The 2.5-hour cave dining experience, believed to be one of the largest of its kind on the planet, will be on offer for lunch and dinner daily at the 4000-square-metre cave. About a 30-minute drive from Halong City, Dragon Pearl Cave is one of the biggest caves in the Bai Tu Long area of Vietnam’s Cam Pha district. Surrounded by the Ban Co mountain range, Dragon Pearl Cave is one of a complex of five caves in the Vung Duc historical relic site.
Situated 45 metres above sea level, the cave formed around 150 million years ago and is dubbed ‘a theatre inside a mountain’ by locals due to its two chambers and myriad stalagmites and stalactites.
APC’s chefs are crafting a dining experience that will cater to up to 800 guests. Options will range from an international buffet to white table fine dining. A captivating 45-minute live performance, that is still being finalised, will precede the cave dining.
Filled with natural daylight that enters the top of the cave, Dragon Pearl Cave’s first chamber will serve as a reception area before guests move into the second, larger chamber, which will host entertainment and dining.
Nguyen Cao Son, the chairman of APC, which owns Halong Bay’s leading boutique cruise line Ambassador Cruise, said the cave dining journey was poised to become a “bucket-list item”.
“We recently filmed three orchestral performances by Suc Song Moi Orchestra in Dragon Pearl Cave and they were dreamlike and otherworldly,” he said. “The performances made for a trial run as we explore all of our options for our cave dining entertainment offerings. Our mystical cave dining journey will mark a new milestone in Vietnam’s cultural tourism, turning a UNESCO World Heritage listed site into a remarkable stage that celebrates nature, history, art and good cuisine in a way never seen before.”
The Suc Song Moi Orchestra features 30 musicians and seven background vocalists. Its repertoire ranges from the likes of Trống Cơm, a traditional Northern Vietnamese folk song reimagined with orchestral elements, and Mùa Xuân Ơi, a well-loved Vietnamese melody celebrating a prosperous New Year, to Vietnam Style; a creative remake of Gangnam Style that pays tribute to the spirit of Vietnamese people.”
The orchestra’s founder and artistic director is renowned Vietnamese conductor Dong Quang Vinh. Dubbed “Vietnam’s music ambassador” by domestic and international media for his ongoing efforts to promote Vietnamese music to the world, Vinh is also the principal conductor of the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet, and the artistic director and conductor of Hanoi Voices Choir. He has been a guest conductor of numerous international orchestras including the Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra and was chosen by the Japanese government to conduct the “Vietnam-Japan Festival Orchestra” in six Japanese cities in 2023 in celebration of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan.
“To take our music, usually performed in a large concert hall, and bring it to a setting as unique as a cave, one as spectacular as Dragon Pearl Cave, is a remarkable experience for me and Suc Song Moi Orchestra,” Vinh said. “Performing in the cave for the first time was both exhilarating and humbling, as we felt a deep connection between music and nature amid its ancient rock formations and thus incredible acoustics.”
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