i. Biography
Antwerp’s BÚN Bar & Restaurant works from the pull between Vietnam and the Low Countries: bánh xèo pancakes with Obsiblue prawns and Kempisch pork, pho lifted by aromatics, and durian cooled into panna cotta. Huibrecht Berends is associated with that meeting of street-stall memory and local product at BÚN Bar & Restaurant, which was named Gault&Millau Belgium Asian Restaurant of the Year.
The Estate
Berends is a Dutch Zeeuws-Vlaming from the Netherlands, raised by the sea. The language around his Antwerp work is grounded in ingredients: prawns, pork, quail, wagyu beef, durian, boiling water, and grill heat. Before Antwerp, he worked in Cadzand. He was a staff member at Pure C in Cadzand, The Netherlands, and served as restaurant manager at Resto Bar Pure C in Cadzand-Bad, The Netherlands. His specialty at Bun Vietnamese Street Food in Antwerp, Belgium, is Authentic Vietnamese street food. At BÚN Bar & Restaurant in Antwerp, Belgium, he gives Hoa Truong’s Vietnamese culinary legacy a gastronomic twist, while keeping close to the memory of food bought from street stalls in Vietnam.
In the Cellar
The method is built on translation, not disguise: Vietnamese food culture dishes made with local products from the Low Countries. That idea is clearest in the bánh xèo pancakes with Obsiblue prawns and Kempisch pork, cited by Gault&Millau as a tasty example of the restaurant’s Vietnamese food culture made with local Low Countries products. There is a split inside the house. At BÚN Bar & Restaurant, the restaurant serves more fine-dining dishes, while the bar still offers typical bites bought from street stalls in Vietnam. One side sharpens the plate; the other keeps the immediacy of the stall. Berends’s own words point back to an early, stripped-down way of working: "In the very beginning, we had no more than a grill and a pot of boiling water to prepare everything."
The Bottlings
Le Fooding describes the pho as mind-blowing and ultra-aromatic, served with a huge portion of breaded wagyu beef or Label Rouge quail. The durian panna cotta is described by Le Fooding as daring, a dessert that tames the smelliest fruit in the world. For Berends, the desired measure is memory. "The greatest compliment is when people say that BÚN takes them back to their own trip through Vietnam." The award from Gault&Millau Belgium names the achievement formally; the food culture moves between Antwerp, the Low Countries, and the remembered heat of Vietnamese street food.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Huibrecht
Where does Huibrecht Berends work?
Huibrecht Berends was a Pure C restaurant staff member in Cadzand, The Netherlands, and restaurant manager at Resto Bar Pure C in Cadzand-Bad, The Netherlands. He is also associated with Bun Vietnamese Street Food and BÚN Bar & Restaurant in Antwerp, Belgium.
What style or method defines Huibrecht Berends's work?
His work gives Hoa Truong’s Vietnamese culinary legacy a gastronomic twist through Vietnamese food culture dishes made with local products from the Low Countries.
What are Huibrecht Berends's signature releases or dishes?
Dishes cited in connection with BÚN Bar & Restaurant include bánh xèo pancakes with Obsiblue prawns and Kempisch pork, pho with breaded wagyu beef or Label Rouge quail, and durian panna cotta.
