From familiar dishes to new experiences on the high floors of Saigon
Located on the 66th floor of Landmark 81, Oriental Pearl Restaurant has just introduced a completely new à la carte menu, focusing on modernized Vietnamese cuisine. Not following the elaborate form, the dishes on the menu exploit the sophistication of familiar things - with the preparation, combination and presentation of moderate experimentation but enough to create surprise.
Amidst the expansive view of Saigon’s skyline, the experience at Oriental Pearl is like a taste journey, taking diners through culinary highlights from North to South – from stir-fried pho, bun cha to jackfruit curry, fatty liver bread. Each dish is a reinterpretation, retaining the original spirit while opening up a different way of feeling – lighter, more modern and multi-layered.
Oriental Pearl's new menu is a collection of dishes reminiscent of familiar regions - from Hanoi to Saigon
Redefining familiar icons
Starting with the “bun cha” taco, a dish inspired by the street corners of Hanoi but with a completely new look. The fragrant grilled pork belly is placed in a crispy taco shell, combined with a skillfully mixed fish sauce, bringing a feeling of both familiarity and liveliness. A convincing blend of street food and modern presentation.
On the other hand, the jackfruit miso curry is a gentle surprise. The richness of the jackfruit, the umami aroma of Japanese miso, combined with the crispy fried betel leaves – all arranged so that no single ingredient overwhelms, but together tell a harmonious story. The pure white ST25 rice on the side acts as a backdrop, allowing the curry to take center stage.
Taco "Bun Cha", a bold version of Hanoi's iconic street food
If pho is the national soul, then at Oriental Pearl, stir-fried A4 Wagyu Satsuma beef pho is a quiet way to honor it. The stir-fried noodles are cooked to perfection, shimmering with a secret sauce full of depth, welcoming the pan-fried A4 Wagyu beef. The egg yolk and thick broth on the side are a reminder of the dish's origins, but the overall style is contemporary, neat and sophisticated.
Bun thit nuong, a representative of Southern cuisine, is brought back with careful ingredients and texture. Grilled meat and golden spring rolls, fresh and crunchy raw vegetables, light fish sauce... all are arranged as a combination of many layers of flavor, so that each bite is a discovery.
Elevating the quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine
The highlight is the Autograph sandwich – a statement-making version of banh mi. Not a traditional sandwich, this dish is a combination of minced Black Angus beef rolled in lolot leaves, smoked cheese, foie gras sauce and herbs in a handmade baguette. Every element is carefully measured and selected, bringing a multi-layered experience: sophisticated, rich, but still maintaining the natural spirit of Vietnamese banh mi.
Dessert was a soft surprise: Lacàph coffee mousse with pineapple and coconut. The light sweetness, light sourness, and smoothness intertwined in the texture of mousse – jelly – sauce, like a clear farewell to summer. Coffee, pineapple, coriander – seemingly isolated ingredients – found a common language in the hands of the chef.
A mesmerizing dessert
The 66th floor of Oriental Pearl is not only a place to admire Saigon from above. It is also a place where diners can look back at Vietnamese cuisine through a new lens: it does not need to be strange to be special, nor does it need to keep everything the same to be considered traditional.
At Oriental Pearl, a restaurant located on the 66th floor of Landmark 81, Vietnamese cuisine is no longer confined within the traditional framework, but is also a journey to feel the transformation of identity through a modern lens.
Landmark 81 through the eyes of a bird
