The shared plate menu at Xu Restaurant includes both modern Vietnamese and traditional Vietnamese favorites. Although the idea of updating and modernizing authentic and traditional cuisine is not new, such experiments have only recently begun to be accepted and appreciated in Vietnam. Modern Vietnamese cuisine is both true to its roots and refreshingly contemporary. It sometimes involves the simplification of a complex dish to emphasize particular ingredients, or applying new techniques to traditional and well-loved meals. And it can also mean extracting well-known ingredients, which are unique to traditional Vietnamese cuisine, and using these ingredients in a completely new way.