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| Inspired by the lotus and Vietnam's rich cultural legacy, each dish on the "Cham Sen" menu reimagines traditions that have endured across generations. (Photo: VietnamPlus) |
Hanoi (VNA) – For national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, the Golden Lotus is more than a corporate logo. It’s how the airline tells Vietnam’s story to passengers around the globe.
Few flowers run as deep in Vietnamese life as the lotus. It shows up in family meals, lotus-scented tea, full-moon offerings, poetry and paintings, becoming an heirloom of memory passed down through generations.
So when selecting a corporate symbol, the airline didn’t reach anything sleek or futuristic. It went with the Golden Lotus, an image soaked in layers of meaning that Vietnamese recognise instantly.
Lotus takes flight
June is the peak lotus season in Vietnam. Around Hanoi’s West Lake, the fragrance of open blooms drifts through sleepy streets. In Hue, lotus flowers frame Tinh Tam Lake, with centuries-old royal tombs in the backdrop. Further south, vast lotus carpets of Dong Thap Muoi in Dong Thap province stretch to the horizon, forming postcard-perfect summer scenes.
Culinary artisan Mai Thi Tra said the lotus holds a special place in Vietnam’s spiritual and cultural life thanks to a rare combination of purity and grit.
“The lotus grows from mud but always rises above it to bloom. In Buddhism, it symbolises purity and the journey of overcoming imperfection to reach higher values”, she explained.
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| From the familiar lotus ingredients, each dish served on board offers a taste of Vietnam's culinary traditions and culture. (Photo: VietnamPlus) |
But it’s not just for royal architecture, pagodas and art. Vietnamese families put lotus flowers in their homes all summer, wrap young green rice flakes in lotus leaves, toss lotus seeds into desserts and stews, and count the flower’s delicate scent as one of the season’s signature memories.
That cultural weight is exactly what Vietnam Airlines has tapped into. The lotus now appears on aircraft tails, flight attendant uniforms, and throughout the passenger experience. For the carrier, the Golden Lotus isn’t a static icon, but a gateway for telling Vietnam’s story to travelers from everywhere.
Over the years, the Golden Lotus has become one of the airline’s most powerful icons. It’s a starting point for weaving Vietnamese tradition into almost every touchpoint of a flight.
The airline also conveys the lotus through sensory cues. One example is “Nha”, its signature cabin scent. The whisper of lotus, tea, young rice flakes and native fruit is meant to bottle Vietnam’s essence and give Vietnam Airlines an identity passengers can smell before they taste a thing.
Telling lotus story through cuisine
To celebrate this year’s lotus season, Vietnam Airlines is rolling out its seasonal “Cham Sen” (Touching the Lotus) menu once again.
Using lotus seeds, roots, stems and leaves, chefs have crafted a selection of dishes inspired by one of Vietnam’s signature summer ingredients.
Hoang Ngoc Can, executive chef of the Hot Kitchen at Vietnam Air Catering Services Co., said the whole idea is to turn something familiar into an in-flight experience that sticks.
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| The lotus is paired with distinctive regional ingredients to create flavours that are both familiar and refreshingly new. (Photo: VietnamPlus) |
"From the rich, nutty flavour of lotus seeds and the refreshing aroma of lotus leaves to the crisp sweetness of lotus stems, every part has its own distinctiveness. We pair these ingredients with regional specialties to create dishes that feel both familiar and well suited to in-flight service,” he said.
Extensive testing goes into every dish to make sure nothing falls flat at cruising altitude. The result is a marriage of old-school Vietnamese ingredients and modern kitchen techniques that aims to feel both authentic and fresh.
Down on the ground, the lotus defines Vietnam’s summer scenery. At 10,000m, the same flower continues its journey through flavour, memory and story, introducing passengers to Vietnamese culture one tray table at a time.
From quiet ponds to the clouds above, the lotus’ journey is much like the culture it represents: always evolving, yet never letting go of its roots. With the Golden Lotus, Vietnam Airlines keeps flying that story of an elegant, culturally rich and unmistakably Vietnamese straight into the sky./.
