It took months before chefs Tru Lang and Wayne Liew pulled together a special menu for diners to the Mùa Craft Sake restaurant in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City this week.

The menu, entitled Taste Obsession: Singapore, is part of a namesake campaign launched by the Singapore Tourism Board to introduce Singaprean delicacies to Vietnamese diners, as well as to attract Vietnamese tourists to the city-state. 

The campaign takes place in celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations (1973-2023) between Vietnam and Singapore, as well as 10 years of their strategic partnership (2013-2023).

The Taste Obsession: Singapore campaign introduces a series of collaborations of six food establishments from Singapore and Vietnam, promising to bring flavorful experiences to diners in Ho Chi Minh City in July and August. 

Phở in collagen soup 

The first collaboration is between Mùa Craft Sake and renowned Keng Eng Kee (KEK) Seafood from Singapore on Wednesday and Thursday.

At a private media event a day earlier, chefs Tru Lang from Mùa Craft Sake and Wayne Liew from KEK Seafood presented how Singaporean signature dishes were blended with Vietnamese flavors and ingredients in their special menu.

It is said to “showcase scrumptious creations by time-honored zi char (Singaporean Chinese home-style dishes) by masters Keng Eng Kee Seafood and Mùa Craft Sake, [and to be] a place to honor and inspire the values of Vietnamese agricultural products.”

Among the chefs’ creations, a fragrant cocktail used Vietnamese rice in the form of sake while brimming with nostalgic flavors reminiscent of the classic Singaporean Hainanese chicken rice.

Also, KEK’s signature crispy fish skin came in a Vietnamese salad (gỏi) made of local veggies including shredded water spinach, pepper elder, and more. 

One of the most surprising yet 'riskiest' dishes in the menu was the collagen soup with Vietnamese phở noodles and rare beef tenderloin. 

The dish, combining one of KEK’s signatures -- the collagen soup -- with Vietnam's national dish of beef phở, turned out to be unexpectedly harmonized.

The chefs’ use of the flat type of phở noodles, usually seen in Vietnam’s northern style of phở, made it pair well with the collagen-based broth.

A smooth fusion

“It was smooth,” chef Liew recalled how the two teams worked together, claiming they met no difficulty in collaborating thanks to the common language of food. 

The collaboration between the Vietnamese and Singaporean restaurants also introduced a 'childhood dish' of many Singaporeans to Vietnam.

In this fusion introduction, the lap cheong (Chinese sausage) fried rice was topped with caviar from the Vietnamese Central Highlands city of Da Lat and sea urchins from Phu Quoc Island off southern Vietnam.

Singapore’s famous chili crab and Vietnamese fresh rolls (gỏi cuốn) were also presented.

Diners who come for the Taste Obsession: Singapore menu at Mùa Craft Sake can also enjoy the restaurant’s creation of grilled aged duck breast with summer fruits like lychees, mangosteens, and fermented tofu sauce.

The feast was beautifully wrapped up with KEK’s rich and creamy Teochew yam-based dessert called 'orh nee,' and chef Tru Lang’s bánh mì dessert, which is a playful take on the globally famous Vietnamese dish.

“I wanted to find a creative but nostalgic way to honor the bánh mì,” chef Tru Lang told Tuoi Tre News about his eclairs reimagining bánh mì with peanut praline cream, seasonal fruits, and candied palm seeds.

After the first collaboration in July, Taste Obsession: Singapore will continue to move to The Triệu Institute restaurant and cocktail bar in District 1 for its collaboration with Singapore’s The Dragon Chamber restaurant from August 8 to 10.

The campaign also features a collaboration between Singapore’s Chin Mee Chin, which serves kaya toast and kopi (Nanyang coffee), and Ho Chi Minh City-based Ivoire Pastry Boutique in District 1 from August 9 to 31. 

According to Terrence Voon, executive director for Southeast Asia at the Singapore Tourism Board, Singaporean and Vietnamese people share their passion for food. 

“That’s why we’re using food to symbolize the very special relationship between Singapore and Vietnam,” Voon spoke at the event for local media in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday. 

“This is extra special, because it’s the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Singapore and Vietnam and the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership between our countries, and there is no better way to celebrate than food.

“Vietnam is actually a really important market for us in Southeast Asia.

“We want to show you what makes Singaporean foods special, and of course you must come to Singapore to try for yourself why our food is delicious and amazing.”

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!