{"id":10179,"date":"2026-08-14T11:26:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:26:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/10179\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T11:26:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:26:53","slug":"spanish-pantry-festival-at-regent-phu-quoc-vietnam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/10179\/","title":{"rendered":"Spanish Pantry Festival at Regent Phu Quoc, Vietnam"},"content":{"rendered":"

A good kitchen doesn\u2019t need a shared language, as shown at the inaugural Spanish Pantry Festival at Regent Phu Quoc. By Eris Choo<\/p>\n

It is always a joy to watch chefs from different backgrounds working in sync in the kitchen, each bringing their own instincts and flair, yet working toward the same result.<\/p>\n

That was the spirit running through the Spanish Pantry Festival at Regent Phu Quoc in June, where a roster of leading Spanish chefs spent several days cooking alongside the resort\u2019s own culinary team across a series of tapas nights, masterclasses, and exquisite dinners \u2014 building toward a six-hands finale that paired two-Michelin-starred chefs Javier Olleros (Culler de Pau in O Grove, Galicia) and Benito G\u00f3mez (Restaurante Bardal in Ronda, Andalusia) with Chef de Cuisine Andy Huynh of Oku, the hotel\u2019s signature Japanese-French restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"phu<\/p>\n

The language barrier was strikingly absent. \u201cMany of the chefs, they don\u2019t speak any English,\u201d said festival organiser Chef Ager Urig\u00fcen, who specialises in tapas and Basque-inspired cuisine (formerly of Txokoa, Berlin, Germany and the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Basque Country). \u201cBut there is the will to make it work\u2026 sometimes it is as simple as a smile.\u201d<\/p>\n

We caught a glimpse of this synergy at the festival\u2019s preview dinner, as Chefs Olleros, G\u00f3mez, Urig\u00fcen, and paella specialist Chef David Montero of Arrocer\u00eda Ricepaella in Valencia showcased the distinct facets of regional Spanish cuisine.<\/p>\n

\"phuPaella master Chef David Montero<\/p>\n

Olleros\u2019s Galician roots showed in his use of fresh vegetables and seafood, most notably in local leeks served in a Gallego broth, while G\u00f3mez\u2019s carabineros curados\u2014cured red prawns in a basil escabeche\u2014carried the Moorish influence that runs through Andalusian cooking.<\/p>\n

Urig\u00fcen\u2019s Iberian pork presa, carpaccio-thin and served with pickles, made for the perfect savoury bite before Montero closed the mains with a hearty traditional Valenciana paella. The meal was matched by excellent Spanish wines, including a 2018 Vega Sicilia \u201cPintia\u201d and a rare 1920 Alvear PX Solera, curated by wine journalist, author, and sommelier Alejandro Paad\u00edn. He hails from A Coruna, Galicia and is an international wine judge for prestigious competitions including the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and Vinalies Internationales.<\/p>\n

\"phu<\/p>\n

Recreating an authentic Spanish experience at the southern tip of Vietnam came with its own challenges. Olleros flew in with over 100kg of ingredients from Spain, but plenty still had to be sourced locally.<\/p>\n

G\u00f3mez saw it less as a limitation than a different set of rules: a local prawn was never going to taste like a Spanish prawn, which is why it was important for the chefs to work out what could be substituted and what needed refining.<\/p>\n

\"phuSommelier and festival co-organiser Alejandro Paadin at the Art of Tapas night<\/p>\n

Throughout the week, guests were treated to events such as a jam\u00f3n carving masterclass, which saw Paad\u00edn walking through the cuts and heritage of Spain\u2019s cured hams. The Art of Tapas night at the resort\u2019s Ocean Club featured meats, cheeses, and shareable plates of chilled salmorejo, escalivada with sardines and almonds, gambas al ajillo, a seafood-heavy arroz del se\u00f1oret, grilled Iberian pork pluma with green mojo sauce, and a whole Ib\u00e9rico Jamon carved tableside.<\/p>\n

\"phuChefs Javier, Benito, and Andy<\/p>\n

The six-hands dinner at Oku perfectly highlighted the chefs deep respect for their ingredients and craft, despite the differences in their approaches and locality. Olleros and Gomez each designed two courses while Hyunh designed three, before reviewing the entire sequence together to make sure all the dishes flowed well throughout the night and read as a cohesive whole.<\/p>\n

\"phuOku, Regent Phu Quoc\u2019s signature Japanese-French restaurant, features an open kitchen allowing guests to see the chefs in action<\/p>\n

The meal opened with a single macaroon-shaped mushroom bite by Olleros, followed by trout in aspic under smoked cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche and citrus caviar. A Galician-style scallop in paprika sauce came next, before Huynh presented his own take of a fermented gazpacho scented with shiso, topped with Japanese blue shrimp \u2014 a showcase of the Japanese sensibility and technique honed during his years at Nobu.<\/p>\n

\"phu<\/p>\n

From there, a hot-and-cold onion soup prepared by Chef Gomez, salt-baked and finished in dried kombu, brought the table back to Spain before the savoury run closed on wagyu fricand\u00f3 with potato furikake. Dessert came last in the form of arroz con leche, featuring koji and the local, tropical flavours of jasmine and coconut.<\/p>\n

\"phu<\/p>\n

For Huynh, hosting chefs of this calibre at Oku was as much about morale for his own team as it was about cultural dialogue and exchange. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting on both sides,\u201d he said. \u201cThe (Spanish) chefs are just as excited as we are when we share our perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Spanish Pantry Festival marks the first Spanish gastronomic event of this scale and scope in Vietnam, and the timing feels apt. Spanish cuisine is a regular fixture on the World\u2019s 50 Best Restaurants List, and ranked among the top five nations globally for total Michelin stars.<\/p>\n

\"phuSpanish Pantry Festival co-organiser Chef Ager Urig\u00fcen (formerly of Txocoa)<\/p>\n

Paad\u00edn, who is also festival organiser, pointed to the growing presence of Spanish restaurants across Southeast Asian cities like Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur as proof that the cuisine is still finding new ground in this region. \u201cSpanish food is about celebration,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t eat in silence. Every dish is a show of respect and love for each ingredient.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

REGENT PHU QUOC <\/p>\n

Just a 15-minute drive from Phu Quoc International Airport, Regent Phu Quoc sits right on the beachfront along the island\u2019s Western coast, with gorgeous views of the Gulf of Thailand. Villas are expansive, featuring fully equipped kitchens, private pools and outdoor showers, and tasteful and modern decor with local touches.<\/p>\n

\"phuRegent Phu Quoc offers an idyllic getaway, with spacious villas complete with private pools<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more to eat here than just Oku. Rice Market, the all-day dining restaurant serving local and international fare, is often packed in the mornings as guests flock to the live stations to watch the chefs in action. The beef pho is a crowd favourite, as is the Bo Ne Steak and Egg featuring Angus beef steak with pork pate and Vietnamese baguette. Lunch at Ocean Club serves up freshly grilled seafood in a beach club setting by the poolside.\u00a0 For drinks, head up to Fu Bar on the rooftop at sundown, or Jade, the speakeasy cocktail bar tucked discreetly within a hidden corner of the resort.\u00a0 Between courses, there\u2019s also the spa, the Pedi:Mani:Cure Studio by renowned pedicure-podologue Bastien Gonzales, and a slew of activities to fill the daylight hours, from sailing aboard the resort\u2019s Serenity yacht, to yoga and kayaking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A good kitchen doesn\u2019t need a shared language, as shown at the inaugural Spanish Pantry Festival at Regent Phu Quoc. By Eris Choo It is always a joy to watch chefs from different backgrounds working in sync in the kitchen, each bringing their own instincts and flair, yet working toward the same result. That was<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[268],"tags":[9575,9576,2639,2853,557,558,559,560,450],"class_list":["post-10179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spanish-restaurants","tag-phu-quoc","tag-regent-phu-quoc","tag-spain","tag-spanish","tag-spanish-tapas-bar","tag-spanish-tapas-bars","tag-spanish-restaurant","tag-spanish-restaurants","tag-vietnam"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}