Hanoi (VNA) - After Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, the Michelin Guide is heading offshore in Vietnam for the first time, turning its attention to Phu Quoc - an island where the dining experience is shaped not only by what is on the plate, but also by the sea, local produce, fishing-village traditions and internationally inspired resort dining.
An island terroir the mainland cannot replicate
From 2023 to 2026, the Michelin Guide helped define Vietnam’s culinary landscape through three distinct destinations: Hanoi, refined and deeply rooted in heritage and traditional flavours; Ho Chi Minh City, dynamic, diverse and endlessly inventive; and Da Nang, approachable yet rich in the distinctive tastes of central Vietnam.
What all three have in common, however, is that they are mainland cities, where dining is largely woven into the pace and energy of urban life.
Phu Quoc’s inclusion in the Michelin Guide’s 2027 selection marks a departure from that familiar trajectory. For the first time in Vietnam, Michelin is venturing onto an island. Away from the confines of the city, dining in Phu Quoc is inseparable from its natural surroundings, where the sea, the breeze and even the sunset become part of the flavor, atmosphere and emotion of a meal.
For food lovers, “terroir” - the influence of soil, climate and environment on the character of ingredients - is what gives a culinary destination an identity that is difficult to reproduce elsewhere.
Phu Quoc possesses that advantage naturally, set between the warm waters of the Gulf of Thailand and stretches of primeval forest. It can be tasted in the deep salinity and lingering sweetness of fish sauce aged in wooden barrels, the pungent heat of Phu Quoc pepper, and the freshness of Ham Ninh crab, sea urchin and herring brought in straight from the ocean.
On the island, the distance from sea to table can sometimes be measured in footsteps, allowing dishes to retain an unmistakable taste of the ocean.
The vitality of Phu Quoc’s fishing-village culture is equally evident in local staples. There is bun quay, with fresh shrimp and fish paste spread along the side of a steaming bowl before being cooked with hot broth, and bun ken, a rich, aromatic noodle dish made with coconut milk.
Commenting on Phu Quoc’s culinary scene, Michelin Guide International Director Gwendal Poullennec said: “What particularly caught the inspectors’ attention was the harmonious combination of rustic fishing-village food culture and an evolving culinary scene shaped by international gastronomic talent".
From rustic fishing villages to world-class resort dining
If Phu Quoc’s seafood and fishing-village traditions are the island’s raw gems, its luxury resort ecosystem, particularly in the south is helping polish them for an international audience.
One of the clearest examples is Pink Pearl by Olivier E. at JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, where acclaimed chef Olivier Elzer brings together French-Mediterranean cuisine with fresh seafood and ingredients from the island.
Dining inside the pink mansion, inspired by 1920s aristocratic architecture and designed by celebrated architect Bill Bensley, turns the fine-dining experience into a story in itself.
Along the shores of Khem Beach and Ong Doi Cape, the spirit of fishing-village cuisine is being reinterpreted by international chefs in five-star surroundings.
At Herring Bar at Premier Residences Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, local favourites such as herring salad, baby squid and sun-dried mackerel are given a refined presentation in a beachfront setting.
COCO Beach House at New World Phu Quoc Resort celebrates Vietnamese-style grilled seafood beneath the elegant thatched roofs of the resort, while Corallo at Premier Village Phu Quoc Resort takes a more freewheeling approach, pairing island seafood with premium imported ingredients.
In Sunset Town, meanwhile, La Festa Phu Quoc – Curio Collection by Hilton offers a more cosmopolitan culinary journey. Seta specializes in refined contemporary Cantonese cuisine, while Mare channels the flavors of Italy’s Amalfi Coast, bringing a touch of the Mediterranean to Phu Quoc’s seaside setting.
Across these dining experiences, the line between “local” and “international” is increasingly blurred. The island’s fresh ingredients inspire celebrated chefs, while world-class culinary techniques, in turn, give Phu Quoc’s local produce a new platform on the international dining stage.
The Michelin Guide’s arrival in Phu Quoc ahead of the 2027 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week also carries broader significance.
As affluent travelers, business leaders and international political figures arrive on the island, food has the potential to serve as a form of soft diplomacy - telling the story of a Phu Quoc that remains deeply rooted in local identity while embracing a more cosmopolitan future.
So what might persuade travelers who have already eaten their way through Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang to take another flight, this time to Phu Quoc?
The answer lies in an experience where dining is not a standalone activity, but part of a broader, multisensory island escape.
A day might begin with a steaming bowl of bun quay, followed by herring salad beneath the coconut palms of Khem Beach at lunchtime. By late afternoon, travelers could sip Italian wine at Mare while watching the sun set behind Kiss Bridge, before ending the evening with refined French cuisine inside Pink Pearl’s distinctive pink mansion, accompanied by the sound of waves outside.
If Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang have demonstrated the breadth of Vietnam’s urban culinary landscape, Phu Quoc adds another dimension: that of an island destination where food, nature and resort living are deeply intertwined.
The Michelin Guide’s 2027 milestone is therefore about more than recognising outstanding kitchens. It also has the potential to position Phu Quoc as one of the region’s emerging “culinary islands” - a destination where discerning travelers come not only to unwind, but to taste, explore and immerse themselves in the flavors of a place./.
