Inspiration comes from the life and simple dishes of our fellow countrymen
Being the brainchild of a group of three friends who have been playing together for many years, A Ban restaurant also contains many meaningful stories. Born and raised in the village, the two sisters, Co-founder Pham Kieu Duyen and Chef Pham Viet, have nurtured a great love for ethnic cuisine since childhood, so they want to realize the dream of "bringing the remote village to the heart of the city". Besides, Co-founder Helen Huyen Vu has the desire to bring delicious dishes to the world and arouse pride with a new perspective on ethnic cuisine - innovative ethnic groups.
Sharing with Travellive, Ms. Duyen said: “I was born and raised in Son La, nurtured in the culture and cuisine of the Thai ethnic group. Later, when I had the opportunity to learn more about the culinary culture of the Tay, Muong, Mong ethnic groups... I realized that they are extremely rich and unique. It is a natural cultural feature in everyday life with the delicious flavors of ingredients from the mountains and forests creating simple but extremely unique dishes.”
A Ban Restaurant is the brainchild of a group of three friends who have been playing together for many years.
A Ban Restaurant was born as a way to bring the remote village to the heart of the city through the call of sincere, simple and rustic cuisine.
With the desire to preserve and introduce the culinary culture of ethnic minorities, A Ban restaurant was born as a way to bring the remote village to the heart of the city through the sincere, simple and rustic culinary call. “Not just 'eat enough, drink enough', A Ban is a journey of enjoyment full of harmony between flavor and culture. We bring back a whole source of ingredients, the culture of the village in each dish. We transform and combine them to create A Ban with a style that we dare to call innovative ethnic”, Ms. Huyen confided.
Unique "Miniature Northwest" architecture in the heart of the capital
Inspired by the houses of the people, the materials and details of the people are highlighted and sought after. Using Pu Luong pink stone slabs arranged in the style of the Mong people, the typical wooden door leads to the surprising and interesting interior space of A Ban restaurant. Entering the gate, listening to the murmuring sound of the waterfall, walking on the winding slope like the path to the village to enter a cool green yard shaded by trees as if living in the middle of cool summer days in the mountains and forests.
Entering the gate, listening to the murmuring sound of the waterfall, walking on the winding slope like the path to the village to enter a cool green yard covered with trees like living in the cool summer days in the mountains and forests.
Dubbed as "a miniature Northwest", A Ban restaurant attracts diners from the first moment they set foot in the restaurant with its sophisticated architecture imbued with the highlands, such as dining tables made from wooden boats, hand-dyed indigo curtains of the Thai people, wooden cushions covered with kapok fabric of the people... The cultural life of the highlands is clearly and authentically recreated through every small corner of the restaurant.
“The cultural nuances of the highlands are harmoniously combined with typical ethnic architecture and contemporary art. A Ban selects, transforms and brings those marks to express itself as a restaurant with strong ethnic characteristics but also very modern and contemporary. Not only that, every corner at A Ban is also carefully taken care of, each tool is custom-made, the brocade and self-woven wool or the original loom of the ethnic people. All carry our thoughts and respect for the ethnic cultural colors,” said Ms. Huyen.
Dubbed as "a miniature Northwest", A Ban restaurant attracts diners from the first moment they set foot in the restaurant with its sophisticated architecture imbued with the highlands.
The unique space of the restaurant will take diners through each level of experience. If the first floor is "Happy about the village", the second floor is "In the loom", then the third floor will be "Immersed in the clouds".
With the theme “Happy about the village”, the entire first floor of A Ban carries the interesting characteristics of the village. This place makes diners recall beautiful memories when coming to a pretty, pure village but also overwhelmed by the majesty of nature and the sky of the highlands.
Brocade is a unique cultural feature of ethnic minorities with rich and profound applications in life. At A Ban, the second floor is recreated with a masterpiece: "Behind the loom" is a beautiful picture full of cultural colors. The entire space is woven from wool, carpets, and fibers. Brocade fabric is printed and woven to decorate the walls. Along with that, thousands of colorful strings are braided to cover the ceiling or create a symbolic separation between people and the reliefs. The graceful strings separate but at the same time evoke emotions about life that seem to be happening right on the other side of the sparse fence. All weave together the beautiful, vibrant, and interesting colors of life.
The unique space of the restaurant will take diners through each level of experience. If the first floor is "Happy about the village", the second floor is "In the loom", then the third floor will be "Immersed in the clouds".
The third floor of A Ban has the theme "Immersed in the clouds" - a VIP room area with four rooms named after the four great mountain passes symbolizing different landscapes: Khau Pha, Pha Din, O Quy Ho and Ma Pi Leng. As soon as you step onto the stairs, clouds float lazily, stretching out, covering the entire ceiling, making diners feel like they are standing on a fresh, towering mountain peak. The spiral shape symbolizes the erratic air currents, the clarity but also the haziness of the morning mist and the highland clouds.
Proud to bring mountain cuisine to Hanoi
A Ban's menu is built and developed based on the cuisine of four ethnic groups: Thai, Mong, Muong, Tay. There are still traditional dishes of the ethnic groups such as: Pa Pinh Top (grilled folded carp), Lap (buffalo skin salad), Cay Pinh (grilled chicken); Thang Co; Bamboo Rice, Five-color Sticky Rice, Khau Nhuc... But besides that, it is more innovative with fusion dishes, which are the combination of ethnic ingredients with modern processing methods or high-quality ingredients to create dishes that bring new experiences to diners such as: Bamboo Rice with Truffle Mushroom Sauce; Bamboo Worm Pizza; Salmon marinated with Chinese apples and Cham Cheo; Wagyu beef with Mac Mat sauce...
To create dishes with a unique flavor that is unforgettable after just one taste, the restaurant carefully prepares ingredients imported directly from the villages. “In the traditional dishes of the ethnic minorities, we always prioritize the use of local ingredients such as mac khen, sour bamboo shoots from Son La, doi seeds from Dien Bien, mac mat, black canarium, bamboo rice, Cao Bang fragrant squash, sticky rice, five-color sticky rice, khoai cake, Muong Khuong bean curd, stream fish, Hoa Binh pickled cassava leaves, etc. All of these ingredients are carefully selected by us to ensure the flavor and quality of the dishes,” said Mr. Viet - Head Chef at A Ban.
All ingredients are carefully selected to ensure the flavor and quality of the dishes.
The culinary culture of the ethnic people is extremely rich and diverse, not only unique from the dishes but also the drinks are prepared very attractively. In A Ban, based on traditional wines and ingredients, adding a little aroma of seasonal products to create drinks with unique characteristics. The wines are fermented from mountain products such as leaf yeast, corn yeast, combined with honey, berries to create extremely special drinks.
Many diners, when hearing about a traditional restaurant, will think that the dishes may not suit their taste, be difficult to eat, or be too rustic to serve high-class customers. To adapt the mountain dishes to suit the taste of many people, Mr. Viet said: “A Ban uses typical ingredients, emphasizing a bit of seasonal flavor. Combined with the freshness of each season, variations and creativity in processing techniques. To recreate the familiar yet extremely fresh feeling of the mountains and forests, of trips, of regional specialties in each ingredient, scent, and experience. A new, unique but still complete way”.
The culinary culture of the ethnic people is extremely rich and diverse, not only unique from the dishes but also the drinks are prepared very attractively.
Bringing Vietnamese cuisine to the world
Currently, A Ban has become a favorite destination for many diners in the capital and abroad. More specifically, A Ban has also become one of the restaurants selected by Michelin. Sharing her feelings about this special event, Ms. Duyen proudly said: “It is considered an honor, a great recognition for the founder team and A Ban restaurant. This is not only an opportunity to be known by many international customers, but also a recognition of what we are trying to do and bring diners the best experiences. Along with that, this is also a matter of how to maintain stability, even better day by day to be worthy of this recognition”.
A Ban became one of the restaurants selected by Michelin.
Sharing about her future plans, Ms. Huyen added: "In 2025, we hope to have an A Ban restaurant in Europe and there, Vietnamese cuisine will become a favorite dish of Europeans as well as people around the world."
