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The Vietnamese culinary community was abuzz when the Hanoi People's Procuracy issued an indictment prosecuting Hoang Tung (born in 1992), Director of TUNG Dining Restaurant Company, and Nguyen Do Anh Nguyet (born in 1992), a shareholder of the company, for the crime of "tax evasion".
According to the investigation results, during its operation from 2019 to 2023, TUNG Dining Restaurant Company was found to have used personal accounts to receive payments, without issuing invoices and without fully declaring its revenue. The amount of tax evaded was determined to be over 2.4 billion VND, including value-added tax and corporate income tax.
The tax authorities stated that the company's actual revenue far exceeded the amount declared in its tax filings. A portion of this excess was distributed as profit sharing to shareholders, while another portion was used for business operations. Following the discovery and inspection, Mr. Hoang Tung and Ms. Anh Nguyet proactively rectified the entire amount of the violation.
This information immediately became the center of attention, because Hoang Tung is not only the owner of a famous fine dining restaurant in Hanoi, but also a young chef who was honored by Forbes Vietnam in the Top 30 Under 30, representing a generation of Vietnamese chefs with an international vision.
Established in 2018, TUNG Dining (an acronym for Twist, Unique, Natural, Gastronomy) is considered a pioneering symbol of fine dining in Vietnam, a place where food connoisseurs come to experience a tasting menu with 20 seasonal dishes, each telling a story using Vietnamese ingredients and modern cooking techniques.
The restaurant's minimalist yet elegant design accommodates only about 20 guests each evening, creating a private and fulfilling experience for every diner. Under the skillful hands of Chef Hoang Tung, familiar ingredients such as Northwest Vietnamese wild vegetables, Sa Pa sturgeon, and Binh Thuan lobster are transformed into a culinary experience that is both familiar and sophisticated.
At the Michelin Guide Vietnam 2025 announcement ceremony held in Da Nang, the restaurant was once again honored on the Michelin Selected list, marking three consecutive years of being named by the world's most prestigious culinary guide. Previously, in 2021, The World's 50 Best Restaurants ranked TUNG Dining among the Top 100 best restaurants in Asia, affirming the position of a Vietnamese brand on the global fine dining map.
From a young, passionate chef to the man behind a Michelin-recognized restaurant, Hoang Tung was once seen as an icon of a new generation of culinary artists, daring to experiment and break the mold. Now, amidst personal upheavals and legal storms, the story of TUNG Dining remains a multi-layered tapestry of success, responsibility, and the journey of affirming Vietnamese identity in contemporary cuisine.
