First store opens in Ho Chi Minh City shopping mall

Chicken, tteokbokki and other K-food items on the menu

bhc's first Vietnam location, which opened Saturday at a shopping mall in the Go Vap district of Ho Chi Minh City [bhc]
bhc's first Vietnam location, which opened Saturday at a shopping mall in the Go Vap district of Ho Chi Minh City [bhc]

bhc, the chicken brand under Dining Brands Group, has opened its first store in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the company announced Tuesday.

Vietnam is the 10th country bhc has entered. The brand signed a master franchise agreement in April with Hao Open Food, a Vietnamese food and beverage company with a local retail distribution base, to prepare for the move.

The first store is located inside Vincom Plaza Phan Van Tri, a shopping mall in the Go Vap district of Ho Chi Minh City. The mall sits in a densely populated area in the city's northwest and draws a broad mix of shoppers, including university students and families.

The store covers about 162 square meters, with 74 seats across 37 tables. Given the typically short dwell times of mall shoppers, bhc adopted a limited-service restaurant format designed to streamline ordering and improve efficiency.

The menu centers on chicken alongside a range of K-food offerings, including tteokbokki, rabokki and kimchi fried rice. Six chicken options are available — Ppuringcle, Hot Ppuringcle, Fried, Seasoned, Matchoking and Red King — and customers can choose their preferred cuts to suit local dining preferences. Steamed white rice is also available for customers who prefer to eat chicken with rice, as is common locally.

Ahead of the opening, bhc launched an official TikTok account in Vietnam and said it gained 7,000 followers within the first month. The account also accumulated 40,000 likes, drawing strong interest from local consumers.

Nam Hwa-yeon, head of Dining Brands Group's overseas business division, said Vietnam is a country where interest in Korean food runs high alongside enthusiasm for K-content. "We will closely observe local consumers' tastes and responses to showcase bhc's differentiated flavors and experiences, and continue to strengthen our position as a global brand," she said.

bhc's overseas network has grown to 51 stores across 10 countries, including Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, the United States and Canada. The company plans to expand further in international markets through K-chicken, K-food and locally adapted menus.


spa@heraldcorp.com