s menu rather than treating wine as an afterthought. The result is a dinner that gives guests a better sense of where both flavors came from and where they can be taken when cooked with other culinary influences.
It perfectly fits with co-founder and head chef Duy Nguyen’s track. He spent the early part of his career cooking in the United States before returning to Vietnam and revisiting the dishes he grew up with. In the process of doing so he snagged the Michelin Guide Young Chef Award, a year after the restaurant opened. He was 26.
When Filipino Classics Meet Vietnamese Flavors
The series kicked off on August 21 with Noura, the Tokyo Bib Gourmand-listed sibling bistro of two Michelin-starred Hommage. Then last month, Latido brought Colombian food over, drawing on memories of growing up in Bogotá. Just over the weekend, our very own Michelin-selected Aya, the sibling restaurant of Hapag, served some iconic Filipino dishes in Vietnam.
The menu came as a complete set, paired with a curated list of wines from their inventory, and also a Champagne add-on. Working closely with chef Duy (they did a two-night special event in Manila last February), Thirdy Dolatre and Kevin Navoa presented an inspired and inspiring mix of all-time favorites with inflections of Little Bear’s home country.
This was evident from the get-go as starters such as the Vietnamese congee called chao, rice cooked down to a silky, creamy texture, blankets a mound of grilled pig’s face sisigSisigA sizzling Kapampangan dish of chopped pork head and liver, seasoned with onions, chilies, and calamansi. Served on a hot plate and often topped with egg, sisig is a popularGo to Sisig Glossary and for nuggets of crunch, fried tofu. It’s a bowl that perfectly puts the ethos of the series into edible, memorable form.
There was a Wagyu tartare seasoned with pares jus and lasagna chimichurri on a delicate cradle of toasted sourdough focaccia; braised pork ribs and Da Nang fermented chili jam lodged in a pie tee; and kinilawKinilawA Filipino dish of raw fish or seafood cured in vinegar and citrus, mixed with ginger, onions, and chilies. Often compared to ceviche, kinilaw predates Spanish colonization and is prizedGo to Kinilaw Glossary featuring Ninh Thuan’s trevally doused in passionfruit sinamak dressing.
A pig’s blood and fermented rice fried lumpia got dressed like a goi cuon, with fresh leafy greens and rice paper, then accessorized with pig’s brain cream and peanut liver sauce; while Pinoy pancitPancitThe Filipino noodle dish, symbolizing long life and traditionally served at birthdays. Varieties abound, from everyday bihon and canton to regional specialties such as Quezon's habhab and Cagayan's pancit batilGo to Pancit Glossary molo got bougie with a duck and foie gras stuffing, dunked in a lini’ku smoked duck broth and citrus oil.
True to Hapag fashion, the mains were served family-style. A slab of crispy pork belly was nestled on a rich pool of cashew kare-kareKare-KareA celebrated Filipino stew of oxtail, tripe, and vegetables in a thick, nutty peanut sauce tinted golden with annatto. Served with a side of bagoong alamang to balance the mildGo to Kare-Kare Glossary sauce, and sinigang soured by tamarind fruit and leaves caressed the delicate flavors of Phu Yen coral trout and Venus clams. Of course, it came with rice, which was annatto and lemon basil-scented.
Capping off the meal were two sweet stunners—a delicate jasmine pan cotta with gin tea sorbet and a grating of asin tibuok, and hot banana bread with a scoop of four-year-old cashew miso ice cream, and nuoc mam cognac caramel.
A Taste of Two Homes
There was a loyal Little Bear customer who graced the event along with her friends. She is half Filipino, half Vietnamese and currently lives in Ho Chi Minh. And before the night ended, she extended this gracious message to the chefs. “Every bite reminded me of the flavors I grew up with in Vietnam and the Philippines. I am so amazed at how the sinigang first tasted like sinigang, followed by a hint of canh chua at the end of each sip of the soup.”
Chef’s Luggage features two Asian cities with varying histories and sets of ingredients in tow. Though different, they come together by telling a bigger story about where Asian food is going: forward, without leaving home behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a collaborative dining series where visiting international chefs fly into Ho Chi Minh City to cook alongside Little Bear’s team. Chefs bring signature dishes, native ingredients, techniques, and personal influences, which are paired with curated wines and Vietnamese culinary touches.
Both establishments are located along Nguyễn Bá Huân in the Thảo Điền neighborhood of District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. Upstairs sits directly above Little Bear, and both are owned by serial F&B entrepreneur Long Tran (co-founder of Gia in Hanoi and Seroja in Singapore).
The restaurant is co-founded and led by Chef Duy Nguyen. After starting his career in the United States, he returned to Vietnam to reinvent local dishes, winning the Michelin Guide Young Chef Award at age 26, a year after Little Bear opened.
The menu merged classic Filipino dishes with Vietnamese ingredients and techniques. Highlights included pig’s face sisig over Vietnamese cháo (congee), kinilaw using local trevally in passionfruit sinamak dressing, pork belly with cashew kare-kare, and sinigang featuring local coral trout and clams.
The meal ended with two fusion desserts: a jasmine panna cotta paired with gin tea sorbet and grated asin tibuok (artisan Filipino sea salt), alongside warm banana bread served with four-year-old cashew miso ice cream and a nước mắm (fish sauce) cognac caramel.
