In the United States, it’s still uncommon to associate Vietnamese cuisine with fine dining. Travel magazines and television shows love to praise the street food, and praiseworthy it is. But a strong high-end dining scene has now also developed in Vietnam. When the Michelin inspectors visit — they’ll release a guide to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for the first time in June 2023 — they would surely hand out a few stars. As one often finds in places with distinctive local cuisines, chefs in Vietnam often riff on traditional recipes to create something new.