Watermelon usually needs little preparation. Slice it, chill it and its natural sweetness does the rest. At Tales, however, this familiar fruit spends eight hours cooking slowly in watermelon juice before it is lightly dehydrated and smoked with applewood. The kitchen jokingly calls the result “tuna of the land.” Its deep red colour and firm, juicy texture may look familiar, but the dish remains unmistakably watermelon. Eucheuma seaweed, frozen ponzu, concentrated ginger sauce, lavender gel and fresh herbs gradually turn its sweetness into a layered savoury course. Read on to discover how Tales transforms watermelon without hiding its original character—and why this playful watermelon tuna deserves a closer taste.

Watermelon – Eucheuma, a standout on Tales’ Plant-Based fine dining menu

Watermelon – Eucheuma reflects the way Tales by Chapter approaches plant-based fine dining. This dish begins with a familiar ingredient, then using time and technique to reveal a side of it that guests may not have tasted before.

The watermelon is slow-cooked in its own juice for eight hours, lightly dehydrated and finished with applewood smoke. This process gives the fruit a deep red colour and a firmer, more defined texture while preserving its tender, juicy centre. The resemblance explains why the Tales team affectionately calls it “tuna of the land.”

Crisp Eucheuma seaweed contrasts with the softness of the fruit, while frozen ponzu brings citrus, salinity and kombu umami. Concentrated ginger adds gentle warmth, and lavender gel, shiso, mint and flowers leave a fresh, aromatic finish.

The course moves naturally between sweet, smoky, savoury, acidic and floral notes. Its appeal lies not in making watermelon taste exactly like fish, but in showing how an everyday fruit can become the centre of a thoughtful and memorable fine dining dish.

Why Tales by Chapter calls the dish is “The Tuna of the land”

This name is extremely suitable with this food. Place the finished watermelon on the plate and the nickname begins to make sense. Its deep red colour recalls tuna, while the slow-cooked fibres give each slice a firm but tender bite.

However, watermelon tuna is not built around perfect imitation. It does not need artificial fish flavour or a heavy seaweed marinade to prove what it can be. The fruit remains at the centre of the dish. This distinction matters. Tales is not asking guests to believe they are eating seafood. Instead, the course explores whether a modest land-grown ingredient can deliver the visual presence and satisfying texture normally associated with ocean tuna.

The answer comes through eight hours of patient cooking rather than disguise. That is what makes the dish interesting: guests recognise the watermelon, but not in a form they have encountered before.

The signature 8 hours slow-cooking Technique behind Tales’ Watermelon

The character of Watermelon – Eucheuma comes from a three-stage process developed specifically for the dish in Tales by Chapter’s kitchen. Each stage changes one part of the watermelon while protecting another, creating a texture and flavour that cannot be achieved through a single cooking method.

Eight hours in watermelon juice deepens its original flavor

Instead of covering the fruit with a strong marinade, the kitchen cooks each slice in watermelon juice for eight hours. The fruit gradually absorbs a more concentrated version of its own sweetness, allowing its natural character to remain clear.

Inside the controlled cooking environment, the color becomes deeper and the fibers grow more defined. The flesh also begins to hold together with a firmer structure. By the end of the process, the watermelon tastes fuller without becoming candied or losing its freshness.

Gentle dehydration creates Tales’ distinctive tuna-like texture

The slow-cooked watermelon leaves the bath tender and full of juice. To give it a more substantial bite, the kitchen gently removes part of the remaining moisture. This step requires restraint. As a results,  the surface becomes firm and slightly chewy, but the centre remains moist and succulent. That contrast creates the dish’s unexpected resemblance to tuna: a deep red exterior, visible fibres and a little resistance before the flesh gives way. The effect comes from patient cooking rather than artificial flavouring or a processed meat substitute.

Applewood smoke gives the watermelon its final identity

The last stage introduces applewood smoke. Its warm aroma settles gently around the fruit, adding a savoury dimension without hiding the concentrated sweetness developed during cooking. The smoke also creates a bridge to the frozen kombu ponzu and crisp Eucheuma served alongside it. By the time the watermelon reaches the plate, sweetness, acidity, umami and smoke already feel connected rather than added as separate flavours.

The unforgettable contrast of Watermelon and Eucheuma

The slow-cooked watermelon forms the soft, dense centre of the course. Its surface offers a gentle chew before giving way to a tender, juicy interior filled with concentrated sweetness and applewood smoke.

Beside it, Eucheuma seaweed, known in Vietnam as rong sụn, introduces the complete opposite. Its cool, crisp and slightly springy bite immediately refreshes the palate, while its mild salinity guides the fruit towards a more savoury expression.

The pairing becomes memorable because neither ingredient disappears into the other. The watermelon remains sweet, smoky and succulent; the Eucheuma stays fresh, lightly saline and distinctly crunchy. Experienced together, this contrast creates a bite that constantly shifts between tenderness and snap, land and sea, familiarity and surprise.

Frozen Ponzu, Ginger and Herbs Bring the Watermelon into Balance

The sequence begins with frozen ponzu, made from Japanese soy sauce, kombu and citrus before being rapidly frozen with liquid nitrogen and crushed into delicate flakes. As the flakes touch the watermelon, their cool texture begins to dissolve, releasing a bright acidity that cuts through the fruit’s concentrated sweetness.

Once that first citrus sharpness fades, soy sauce and kombu leave behind a deeper umami note, drawing attention to the applewood smoke already held within the watermelon. From there, concentrated ginger introduces a gentle warmth, creating a gradual shift from cool and refreshing to savoury and aromatic.

Just as the ginger begins to linger, lavender gel, shiso, mint, viola and elderflower lighten the palate once more. Mint brings a cooling freshness, shiso adds a slightly spicy herbal aroma, while the flowers soften the finish with a clean, delicate fragrance.

Each element arrives in turn, yet none feels separate from the next. The bite moves naturally from chilled citrus to sweetness, smoke, umami, warmth and finally a floral freshness. Throughout this progression, the watermelon remains at the centre—recognisable in the first moment and difficult to forget after the final note fades.

The best way to experience the “Tuna of the land”

Enjoy the components together rather than tasting every garnish separately. Begin with a piece of slow-cooked watermelon and add some Eucheuma, frozen ponzu, ginger sauce, lavender gel and a fresh herb.

The journey begins with sweet, smoky watermelon. Its firm exterior gives way to a moist centre before the Eucheuma introduces a crisp, lightly saline contrast.

As the ponzu melts, citrus and soy sauce brighten the palate. Ginger follows with gentle warmth, while lavender and herbs leave a fresh floral finish.

Combining the components in one bite reveals the balance Tales intended: land and sea, sweetness and umami, tenderness and crunch, smoke and freshness.

Experience Watermelon – Eucheuma at Tales by Chapter

Watermelon and Eucheuma appears as part of Tales’ seasonal tasting experience rather than an à la carte dish. The menu changes as ingredients and new ideas move through the kitchen, so check the current Tales tasting menu before visiting.

At the chef’s counter, guests can watch the team prepare each course and hear why a familiar ingredient has been cooked in an unfamiliar way. In the dining room, the same experience unfolds at a quieter pace, guided by a service team that explains the techniques, ingredients and best way to enjoy each plate.

Watermelon Tuna captures what makes Tales distinctive: a familiar ingredient, patient preparation and just enough surprise to make guests reconsider what plant-based food can be. Reserve your table at Tales by Chapter to experience the concentrated sweetness, applewood smoke and crisp Eucheuma together.

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Tales by Chapter

The first zero waste plant-based dining in Vietnam

Add: 10 Nguyen Thanh Y, Tan Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City

Hotline: +84 368 150 125

E-mail: reservation@talessgn.com – Reservation

Are you ready to taste the future? Visit us at talessgn.com to book your sustainable dining experience today.