Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai Elevates Traditional Vietnamese Cuisine with New Lá Sen Dinner Experience

(IN SHORT) Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai has introduced a refined dining concept at Lá Sen that emphasizes authentic Vietnamese culinary traditions presented with modern precision and restraint. Guided by Central Vietnam’s regional ingredients and a garden-to-table approach, the restaurant focuses on preserving traditional flavours while enhancing them through careful technique and presentation. The menu highlights regional recipes, locally sourced ingredients and sustainable practices, offering guests an immersive dining experience that combines heritage cuisine with contemporary craftsmanship under the direction of Executive Chef Heath Gordon.

(PRESS RELEASE) HOI AN, Vietnam, 2026-Mar-2 — /Travel PR News/ — Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An has introduced a newly refined dinner concept at Lá Sen, presenting Vietnamese culinary heritage through a disciplined and contemporary approach that prioritizes authenticity. The restaurant’s updated culinary direction emphasizes traditional recipes and techniques from Central Vietnam while presenting them with modern precision and understated elegance.

The concept focuses on preserving the essence of Vietnamese cuisine by drawing on regional traditions, local ingredients, and a garden-to-table philosophy. Rather than reinventing classic dishes, the culinary team aims to refine and highlight established flavours and cooking methods through careful craftsmanship and thoughtful presentation.

Executive Chef Heath Gordon explained that Vietnamese cuisine is built on generations of culinary knowledge and carefully balanced flavours. He noted that every dish begins with an understanding of traditional taste profiles—balancing sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami elements—and that modern techniques are used only when they enhance these characteristics. Dishes are included on the menu only if they remain faithful to their traditional identity.

The culinary philosophy at Lá Sen is shaped by the coastal environment and agricultural traditions of Central Vietnam. Recipes draw on regional techniques and ingredients, with contemporary methods applied selectively to preserve flavour and improve texture. Techniques such as sous-vide cooking, emulsification and dehydration are used in a restrained way to elevate traditional preparations while maintaining their authenticity.

The menu features a number of signature dishes that reflect this approach. A tofu dish is prepared to achieve a light, airy texture and paired with a mushroom-based XO-style sauce, offering a plant-based interpretation of a traditional flavour profile. Another dish draws inspiration from Hanoi-style chả cá, with charcoal-grilled black cod marinated in galangal and turmeric and served with herbs, rice and a house-made fermented shrimp sauce. A pomelo salad reinterprets a popular street food dish using pink pomelo and young coconut combined with a carefully balanced dressing that maintains the dish’s familiar flavour structure.

Ingredient sourcing plays a central role in the restaurant’s identity. Much of the produce is harvested daily from the resort’s organic garden, where composting and seed-saving practices support ongoing cultivation. Additional ingredients come from Vietnamese producers, including long-established gardens, regional seafood suppliers and specialty producers. Select imported ingredients are used sparingly to complement the local focus.

Sustainability principles guide the kitchen’s operations, with root-to-stem and nose-to-tail preparation methods used to minimize waste. Kitchen byproducts are incorporated into stocks and sauces, while plant materials such as herb stems and seeds are reused to support future harvests.

The dining experience at Lá Sen is designed to be relaxed and immersive. An open kitchen allows guests to observe the preparation process, while the service team provides insight into the origins of ingredients and the cultural background of each dish. The experience combines careful presentation, aromatic elements and attentive hospitality.

Executive Chef Heath Gordon brings more than 20 years of culinary experience across Australia, the Middle East and Asia, including more than a decade working with Vietnamese cuisine. His approach at Lá Sen blends international experience with a strong respect for local culinary traditions, aiming to present Vietnamese cuisine with clarity and authenticity.

About Lá Sen at Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai

Lá Sen is a contemporary Vietnamese restaurant that begins every dish at the source—authentic recipes, regional flavours and time-honoured techniques—then expresses them through modern craftsmanship, premium ingredients and refined hospitality. Its purpose is not to modernise Vietnam, but to reveal its inherent sophistication with sincerity and depth.

To reserve a table at Lá Sen, call +84 235 3940 000 or visit the website.

Media contact:

Ilu Bhatia
Director of Public Relations and Communications
Block Ha My Dong B, Dien Ban Dong Ward
Da Nang City,
Vietnam
vaninthorn.bhatia@fourseasons.com
+84 93 199 81 05

SOURCE: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts