Bep Hen: Vietnamese Family Food with a “Lucky” Twist

Sometimes, finding the best hideaway restaurant doesn’t always entail investigative skill. It doesn’t require research online, or even word of mouth. It requires pure chance. Or as I like to call it, luck. And that’s exactly how one fateful evening, I hungrily wandered into “Lucky Kitchen”. Or in Vietnamese, “Bep Hen.”

Shall we go inside?

Those incredibly bold flavor combinations. Those complex sauces that are like nothing…I mean nothing you’ve ever tasted before. Those soft indie tunes that stream from the radio and those smiling waitresses. Those hand-made artisan plates that make every dish look like a piece of art…and that art! Vintage pieces of art telling the story of Vietnam’s touching past, smiling down at you as you savor every bite of your Vietnamese “family food”.

JACKPOT. That first lucky meal happened four months ago, and I’ve been back literally every week since.

The (Incredible) story

Meet Duy.

Duy isn’t a chef. He never went to culinary school, and was never taught how to cook. However, like all the best people in this world, he always loved to eat. Growing up, traditional to Vietnamese culture his mom was the 5-star chef of his house. When his family would sit down together at meals, he would always ask his mom a million and one questions about the dishes, “What vegetable is this? And the fish? What are these spices?!” However, according to Duy, Vietnamese parents rarely let their children cook with them, or even let them in on their culinary secrets. So, little Duy was left to fend for his foodie self.  

He continued to grow and experiment with food, going beyond his family’s traditional recipes. He broke through Vietnamese taste boundaries to international cuisine, discovering all the culinary possibilities the world has to offer. “I love everything from street food to high-end dishes, from Asian to European, from salty to sweet. But my heart will always be with my family’s Vietnamese dishes.”

As he got older, he started trying to reproduce the recipes of his mother, using memory and feeling to recreate the flavor experiences of each dish. “The more I started to cook, the more I fell in love with it. It’s a way of being close with my family and connecting to my roots, yet forming new relationships with new people at the same time.” Thus, low and behold, was born the concept of Bep Hen.

“My dream is to bring Vietnamese family food to friends from all over the world. To some the tastes will be nostalgic of their childhood, and to others it will be completely new. That’s why I’ve combined my traditional family methods with modern cooking concepts and flavors – so old meets new.”

THE FOOD:

No wait. I’ve got a better title. THE FLAVORS. Every dish, unique from the next, takes your taste buds through a rollercoaster of flavors. Each sauce is packed with layers upon layers of spices, herbs and love. One sauce will take you to a cloud of lemongrass and chili bliss, the next to a zesty tomato and garlic euphoria.

No wonder Duy always loved his family’s cookin’…

The art

It’s hard to find a restaurant in Da Nang that has a charming ambiance and is local. Bep Hen is just that…but it’s more. It’s not just a beautifully decorated restaurant, but a collection of memories. Black and white photos of Vietnam in the 1900s, vibrantly colored weathered paintings of Vietnamese women wearing rice hats,  old LIFE magazine covers blown up lifesize from the Vietnam War era, sepia tone family portraits, old maps and snapshots of pre-modernized Da Nang cover the walls.

Duy spent years collecting and refurbishing the old and used memorabilia and household items. Sounds like a lotta work if you ask me! Why not just buy brand-spankin’ new? I mean c’mon, no work needed! Well, let’s let Duy explain why (ever so beautifully):

“My country has had a lot of pain over the years, struggling with some of the worlds greatest superpowers. We’ve had to sacrifice so much for the peace and freedom we have today. The thing we have always held onto despite the changes is family, and family cuisine. Over time, with the influence of other cultures, I’ve realized that our country’s traditions are gradually fading. That worries me. That’s why I want people to come to Bep Hen and remember what Vietnam was like and hold on to those memories. The time when Vietnam was poor, but beautifully its own.”

Here are a few of my favorite dishes:

Eggplant fried in soy sauce stuffed with minced pork.

Pan-fried and tender eggplanty goodness stuffed with spice-infused minced pork like momma makes? I THINK YES. (All for a whopping 80K= $3.50). AND cause I can never decide between the two…

Roasted Eggplant and Spring Onion

There’s something about roasted and caramelized eggplant covered in exotic spices and topped with spring onions that gets me every time. Can ya blame me? (For 35K + $1.50)

Tofu with Lemongrass and Chili AND/OR Tofu braised in homemade Zesty tomato sauce

Okay, before you go hatin’ on tofu, hear me out. I was skeptical about it too…but Vietnam changed me. And if you’re ever going to be converted into a tofu lover (or maybe you already are!),  Bep Hen is the place. It’s the perfect flavor sponge for their incredibly bold sauces. (both 40K = $1.80)

An entire feast at Bep Hen, drinks includes, will set you back about 200K for two people. That’s $8.80.

Here’s a big thanks to Duy, for his beautiful words, beautiful space and BEAUTIFUL food. Feeling lucky too? Here’s where to find it in Da Nang:

Bep Hen

ADDRESS: City Center (Hai Chau): 47 Lê Hồng Phong

HOURS: Open daily, 10 am – 3 pm / 5 pm – 9 pm

PHONE: 093 533 77 05

Will you try Bep Hen when you’re in Da Nang? Any other Da Nang Restaurant that has made you feel “lucky”?