Sunset in Phu Quoc never rushes. It lingers, spilling honeyed light across the sea before surrendering slowly to the indigo. And in that suspended moment between day and night, something else begins to glow. At InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort, a flame is lit and they call it Shared Flame.
It is not simply a collaboration, nor merely a dinner staged for an evening’s applause. It is a conversation, one told not in words, but in heat, in timing, in the quiet understanding between chefs who know that fire reveals everything.
Its first chapter unfolds at LAVA.
Beneath sweeping bamboo arches that rise along Bai Truong’s shoreline, LAVA emerges as a meeting point of architecture, narrative and cuisine. Embers glow softly within the open kitchen, while the fossilised coral bar reflects a cool, aquatic sheen. Beyond, the rhythm of distant waves merges with the quiet choreography of service.
At LAVA, fire is more than technique; it shapes the atmosphere itself. The menu unfolds as a dialogue between charcoal and sea. Heat is applied with restraint, drawing out the natural sweetness of freshly caught seafood, allowing a whisper of smoke to settle gently across each layer.
A Chef Who Listens to the Seasons
Chef Duong Quoc Dung moves through his kitchen with quiet assurance. Raised in a farming family in Central Vietnam, he learned early that ingredients carry stories — of soil, of season, of patient hands. He cooks with that memory intact. Nothing is hurried. Nothing is wasted. Heat is applied with care, almost reverence.
He often speaks of listening. Listening to the sweetness of just-caught seafood. Listening to the slight tightening of flesh as flame begins its work. Listening to the moment when a dish no longer needs intervention.
In his hands, fire is not aggressive. It is attentive. On this night, he stands beside another chef, not to compete, but to exchange. The flame between them is steady — waiting.
A Chef Who Listens to Emotion
If Chef Dung listens closely to his ingredients, Chef Nutthapol “Nick” Pavapaiboon listens to emotion. At Wang Hing Hoi in Bangkok, he has shaped a sanctuary from the city’s restless pace, a space where guests arrive not merely to dine, but to transition. The urgency of the outside world softens; breath steadies before flavour begins its quiet reveal. The experience unfolds in measured rhythm, inviting a deeper, more attentive presence.
His cuisine carries the unmistakable character of Thailand: fragrant herbs that linger on the air, acidity that lifts and clarifies, warmth that builds with confidence before settling into balance. Each layer of flavour is placed with intention, each contrast carefully calibrated. In Nick’s kitchen, emotion is thoughtfully orchestrated.
For this chapter of Shared Flame, he brings a philosophy rather than a fixed signature dish: every plate must possess structure, emotional resonance and a reason to exist. Ingredients may respond to a new coastline; presentation may adapt to a different setting, but the integrity, the soul of the dish, remains unwavering.
When Fire Becomes a Bridge
Shared Flame brings together Chef Dũng and Chef Nick, two culinary minds shaped by contrasting philosophies yet united by the same devotion to taste. One draws from roots, intuition, and the quiet discipline of listening. The other is led by structure, refinement, and emotional depth. Here, the elegance of Thai cuisine meets the vibrant freshness of Vietnam’s island waters, while modern technique and tradition converge in a seamless exchange of flavour and form.
As the sun softens over Phu Quoc, beneath LAVA’s iconic bamboo arches, the kitchen takes on the character of a stage. Two distinct philosophies move in harmony, led by a single flame.
In this singular four-hands chapter, Evian is thoughtfully placed within the journey as a pure interlude between courses, allowing the palate to reset and return to clarity before each new expression unfolds. As such, April’s first dinner is not merely a memorable evening at the table, but the opening of stories waiting to be written by firelight.