Vietnam’s culinary paradises

Hanoi

Besides cultural and historical relics of thousands of years old, Hanoi is a cradle of immensely popular cuisine of Vietnam which shows the city’s culture: a mix of traditional, modern, delicate and elegant features.

Hanoi has hundreds of cuisines to "love", from beef noodle, chicken noodle to bun cha (vermicelli and grilled chopped meat), bun dau (vermicelli with fried taofu), cha com (pork pies with green rice), La Vong fried fish, Thanh Tri steamed rolled rice pancake, steamed glutinous rice, ….

For snacks, Hanoi always has specialties all the time, which come from the neighboring provinces or its own specialties like o mai (salted or sugared dry fruit), green rice, sugar coated lotus seeds, etc.

Hue

Hue cuisine is distinctive and Vietnamese people regard it as the best in the country. There are two forms – Hue traditional food and ‘Royal’ cuisine, the food of the Imperial Court.

Hue culinary traditions demand that meals must be presented aesthetically, harmonizing food elements, decorations and colors to create a gastronomic work of art. Most dishes are accompanied with sauces specific to the dish.

A typical example of basic Hue food is clam rice. A more complicated everyday meal is likely to include rice and three common dishes: ‘bong the’ (fish boiled with fish sauce and aromatic vegetables), boiled spinach with a prawn sauce and a bowl of soup containing small prawns and tamarind.

Daytime meals are usually eaten away from home and mostly consist of single basic dishes. Formal meals for special occasions or for welcoming guests are more elaborate, usually comprising five or more dishes. Dessert would normally be a bowl of sweet lotus seed soup or local fruit.

Hue delicacies

Flour based dishes

Banh Khoai: a crepe with a savoury filling accompanied by salad and a peanut-based sauce

Banh La Cha Tom: soft pastry wrapped in leaves with meat, shrimp and eggs

Banh Hot Thit Quay: roast pork in pastry

Banh Bot Loc Boc Tom Thit: rice pastry containing shrimp and meat

Bun Tuan: noodles with stir-fried beef or boiled pork with fermented ‘nem’ fish sauce

Bun Bo Gio Heo: noodles with beef and pork

Dessert dishes - all variations of ‘che’ (sweet soup)

Che Dau Van: sweet French bean soup

Che Dau Ngu: sweet bean soup

Che Hot Sen Boc Nhan: sweet lotus seeds and longan soup

Che Bot Loc Boc Thit Quay: sweet rice and roast pork soup

Hue is a major Buddhist centre so its vegetarian food is well-known. Unlike vegetarian food in Western countries, Hue chefs aim to replicate the taste of dishes such as roast pork cooked with fish sauce, chicken salad, beefsteak, grilled meat roll, pork bolognese, chicken and so on. It’s a fascinating concept, but far away from the attitudes of foreign vegetarians who are mostly motivated by health or ethical concerns.

Hoi An

Hoi An is not a big city but it has an outstanding reputation for food. There are a number of local delicacies specific to Hoi An that travelers must eat when they visit Hoi An.

1. Cao lau: This is a delectable dark pork broth with fat yellow noodles, slices of juicy pork,  served with bean sprouts, green vegetables, slices of and crispy croutons. The noodles must be made with the water from one of the closely guarded ancient Cham wells hidden throughout Hoi An.

2. Hoi An Chicken Rice is delicious, fluffy rice cooked in chicken stock with a tiny bit of turmeric for colour, thrown in a wok and served with boiled, coarsely shredded chicken Chicken is torn into small pieces and then mashed with crushed onions, Vietnamese coriander and the other spices. This mixing step is important and clearly shows the delicacy of the cook. The dish is then served with a spicy chili sauce and pepper. Before being served to customers, the chicken pieces and fragrant rice are decorated with peppermint, papaya, and salted onions.

3. White Rose:  an appetizer named for its shape when presented properly – White Rose is a type of shrimp dumpling made from translucent white dough bunched up to look like a rose.

Ingredients such as shrimp and pork are placed on top of the carefully folded noodles and topped with crispy shallots. The unique dipping sauce is made of shrimp broth, hot chilies, lemon and sugar.

4. Quang Noodle: The noodle is yellow or white in color and made from rice flour. It is mixed with shrimp, pork and vegetables, and topped with grilled rice paper and spices. This noodle dish is a complex mixture of flavors and texture. The vibrant wide yellow turmeric noodles, sesame rice crackers, roasted peanuts, and fresh herbs, are flavorful. Unlike these noodle soups, Quang noodle is served with very little broth and almost like a dry noodle dish or noodle salad with the broth bringing all the flavors together.

Central coastal provinces

Tourists are in love with coastal areas in the central region of Vietnam not only because of beautiful landscapes and beaches, but also delicious dishes. We can say that these areas are paradise of fresh, delicious and cheap seafood.

Central people have their own way of processing seafood. They have many ways to prepare seafood: frying, grilling, steaming, hotpot, sun exposure ... to make different tastes, but not affect freshness.

Saigon

With the cultural interference of the East and the West, of past and present, to describe food in Saigon, people often use the word “unique and diverse”. The food in Saigon is divided by streets, and areas, with all kinds of cuisines offered at luxury restaurants to street stalls.

Saigon is a culinary paradise. But the most delicious and characteristic dishes are “com tam sai gon” (broken rice with grilled ribs served with rice, pickles, sauce). Saigon has hundreds of other fresh delicacies such as pha lau, sidewalk seafood and noodles, which are delicious and very cheap.

Southwestern region

This is a paradise of fruits, with extensive orchards, available at cheap prices. The region is also famous for traditional folk cuisines processed from ingredients from gardens and nearby rivers and canals. They are not cooked in a sophisticated way but are fresh and tasty.

The most popular specialties of the region are grilled snakehead, Can Tho fish hotpot, An Giang grapefruit salad, Ben Tre coconut worms, and Cai Rang - Can Tho baked rolls, among others.