Imperial cuisine never looked so good

Bui Quynh Hoa eats like an empress at Hue’s Tinh Gia Vien, a candlelit garden restaurant where admiring the food might be more fun than eating it.

As the morning mist lifts above the leafy boulevards of Hue in central Viet Nam, master chef Ton Nu Thi Ha (aka Madam Ha) makes her way to the fruit and vegetable markets.

It’s 6am, and local farmers are unloading baskets heaped with colourful, aromatic produce, freshly picked from the fertile fields that line the banks of the Huong (Perfume) River.

Madam Ha has made this journey every day for as long as she can remember. Only by examining, smelling and touching the produce herself can she be satisfied that the dishes she prepares at her family-run Tinh Gia Vien Restaurant will meet her exacting standards.

"Everything must be fresh, fresh, fresh," she insists. "For me, only the best."

As I discovered when I followed her into Tinh Gia Vien Restaurant, located 500m east of the Royal Citadel, Madame Ha’s standards are equally high for her restaurant’s ambience and presentation. Entering the private mansion that is Tinh Gia Vien is akin to infiltrating an enchanted land.

The gardens are resplendent with tropical flowers, fountains, delicate bonsai and lush trees. Ornate red and gold tables on the large balconies are attended by waitresses dressed in traditional Hue costumes, complete with halo-like headdresses.

In addition to her vast knowledge of Hue’s imperial haute cuisine, Madame Ha’s expertise includes nutrition, culinary design and bonsai creation, and she puts them all on display at Tinh Gia Vien.

The two-storey building is full of artwork from the Hue Imperial Court, and its garden features an equally impressive collection. For decades, Madam Ha and her family have collected trees and shrubs to fill the restaurant’s 850-sq.m garden. Cacti are a particular favourite – more than 200 are on display, next to rhododendron and camellia shrubs and century-old trees.

When the sun goes down, Tinh Gia Vien’s perfectly shaped bonsai and bushes – some the product of 10 years of painstaking pruning – catch the twinkling glow of colourful lanterns, candles and tiny lights.

But that is just the decor; a restaurant’s success or failure depends upon its food. And here Tinh Gia Vien plays its trump card, serving feasts so visually impressive that their flavours could not compare.

For inspiration, Madam Ha draws on her heritage as a descendent of the royal family, as well as on her culinary training. Hue’s gourmet heritage dates back to 1848, when the city was Viet Nam’s capital during the reign of the flamboyant Emperor Tu Duc (1848-1883).

Determined to make his mark as a food connoisseur, the emperor assembled the finest chefs in the land to tend to his every culinary need. At each meal, 50 dishes prepared by 50 cooks were served by 50 servants. (Not so extravagant, perhaps, for a man who requested his tea be prepared only with morning dew collected from leaves.) To satisfy his constant demands for elaborate feasts, his team of chefs developed complex recipes using exotic spices and rare meats, and they perfected the art of decorative presentation.

Tinh Gia Vien offers diners the rare opportunity to experience a comparable dining experience. The restaurant offers, by reservation only, both meat and vegetarian set menus that are works of art: hors d’oeuvres shaped like phoenix wings, pineapples turned into lanterns, rice shaped like swimming tortoises and salads transformed into prancing dragons.

As animal-shaped dishes arrived at the tables, the bonsai garden filled with a buzz of delight. Personally, I can’t get worked up over carrot flowers and papaya dragons but apparently the emperors in the forbidden palace were mad for them. A succession (10 courses in all) of ever more extravagant peacocks, dragons, fish, chickens and porcupines, composed of pate, tiny spring rolls, mushrooms, squid, vegetables and fruit, marched across our table.

In all honesty, the food was ornate and visually pleasing but not massively flavourful and with a whiff of the production line.

"Imperial flavours are subtle," Madam Ha explains. "There isn’t as much spice and chilli (as is served in most Hue snack stalls and restaurants). Each course introduces a new combination of flavours and ingredients. It’s about balance."

It’s also about colour and form: Madam Ha knows well that fine imperial cuisine must please the eye as well as the palate. Her mastery of the aesthetic is likely the reason that tourists, ambassadors, Government officials and businessmen all come to her table, in pairs, in small groups and for parties. Perhaps it takes an extremely discerning palate to appreciate the delicate flavours of Madame Ha’s creations, but anyone can sit back and enjoy the show.

Tinh Gia Vien - Garden Restaurant

Address: 7K/28 Le Thanh Ton St, Hue City

Tel: (054) 522 243 or (04) 9142 15033

Hours: 7am-11pm, daily

Prices: Set-course meals cost US$10-15 per person

Comment: Well worth a visit for its royal atmosphere

Source VNS