When The Monkey Gallery Dining began rethinking its Chef’s Table, one idea reshaped the entire direction of the renovation: the kitchen should feel invisible. This search for a surface that could hold both fire and conversation naturally led the team to Velacucina’s invisible induction solution, chosen not as a feature, but as a design philosophy that aligned with the restaurant’s “gallery” identity.
The result is a counter where cooking happens on the surface itself, allowing the chefs’ movements and the guests’ proximity to them to define the experience. Without a traditional stove breaking the line of sight, the counter becomes a single, uninterrupted plane where preparation, plating, and performance merge.
Since 2019, The Monkey Gallery Dining has embraced the idea of the kitchen as a stage. This latest evolution simply clears the scene, letting the craft feel closer, the space feel lighter, and the dialogue between chef and guest flow more naturally.
Tùng Nguyễn, Co-Founder of The Monkey Gallery Dining, shares that the restaurant has always been a place where chefs are treated as artists. When the team began planning the renovation, the starting point was clear: the counter had to evolve in a way that would draw guests even closer to the craft.
“We want to provide our artists with the best facilities and a space where they can create freely, without limitations.” Tùng explains.
When the time came for renovation, the restaurant wanted to bring something new, something fresh to the culinary experience. Their mission was to reinvent themselves with new techniques, knowledge, and technology, a solid foundation to their ‘Gallery’ philosophy.
“When we decided to renovate the space, we knew the counter had to come first. We looked for a solution that could make the experience fundamentally better – more open, more connected – and that’s when we came across Upscale.”
What stood out for the team was the possibility of removing visual barriers between the chef and the diner.
“Velacucina had a way of bringing guests even closer to the action,” Tùng adds. “Now, they can see the cooking directly on the counter, as part of the experience.”
At its core, the project was about strengthening the emotional dialogue between chef and guest, making the Chef’s Table feel more intimate, more fluid, and more alive.
The introduction of Velacucina’s invisible induction solution reshaped the atmosphere at the Chef’s Table almost immediately, altering how the team worked, and how guests responded to the space.
“Even months after the installation, guests still react with genuine surprise,” shares Tommy Ngô, a front-of-house team member who interacts with diners each evening. “Most people say they’ve never seen anything like it.”
Without a traditional stove breaking the visual line, the counter feels more open and conversational. According to Tommy, this changes the rhythm of service: guests lean in, ask questions, and engage more naturally with the chefs.
“It brings guests and chefs closer. It gives us new ways to present, to explain, to interact. It adds a new dimension to the experience.”
With the equipment disappearing into the surface, the presence of the chefs becomes more vivid. Their movements, gestures, and techniques take center stage, turning the counter into a quiet performance space where the craft speaks for itself.
For Head Chef Hậu Trần, the most noticeable changes have been in the flow of service and the ease of day-to-day operations. Working without a visible stove required a brief adjustment period, but it quickly became second nature.
“At first, it was a little difficult to locate the exact stove points,” Hậu recalls. “But after a while, it felt completely natural. Now it’s just part of how we work. It fits our kitchen well: the power, the responsiveness, the way it supports the pace of service.”
Beyond performance, the shift in materials brought a practical improvement that the team feels every day.
“Cleaning is incredibly easy,” he adds. “The counter used to be concrete, and we had to scrub it with soap several times. With Velacucina, a wet towel is enough. It doesn’t retain smells nor bacteria, and the whole area stays clean throughout service.”
For the kitchen team, these small, consistent efficiencies accumulate into a calmer, more focused working environment: one that supports precision without slowing the flow of creativity.
In fine dining, the kitchen must balance precision with fluidity providing a space that supports creativity under pressure while maintaining a sense of calm. At The Monkey Gallery Dining, the move to an invisible cooking surface has reshaped that balance.
Rather than limiting chefs to fixed cooking zones, the counter becomes an open canvas. Preparation, cooking, plating, and interaction all happen on the same plane, uninterrupted by bulky equipment. For a tasting-menu restaurant, this creates a clearer mise en place, quicker transitions between courses, and a more intuitive rhythm among the team.
Performance sits quietly beneath the surface. The heat responds immediately when needed and fades just as quickly, giving chefs the control they rely on during complex sequences. This responsiveness supports the tempo of service – whether searing, simmering, or adjusting a dish at the last moment – without breaking the flow of the counter.
Consistency is another advantage. The system maintains stable temperatures throughout service, helping the team synchronize dishes with precision, essential at a chef’s counter, where timing is part of the experience. With specialized functions such as Chef-cook and Warming Mode, the chefs can shift between tasks seamlessly or turn a section of the counter into a gentle holding zone during peak moments.
Safety also takes on a new importance when guests sit only a few centimeters away. With heat contained to the cookware and the surrounding surface staying cool, the interaction between chef and diner remains comfortable, quiet, and uninterrupted. The counter is open, yet secure, making it suitable for a professional environment where performance and proximity go hand in hand.
What sets Velacucina apart is the ecosystem of integrated features designed to support the natural flow of service in high-performance environments. Built-in wine chillers keep pairings at the right temperature, allowing sommeliers and chefs to work tableside without interrupting the experience.
The counter itself becomes a quiet backbone of the kitchen. Its non-porous surface is built for the pace of service – resistant to stains, heat, and the constant movement of tools and cookware. The material stays smooth and stable even through the busiest moments of preparation and plating.
Alongside this durability, the surface is also antibacterial, helping the team maintain a workspace that is consistently clean and reassuringly hygienic. In an open kitchen, where every gesture is visible, this combination of performance and cleanliness becomes as important as the technology beneath it.
One of Velacucina’s quiet strengths is its adaptability. The system can be shaped to suit different spaces – whether through dimensions, heating zones, finishes, or the way accessories and lighting integrate into the counter. At The Monkey Gallery Dining, the installation was crafted to sit naturally within the restaurant’s dramatic ceilings and intimate seating, reinforcing its “gallery” philosophy.
In other settings, Velacucina becomes a flexible canvas, able to complement minimal interiors, industrial luxury, or more theatrical, performance-driven dining rooms. Its presence adjusts to the room, rather than the other way around.
In luxury dining, where atmosphere and originality often define success, Velacucina introduces a kind of experience many guests have never encountered. Cooking unfolds directly on the counter, without equipment blocking the view, creating a more immediate dialogue between chef and guest.
The kitchen becomes part of the storytelling – visible, quiet, and intentional. In Vietnam’s rapidly evolving fine-dining landscape, this approach offers restaurants not just a functional upgrade, but a distinctive point of view: a way to express craft, architecture, and culinary innovation in a single gesture.
