Q&A With Vietcetera Editors: What Makes An F&B Destination Stand Out At VEP 2026?

First introduced at Flavors Awards 2024, Vietcetera Editor’s Picks (VEP) represents Vietcetera’s distinct editorial perspective, spotlighting the experiences, brands, and individuals leaving their own mark on Vietnam’s F&B landscape.

Unlike the Flavors Collection, where the community puts forward the names it loves, or the Grand Prize, which recognizes excellence through the perspective of industry professionals, VEP focuses on fresh discoveries, groundbreaking ideas, and noteworthy shifts that Vietcetera’s editors believe deserve a closer look.

In its inaugural 2024 edition, VEP focused on emerging experiences in Ho Chi Minh City across eight diverse categories. Honorees included Zion Sky Lounge & Dining for The Ultimate Traveler Hotspot; Kin Hotel for Hotel of the Year; Yakiuo Ishikawa Saigon for Concept of the Year; Mena Gourmet Market for Rising Premium Retailer Concept; Yuzu Omakase for its multisensory dining experience; Steakhouse The Fan for its combination of dining and art; EM*Me House for its storytelling-driven bar experience; and Fufu Tea Omakase for its interactive F&B experience.

In 2026, VEP broadens its editorial lens with eight award categories. Rather than simply identifying places “worth trying,” this year’s awards look deeper into what gives an F&B brand its distinctive character, from craftsmanship and experience to storytelling, pioneering spirit, cultural intersections, and a signature identity.

So why these eight categories, rather than the more familiar titles found across the industry? We sat down with Vietcetera’s editorial team to unpack the thinking behind this year’s selections.

1. The Craft Award

Why does Vietcetera look for restraint rather than an expansive menu?

Trúc, Lifestyle & Food Editor

We chose The Craft Award to recognize kitchens and bars that treat a particular craft as a lifelong pursuit. Refinement does not come from trying to do everything. It comes from repeating the same gesture over and over until it reaches a level of remarkable precision.

What we are looking for, in fact, is a menu that demonstrates restraint rather than breadth for breadth’s sake. When a single cut or pour has been honed over years, it creates a standard of craftsmanship that becomes impossible to overlook once you are sitting at the table.

2. The Discover Award

With new venues opening every month, what defines a true “discovery”?

Gấm, Lifestyle Editor

The Discover Award is for destinations that have either recently opened or meaningfully reinvented themselves within the year, but novelty alone is not enough. They need to respond to something genuinely relevant in contemporary culture.

What puts a place on our editors’ radar is not simply the buzz surrounding its opening week, but its ability to hold up over subsequent visits. It should give us a new reason to write about the city and, ideally, signal the beginning of something that could grow into a longer-term movement.

3. The Experience Award

What separates a truly multisensory experience from a space designed simply to look good in photos?

Hồng Vân, Managing Editor

If a venue relies solely on visual appeal or being “Instagrammable,” it will not make the cut for The Experience Award. This category is designed for concepts that carefully choreograph the guest’s emotional journey, from the moment they walk through the door to the moment they leave.

Every sense from sound and lighting to scent, should play a part in the same narrative. It should offer a distinctive F&B format at a level the Vietnamese market has rarely seen before. Most importantly, the experience should still feel meaningful on the third visit, not just the first.

4. The Storyteller Award

What separates authentic brand storytelling from polished marketing?

Thư, Biên tập Creative Shop Editor

The Storyteller Award recognizes brands with a coherent identity rather than one built on borrowed aesthetics or familiar formulas. From the name and language to spatial design and service, every touchpoint should speak in the same voice.

We maintain this category because we are looking for brands whose stories contribute something meaningful to Vietnam’s broader cultural landscape, rather than storytelling that exists simply to sell.

5. The Pioneer Award

What makes a pioneering concept genuinely meaningful rather than simply a good marketing idea?

Minh, Business & Innovation Editor

The Pioneer Award recognizes those willing to push beyond established boundaries - introducing a technique, format, or business model that brings something genuinely new to Vietnam.

But Vietcetera’s definition of “pioneering” must be backed by real-world execution. It needs to work beyond the pitch deck, with tangible results that our editorial team can observe over time.

True pioneers are those who open a new door and, in doing so, create possibilities for others in the industry to follow, adapt, and grow.

6. The Crossroads Award

When does cultural exchange create an exciting culinary experience, and when does it simply feel forced?

Trúc, Lifestyle Editor

The Crossroads Award celebrates bold intersections, places where seemingly different culinary cultures find a meaningful common language.

True cultural exchange is not about forcing unrelated ingredients together or creating novelty for novelty’s sake. It begins with a deep understanding of the spirit and context of each culinary tradition, followed by the ability to connect them through a contemporary approach.

When done well, perhaps when the richness of Indian cuisine meets Mediterranean influences, the result becomes a dialogue between flavors: unexpected, yet balanced, thoughtful, and coherent.

7. The Signature Award

What turns an F&B concept into a top-of-mind name for diners?

Thư, Creative Shop Editor

The Signature Award recognizes brands that have built an identity distinctive enough to become synonymous with a particular style or format of dining. When people think of a certain kind of experience, that brand immediately comes to mind.

That level of recognition is not created through repetitive advertising. It comes from consistently building differentiation, maintaining exceptional quality, and developing an identity that is difficult to replicate.

8. The Ambassador Award

Why is preserving identity essential when Vietnamese F&B brands venture onto the global stage?

Hồng Vân, Managing Editor

The Ambassador Award holds particular significance for Vietcetera’s editorial team. It recognizes brands built and led from Vietnam that have steadily earned international recognition over the past year.

We are looking for brands capable of bringing Vietnamese F&B to the world without flattening or compromising the core values that define their Vietnamese identity.

The official Vietcetera Editor’s Picks 2026 winners are scheduled to be announced on September 26, 2026.

Flavors Awards is Vietcetera’s annual recognition program celebrating the restaurants, bars, cafés, hotels, chefs, bartenders, brands, and talents shaping Vietnam’s evolving F&B landscape.Through the Flavors and Vietcetera ecosystem, the awards also foster meaningful connections across the F&B community, creating opportunities for collaboration, growth, and collective progress while helping shape the next chapter of Vietnam’s culinary culture.Event Information
Date: October 10, 2026
Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Learn more about Flavors Awards 2026 here.