By Gia Linh

Every dish is good standing alone, but a fusion version with twists of creativity always takes almost every one of them to another level.

As a food-lover, I find it crucial for a fusion dish to maintain the key flavours of the original version, but at the same time bring eaters a moment of surprise and make them nod their heads with satisfaction.

But I was wrong thinking fusion is a term used exclusively for food.

I was trying to find a fusion restaurant on Google listing when I came across Mùa Craft Saké, which offers fusion saké (Japanese rice wine).

Digging more into their website, I learned that Mùa is Việt Nam’s first craft saké brewery that forges Japanese saké craftsmanship and Vietnamese ingredients. It also serves fusion Vietnamese-Japanese dishes.

“This is it,” I thought, and reserved a table right away.

Mùa Craft Saké in HCM City’s District 3 is a must-visit for those wanting to try craft saké with unique flavours and creative fusion Vietnamese-Japanese dishes. VNS Photo Gia Linh

Mùa is like a hidden gem in HCM City, as it is nestled on quiet Lê Ngô Cát Street in District 3. Jazz music was on when my family arrived, and with the trees and beige colour of the interior, the place creates a great ambience for drinking and spending time with your loved ones.

Never had we seen a restaurant with four different menus at the same time, and obviously we had a hard time choosing our order.

The general menu offers dishes that go great with drinking, from skewers to stir-fries and grill. There is also a special shellfish menu for only VNĐ70,000 (US$2.8) an item.

As their name literally translates as “season”, Mùa has a special menu that offers dishes made with seasonal ingredients. The beverage menu offers a selection of saké, highballs, whisky, beer, and many more.

Before the food, we were already impressed by the professionalism of the staff here. Not only did they recommend the dishes and sakés to our liking, they also explained the ingredients of the dishes and how they should be eaten.

Despite our large order, dishes were fired out in only 15 minutes. My dad and I anticipated the sakés so much that we had a sip of them immediately.

We started with what was said to be a lighter flavour: honey pineapple with chilli saké. I had never tried saké before and was surprised as it did not have a strong alcoholic smell.

The taste was a combination of refreshing honey pineapple and a hint of spiciness from chilli, which left a smooth and light aftertaste. This is a great option for those trying saké for the first time.

We moved on with the other one with mulberry and mắc khén - a spice from the Northwest of Việt Nam. As mắc khén has a similar taste to pepper and an intense aroma, the glass gave a deep and, for lack of a better word, savoury taste.

The pineapple and chilli saké (light pink glass) and the mulberry and 'mắc khén' saké (darker pink glass) really represent Mùa’s efforts in forging Japanese saké craftsmanship and Vietnamese ingredients. VNS Photo Gia Linh

Both the sakés tasted superbly out of this world. We loved the combination of flavours, and how the ingredients enhanced each other but did not overpower the sweet, iconic fragrance of rice as the main ingredient in every saké.

The journey of surprise really started when we moved to the food, starting with a plate of crispy baby crab with garlic chives as an appetiser.

The crab was extremely crunchy, but not hard, and a kick from the garlic chives and refreshing taste of shredded cabbage underneath makes this dish a great pair with any alcoholic beverage.

One of our favourites of the night was the plate of Phú Quốc sea urchin, crab crispy rice with avocado and lychee. The combination of ingredients was so “strange” that it intrigued us, and after trying we understood why it is among Mùa’s must-tries.

Each block has a piece of rice as a base, with both sides seared. On top were a dollop of crab meat with mayo, sea urchin puree, mashed avocado, and lychee flesh, sprinkled with some chilli powder and scallions.

We were told to eat the whole piece at a time, and it was a boom of flavour to our palate. The sea urchin gave a savoury taste, and the creamy avocado and crab mayo contrasted with the crispy and chewy rice. We love how the lychee brought a sweet and refreshing note.

At only VNĐ150,000 (US$6), the flavour was unique and unreal. We enjoyed it so much that we had to order another one.

For our main dish, we selected grilled black pig with phá lấu sauce, chayote shoot, and apricot. Mùa’s black pigs are special as they are raised on saké lees. Needless to say, the plate was the star of the night.

The pork was fed only with saké lees and fruit (as the waitress said), so it did not have that meat odour and was very tender. There were tiny pieces of offal underneath, which came from the phá lấu (Vietnamese offal stew) sauce.

One of Mùa's special dishes is grilled drunken black pig fed on saké lees, paired with chayote shoot, 'phá lấu' sauce and apricot puree. VNS Photo Gia Linh

The phá lấu sauce brought a savoury, umami taste to the dish. The vegetables were fresh and crunchy, which balanced out the meatiness of the dish, and a bit of tanginess from the apricot puree ended every bite with satisfaction.

The play of flavours was just indescribably clever that it left us in awe. The ingredients complemented each other so well, and none of it overpowered the soft, juicy black pig. A solid five out of five!

We ended the meal with trial shots of Mùa’s new saké flavour: guava, kumquat and banana. The guava smell was amazing, with a bit of sourness from the kumquat and a hint of banana at the end. How creative!

Mùa also offers bottled saké for some of its flavours, at under VNĐ400,000 (US$16) for a 720ml bottle. Unfortunately, our favourites were not available, but we would definitely purchase them once they are out.

You know the food is good when we could not stop saying “wow” and nodding our heads. Prices are from only VNĐ120,000-300,000 (US$5-12), which is very inviting regarding the quality and complexity of every dish.

It was great to see Mùa’s efforts in honouring both Vietnamese ingredients and the iconic Japanese saké, as well as their creativity in making such delicate dishes.

Our family had a great night discovering the world of fusion at Mùa Craft Saké. Discovering Mùa was a great event, and it would be my top recommendation for those wanting to spice up their dining and drinking experience. VNS