Chef Hai, who was recently named a finalist in the Gourmet Vietnam Awards presented by Epicure magazine, has now added several new local specialities to the menu at Azerai’s celebrated all-day dining restaurant Le Parfum.

New Vietnamese dishes on the new menu include Hue Royal-Style Braised Duck Leg, whose meat is braised in Minh Mang wine with goji berries, star anise, carrots, mushrooms and ginseng, and served with mung bean sticky rice; Hue Five-Spice Roasted Chicken with Turmeric Rice, featuring a roasted free-range chicken marinated in five local spices and honey, and served with shitake mushrooms, turmeric-scented rice and sauteed bok choy; and Hue Caramelized Pork & Prawn in a Clay Pot, served with sauteed broccoli and steamed rice.

Other new dishes include Thyme Semi-Smoked Japanese Wagyu Striploin A5, a steak cooked to perfection and served with pear potato, organic vegetables and yakiniku sauce; and Steamed YellowTail Kingfish with Black Bean Soy, served with sauteed mushrooms, carrots, onions, bok choy and glass noodles.

Chef Hai, who joined La Residence in 2005, has also been the visionary behind several of the hotel’s most iconic dining experiences, including “The Colonial Life,” a signature dining concept that blends Nguyen Dynasty imperial cuisine with refined French gastronomy, served in a nostalgic riverside setting evoking the charm of Indochina.

In 2017, he designed a “Majestic Menu” to honor the state visit of Their Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan, hosted by then-Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. This exceptional menu – an elegant fusion of Hue’s imperial cuisine and global flavors – has since become one of Azerai La Residence, Hue’s most celebrated and best-selling culinary offerings.

Chef Hai’s talents over the years have captured the attention of numerous high-profile global guests, including the late TV host and author Anthony Bourdain, who stayed at La Residence in 2014 and praised Chef Hai’s cuisine, particularly his inventive rendition of the Vietnamese banh mi, now famously known as the “La Residence Banh Mi.”

With 122 elegantly furnished rooms and suites, Azerai La Residence, Hue is centered on a colonial mansion that was built in 1930 as part of the residence of the French Resident Superieur. The mansion’s distinctive façade, including its long horizontal lines and nautical flourishes, are hallmarks of the streamline moderne school of art deco architecture.

Azerai La Residence, Hue was recognized as one of Vietnam’s top 16 hotels for 2025 by The Times of London. The hotel is part of legendary hotelier Adrian Zecha’s latest portfolio, which also includes the beachfront Azerai Ke Ga Bay in southern Vietnam.

ABOUT AZERAI

Azerai is a distinctive story and brand of resorts offering guests elegance, refined design, and discreet and attentive service in places of unique beauty and cultural interest. The brand was formed by hotelier Adrian Zecha, and the name is derived from Zecha’s initials and the latter part of a Persian word, caravanserai, which references the storied old inns of the Middle East.

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