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Nephele at MÊ VỊ®: Culinary Dialogues That Speak to the Heart

The arrival of Nephele at MÊ VỊ® introduces an emotionally rich culinary touchpoint shaped by seasonal local ingredients. More than adding a distinctive personal imprint, Nephele opens a refined gastronomic journey for guests at HOZO CITY TẾT FEST 2025, one of the most anticipated year end experiential highlights in Ho Chi Minh City.

Making its debut at HOZO CITY TẾT FEST 2025, MÊ VỊ® unfolds like a symphony, delivering fresh and contemporary interpretations of refined Vietnamese flavors through pioneering techniques and ideas. The program connects culinary heritage with inspired continuity, while expanding a multisensory experience that engages taste, sound, color, and emotion. This symphony is expressed through three signature modules, namely MÊ Tales®, VỊ Battle®, and MÊ VỊ Banquet®. As the opening movement, MÊ Tales® presents a dialogue between cuisine and architecture through the spatial language of eight design studios, highlighting the distinct identities of two MICHELIN one star restaurants in 2025 alongside six venues featured in the MICHELIN Guide 2025.

Recently named MICHELIN Selected 2025, Nephele, despite having just passed its first anniversary, has quickly made its mark through a refined balance of sensation and emotion, expressed via the art of wood fire cooking. This achievement is the result of a persistent and thoughtful journey shaped by the team behind Nephele. At its core is Chef Francis Thuận, who transitioned from an engineering and architectural background to pursue professional gastronomy and was honored as Chef of the Year 2023. He defines the culinary spirit of the restaurant. Alongside him, General Manager and Head Sommelier Paul Võ, recipient of the MICHELIN Sommelier Award 2025, completes the holistic experience, helping establish Nephele’s position within the contemporary culinary landscape.

Tucked away in a quiet Saigon alley, a heritage villa on what is described as the Ninth Cloud unfolds like a visual poem, blending the graceful elegance of Art Nouveau with the bold character of Art Deco. It is a space calm enough for guests to step inside and momentarily set aside the hurried rhythm of city life. The restaurant reveals an elegant cloud level setting that fuses urban modernity with a sense of nature, echoing the name Nephele, the Greek goddess of clouds. Hand shaped dó paper flows freely from walls to ceiling, its soft curves evoking the lightness and freedom of drifting clouds. Behind this emotionally charged culinary journey, where refined technique, creative spirit, and genuine hospitality converge, stands a talented trio consisting of Chef Francis Thuận, Head Sommelier Paul Võ, and Head Bartender Hùng Lê.

At the table, guests do not simply enjoy a meal but experience a profound connection akin to an intimate conversation with the land itself. Chef Francis Thuận continually seeks to understand the true nature of ingredients, even spending time living alongside farms. This process has gradually shaped Nephele’s culinary philosophy, one that respects natural rhythms, deeply understands ingredients, and faithfully expresses the pure beauty of each season’s harvest.

This philosophy is most vividly expressed in the signature dish Pigeon mole mango. A three week old pigeon from Chợ Gạo is prepared using the chef’s distinctive grilling method, earning him the affectionate nickname Birdman. The bird is slowly air dried to allow the meat to set naturally, then grilled over charcoal to achieve lightly crisp skin while maintaining warmth, tenderness, and natural depth of flavor within. It is paired with Hòa Lộc mango from Tiền Giang, carefully balanced through two stages of ripeness. Green mango fermented with miso brings a gentle acidity, while ripe mango offers rounded sweetness, creating a subtle dialogue of contrasts. Châu Thành cacao appears in a restrained and earthy form, slowly cooked with tomato, chili, seeds, and chocolate made from the same cacao beans, finished with a touch of mezcal to add depth and cohesion. The dish reflects the rhythm of nature without excess, quietly telling a story of terroir.

At Nephele, food and drink do not exist side by side as parallel elements, but intertwine as a single thread that guides the palate with elegance and emotional resonance. Head Sommelier Paul Võ understands each dish down to its aromatic layers and sauces, crafting wine pairings that create a truly personalized journey. At Nephele, cuisine and dining feel as though both the sommelier and Chef Francis Thuận hold deep mutual respect, supporting and complementing one another seamlessly. Wine pairing here is not simply about choosing a good bottle, but about understanding a dish down to its very breath, then finding a wine that can resonate, elevate, or open a meaningful dialogue.

Marking both the beginning and conclusion of the restaurant’s layered dining journey, the Ethereal bar on the ground floor becomes the stage for the talented Head Bartender Hùng Lê. Here, cocktails are crafted according to each guest’s personal flavor preferences and enjoyed alongside the opening dish of the Nephele menu. Premium Ensui Uni sea urchin from Hokkaido is paired with the gentle sweetness of barley koji, capturing the essence of the sea and reaching new heights when complemented by a thoughtfully balanced cocktail.

The second module of MÊ VỊ®, VỊ Battle®, is a competitive arena for young chefs who are challenged to reinterpret a familiar Lunar New Year ingredient through contemporary techniques and rich imagination. With dried shrimp as the core ingredient, the competition promises unexpected creativity. This spirit closely reflects Nephele’s own philosophy, as Chef Francis Thuận has shared that the most familiar ingredients in daily meals are often the hardest to elevate, especially when presented within a high end fine dining context.

MÊ VỊ® stands as a tribute to the individuals, stories, and passions shaping Vietnamese cuisine today, where tradition meets innovation and passion transforms into flavor. More than a culinary event, MÊ VỊ® is a living dialogue that moves in rhythm with Ho Chi Minh City itself, a city where every corner is infused with its own distinct taste, driven by curiosity, energy, and a constant desire for renewal. MÊ VỊ® celebrates an evolving culinary art form grounded in contemporary cultural identity and contributes to defining a new language of flavor for the city’s future gastronomic journey.