I like when food is linked to compelling personal stories. While I was triggered to visit Hanabi in Saigon by my passion for Japanese food, I found much more. The place was started a little over one year ago, in June 2017, by a freshly married Japanese couple that met in Vietnam. Chef Taka used to work as a chef for the Japanese Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and, upon meeting Ms Nabby, they decided to make Vietnam their home. This prompted them to start Hanabi – Japanese Cuisine in a calm street in district 2, just a stone throw away from the busy Xuan Thuy street. After a while, they found their niche in tempura, a lightly battered and deep fried type of cuisine. I have heard tempura restaurants in Tokyo and Sapporo, but I have never heard of one in Vietnam. While tempura is a common item in Japanese menus, Hanabi must be the first to focus on this type of cuisine and this is certainly a welcome addition to Saigon food scene.
You can perceive a family atmosphere in the intimate and nicely furnished restaurant. They have a number of counter seats where you can see the chef frying the tempura food on the spot, but also a private room is available (a very polite and quiet group was using it during my visit).
The visit
I made a reservation via email for a Tuesday evening dinner and I opted for the larger menu including 8 types of tempura.
The first dish consisted in a beautifully presented set of appetizers, six! (I kind of got excited and I forgot to take a picture, in the gallery you can see only two appetizers). The set included a cocktail with okra, seaweed, ikura (samlon roe) and clam; a cup of tofu, actually bell pepper tofu that tasted much more delicious than similar puddings I had before; a bite of pumpkin with cream cheese; a piece of crab sushi and, finally, a refreshing cup of tomato gazpacho. That was an amazing start.
The second dish came in the form of a two pieces of lightly seared yellow tail with vegetables and yuzukoshō sauce (a type of Japanese seasoning made from chili peppers, yuzu peel and salt) that was a perfect match for this carpaccio.
Then the chef, in this case Ms Tam, the sous-chef, since Mr Taka was away, came to the frying station to work on the tempura. Meantime Ms Nabby played a very important role explaining the dishes in English to me and other non Japanese speakers in attendance. Each item was battered and fried on the spot in front of me and other guests seating at the counter. The start of the tempura part of the meal was signaled by the salts and sauces that were brought to my place: Himalaya pink salt, matcha (green tea) salt, sea salt, white radish pulp (daikon) and the special tempura sauce (it is not soy sauce!) that came warm. The salts were incredibly tasty, even a few grains would enrich the flavor of the tempura, but I did not overuse the condiments as the tempura dishes were already exquisite as they were.
You can have a look at the individual dishes in the gallery below, here’s a description:
- Prawn (ebi in Japanese): this is a classic piece of tempura that you can find in any Japanese restaurant, but here’s the catch: the tempura that I or you have had in other Japanese restaurants in Saigon has very little to do with the tempura prepared at Hababi. Honestly, in other restaurants tempura dishes just look like normal deep fried food, but at Hanabi you can taste the real tempura that is only lightly battered and fried, more like a delicate veil. Having the ebi was the perfect start.
- Dragon bean: a vegetable tempura, first time I tried, a new flavor for me.
- Young Asian royal fern (zenmai in Japanese): this was a specimen of young Osmunda Japonica, an edible mountain herb found in Japan and other East Asian countries. The flavor was incredibly delicate and the fried herb literally melted in my mouth. Something new that I had never tried.
- Japanese whiting (or sillago). This is a small white fish, found in Japanese waters, locally called Shiro-gisu or Kisu, that seems to be born to become a tempura dish. It is rarely used for sushi or sashimi (and only if super fresh). It makes a perfect tempura dish that can be consumed in its entirety and has a very nice marine flavor.
- Watercress: an aquatic plant. You would never expect that it can taste so good. Magic of the tempura.
- Zucchini flower: it is always a pleasure to eat them as fritters.
- Pork: a nice bite.
- Baby onion: the last dish looked like a golf ball and hid a super tender baby onion (I was told that it is pre-boiled for 20 minutes).
But the meal was not finished yet! After the tempura dishes I was offered a delicious palate cleanser combining watermelon, squid and an addictive vinegar jelly. Later, another substantial dish came: two pieces of marinated chicken tight (retaining its soft skin) and some vegetables. The dish flavor was enriched by using a sweet sauce that is usually used for unagi (freshwater eel).
Before the dessert, one more dish: a bowl of cold somen noodles with clam stocks and seafood. While I am not a big fan of cold noodles in general, this dish was very refreshing and perfect to slow down before dessert. At this point also a cup of green tea was offered.
The last dish was a trio of dessert: cherry tomato compote, a bite of pomelo and one of dragon fruit, and finally an apple sherbet on a piece of frosted watermelon.
The check
The total bill after 10% tax and a bottle of water totaled 1,127,500 VND (around 48.5 USD). I really appreciated that they did not overcharge the water as most fine dining venues nowadays routinely do. It should be mentioned that they also have slightly simpler menus for 660,000 and 880,000 VND (that is around 28 and 38 USD). Given the quality of the food, attention to the details, level of authenticity and the overall experience, I find these prices very reasonable.
Overall, it felt like having a meal in Osaka or Sapporo and this kaiseki (multi-course meal) experience based on tempura dishes is something new in Saigon. Personally, I highly recommend Hanabi restaurant to those who wish to experience a real fine dining Japanese dinner and I hope to visit them again.
They change menus on a monthly basis and, comparing my dishes with the ones served to another blogger, I can see that the changes may be substantial (one more reason to come back).
Where in Ho Chi Minh City:
36A Nguyen Ba Huan St., Thao Dien, District 2
New address: số 18 đường 41, Thảo Điền, Quận 2 (just 200 meters from the old address).
Check their Facebook page for updated information and new menus.
Phone: +84 93 111 50 88 Email: kaiseki.hanabi@gmail.com
Reservation is required at least one day in advance (open for dinner only).