asialife HCMC 1 - AsiaLIFE Magazine

Au Manor De Khai
Fine French dining served in plush
colonial surroundings. By M. Khan.
Photos by Fred Wissink.
Khai is arguably Vietnam’s
biggest lifestyle brand, selling
quality goods in clothing,
accessories, homeware and
dining with three restaurants—
Nam Kha, Cham Charm and
Au Manor De Khai which
re-opened in October last year.
The brand Khai has come to be
equated with all that is good
in aesthetics and Au Manor
De Khai is no exception—the
restaurant is beautiful. And
judging by the response of
visitors at its re-opening, its
renovation deserves a few
accolades.
Khai defines Au Manor as
a “design restaurant”, a place
where high-level entrepreneurs
and professionals can come
together and relax in fine
ambient settings. Khai adapted
aspects of the design restaurant
by adding his own flair to create
Au Manor—those familiar with
Khai’s designs will see that
level of detail in the seemingly
small things. Much of the food
is imported: the foie gras from
France, the lobster from Maine
(where it is kept in cold water
reefs) and the truffle fungus
from Périgord. Khai’s attention
to detail can also be found in the
menu, which he creates and is
well executed by his chef.
The premises is a colonial
villa that’s been restored
with plush black and white
interiors—from the tiles to
the dining table settings to
the very impressive bar, it’s
elegance personified. The
dining room upstairs seats
very few and this is what is
lovely about the indoor space
for it allows an intimate dining
experience. There’s no fear of
tight spaces between diners or
eavesdropping here.
What is truly impressive,
however, is the outdoor space:
the tables outside (along with
two lounges) make for a great
al fresco dining option or work
just as well for aperitifs or post
meal drinks. Fred and I were
lucky to dine outside in lovely
cool climes and after a drink or
two, the noise from the traffic
outside drowned out.
Onto the most important
ingredient of an eatery: the
food. Here too Au Manor De
Khai did not disappoint. The
complimentary tuna starter
was delicious as the pan
fried goose liver served with
roasted apple and raspberry
vinegar sauce (370,000 VND).
A complimentary strawberry
sorbet with vodka served on a
large block of ice came next as
a break between courses and to
help cleanse the palate. We had
a scrumptious grilled Wagyu
beef tenderloin served with
mix mushroom sauce (1,500,000
VND). And dessert was a moist
chocolate cheesecake with
raspberry sauce (160,000 VND).
It was a very good meal and
worth a second visit, soon too.
251 Dien Bien Phu, District 3. Tel:
3930 3394
6 pm to 10 pm
asialife HCMC 51