Tiếng ViệtAmid a world of countless choices, there is a kitchen nestled where mountains meet the vast sea, quietly living out an ancient teaching: “Learn to eat, learn to speak, learn to wrap, learn to unwrap”. There, flavor becomes a language of connection — teaching us that to eat for nourishment, to eat with delight, is already a blessed affinity; but to eat in gratitude, to eat as a way of returning, is one of life’s greatest graces.
From a Family Meal to a Way of Peaceful Living
Some culinary stories begin with the desire to conquer the palate. Some others begin in the most familiar place of all — a family meal. Bếp Mani Kitchen belongs to the latter stream, where food becomes a bridge: between people and people, between body and mind, between the present moment and deeper values of living.
The story began when the life partner of Bếp Mani Kitchen’s founder, Madam Dieu Thuan, found her affinity with simple, wholesome cuisine. Not through religion, nor through any health trend, but as a quiet choice of the heart. As a wife and a mother, that choice gave rise to a question both simple and deeply felt: “How can the family table remain a place of togetherness, rather than a boundary between those who eat vegetarian and those who do not?”
From the very beginning, Madam stepped into this journey with humility and curiosity — not to become a vegetarian chef, but to seek harmony in each dish: allowing those who eat simply to feel fully nourished, while those accustomed to richer flavors would feel no sense of lack.
Each meal became a small experiment, a quiet expression of reverence — for the ingredients, and more than anything, for the people present in that very moment. The boundaries between “vegetarian” and “non-vegetarian” gently dissolved, leaving only togetherness, connection, and wholehearted presence. Each dish was no longer merely food, but a silent message: “I see you. I understand you. And I am here with you.”
When the Kitchen Walks Along the “Journey of Returning”
Situated within Maha Mangala Retreat — a contemplative space rooted in mindful living — Bếp Mani Kitchen is not shaped by commerce or personal gain. Rather, it is the quiet way this woman — a Mother, a Wife — continues the spirit of her life partner, who has now chosen the monastic path: through silent presence, through caring hands, and through a love that gently spreads in every dish she prepares.
Inspired by the teaching of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh: “The greatest gift you can give someone is your presence.”
Each meal at Mani Kitchen begins with a verse of gratitude — a ritual that may seem simple, yet serves as a doorway inward, gently reminding guests to be grateful for the food, for the one who prepared it, and for the moment of being fully present together. It is no coincidence that the dishes are named “Leaning On” and “Gathering” — soft messages that speak of connection and companionship.
When boundaries begin to dissolve.
Alongside Madam are chefs who have been with her for more than a decade — companions who carry a shared aspiration in their hearts: to transform simple, wholesome cuisine into a language of mindfulness, and each dish into an expression of loving-kindness.
There is a memory the Bếp Mani Kitchen team often shares. A guest stayed at Maha Mangala for an entire week, dining at Bếp Mani Kitchen each day. On his final day, he asked for a bowl of beef phở. When he was gently reminded that only simple, wholesome cuisine is served here, he burst into laughter and said, “Have I been eating vegetarian all week?”
It is a funny story, yet deeply meaningful to what Bếp Mani Kitchen seeks to offer — gently softening boundaries once thought fixed, so that diners no longer define food by concepts, but encounter it through felt experience. Through the sense of peace that follows each meal. Through the clean, lingering aftertaste. Through the quiet feeling of being cared for, without any sense of lacking.
At Bếp Mani Kitchen, every detail is tended to as part of the practice. A chair is placed with care. A bowl of rice is set down with steady hands. And the verse of gratitude rests upon the table — a gentle reminder: “You are here. And this moment is enough.”
Each meal at Bếp Mani Kitchen is an invitation to return — to the peace within, to a quiet blossoming of gratitude, and to oneself after the busyness of daily life.
The Journey of Flavor
After more than a decade of patiently nurturing vegetarian cuisine and honoring local produce, Bếp Mani Kitchen has come to understand that each guest arrives with a different longing. Some seek the freedom of an à la carte menu. Some delight in the abundance of a generous buffet. Some wish to share through a communal set. And there are those who choose a tasting set — as a complete journey of mindful eating.
In particular, Tasting Set “Hương Vị Hội Tụ Thiện Duyên” is thoughtfully crafted for each guest as an invitation to return. Through six to ten courses — each dish carrying its own story — guests are gently guided in how to savor and appreciate food with mindfulness, allowing every meal to unfold as a moment of awakening.
The journey opens with Sowing Fate: A Gathering — an appetizer of chili-salted mushrooms and crispy kaffir lime leaves — gently ushering today’s guests into a new beginning. The delicate sweetness of roasted pumpkin, blended with the smooth richness of cream in Từ Tâm Pumpkin Soup, offers a sense of warmth and wholeness, like love carefully poured into each spoonful. It is also a gentle reminder that all good things begin with a sincere heart. Reunion Salad carries the message: “To gather is to awaken; to meet is to understand; to understand more deeply is to love more fully.” Spring Rolls in a Pineapple a quiet tribute to Vietnamese cuisine, weaving together the flavors of the North, Central, and South into a single dish — much like how Mani Kitchen brings people from many places together around one shared table. The journey continues with Harmonious Fresh Spring Rolls, offering the message that “Harmony is the source of peace,” as six ingredients come together in the familiar, grounding taste of peanuts.
Thiện Vị Siam awakens the palate with a refined balance of sour and spice — mirroring the many tones of human life, which soften and find harmony when held by a steady heart. Midway through the journey, Chạm Tĩnh Almond Tofu arrives as a pause — cool tofu embraced by a gentle almond sauce, inviting guests to slow down and listen inward. Lotus Flower Clear Soup, pure and calming with lotus seeds, mushrooms, lemongrass, and ginger, cleanses and soothes — like a deep breath taken in a season of peace.
Energy is gently renewed through ‘Equanimous’ Pate sticky Rice — banana-leaf–steamed sticky rice with mushroom pâté, crispy shallots, and mushroom floss — wholesome and complete, like a day lived fully. The journey comes to rest with Sweet Fulfillment: Giọt Bình Yên — a silky pudding of dark sugar and roasted soybeans, delicately sweet and refined, like a soft breeze soothing the soul. A tender ending, quietly guiding one back to inner ease and contentment.
What Lingers After the Meal
The cuisine of Bếp Mani Kitchen is not merely a diet or a passing trend, but a way of life — a gift of the earth and sky, tended with skillful hands and mindful awareness. Each color, aroma, and flavor nourishes not only the body, but also awakens the living presence within each of us.
Delicious food or a beautiful setting may be the first invitation, but what Bếp Mani Kitchen truly wishes to offer is gratitude, reverence, and the fullness of being present together in each moment. You may arrive for the flavors, or for the space — yet when you truly “return,” you begin to touch a deeper story: one of Maha Mangala Retreat, of a mindful way of living, and of the quiet companionship among kindred souls. Whether you choose the buffet, à la carte, or a tasting set, one thing remains unchanged: Mani Kitchen is always a place to pause — to breathe deeply, to live with awareness, and to cherish each shared moment in its entirety.
- Adress: Villa J.02, The Ocean Villas, Truong Sa Street, Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, Da Nang
- Website: mmangala.com
- Phone: 02363919789
- Youtube: youtube.com/watch?v=PCK8FVocxKk
_ Source: https://www.lofficielvietnam.com/ _