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T
he first time I stepped into
Thien Tam vegetarian res-
taurant, I had a special feel-
ing - one of peace and calm.
he restaurant fuses contemporary
and traditional design set in beautiful
countryside on the Le Ngo Cat road to
the royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc. On
the same site is a gallery dedicated to
traditional silk, lacquer and contempo-
rary paintings.
Thien Tam is Vietnamese for ‘the
compassionate heart’. This reflects its
focus on living a peaceful, healthy life
in contemplation of beauty and with
compassion towards others. The restau-
rant serves an exquisite variety of veg-
etarian recipes, handed down through
generations of the owners’ families.
Born in 1980, Hoang Thanh Phong
graduated from Hue Arts University’s
faculty of Vietnamese lacquer painting.
His his wife, Nguyen Thi Hue, was born
in 1977 and specialises in Vietnamese
traditional silk painting.
“We opened the art gallery to in-
troduce our paintings and those of our
friends after university. Then, during
the Hue Festival of 2002, we decided
to set up a vegetarian restaurant in the
Hue style,” says Nguyen Thi Hue.
Opening a vegetarian restaurant felt
natural after a series of Buddhist medita-
tion courses at the pagoda. “During the
courses, we always ate vegetarian food
and we found a passion for it immedi-
ately,” says Hoang Thanh Phong.
After trying veggie food in many
restaurants around the country, they
decided to open their own veggie
restaurant.
“We wish to create a cultural space
where guests can taste delicious and
healthy food while enjoying the so-
phisticated artworks. At first, many of
our business friends advised us to open
a normal restaurant to gain profits.
But our families and the great monks
we consulted preferred that we open
a pure veggie restaurant for charity,”
Hue explains.
“According to Buddha’s philosophy,
it is the actions in your incarnation that
determine your fate in the next. We
therefore hope to create tasty veggie
dishes in a peaceful atmosphere for
everyone, not only Hue’s Buddhists and
monks,” says Phong.
Thien Tam’s menu presents or-
ganic farm vegetables, beans, grains,
mushrooms, herbs, seaweed and fruits,
among other ingredients known for
their health benefits. These are pre-
pared in the grand traditions of the roy-
al court or the simple style of rural folk.
Thien Tam also provides cooking and
48
Combined passion
Husband and wife Hoang Thanh Phong and
Nguyen Thi Hue run Hue’s Thien Tam restaurant
with a shared passion for promoting Vietnam’s
vegetarian cuisine and the country’s art
PROFILE