Month: October 2021

Reopening tastes sweet for Saigon dessert vendor

By admin 7 months ago

A sweet soup stall vendor in HCMC’s iconic Ben Thanh Market is happy about reopening despite business having plunged as a result of Covid-19 impacts. The Ben Thanh Market, popular among both locals and foreign visitors, reopened October 3 after three months of closure, allowing its food court to resume business providing takeaways. Trinh owns a che (sweet soup) stall called Be Che that has been operating in the market for more than 50 years. She said she felt happy and relieved to be back in business.
“I find happiness when I am at the market. For now, I don’t care about profit though my business has gone down because of the pandemic.”
Before the pandemic, her stall was always crowded, especially at lunchtime. The stall had seven employees then, but now, she has to make do with just three or four. Now, she sells 30 to 50 servings of che on average a day, just 40 percent of her pre-pandemic sales.
The stall serves both hot and cold desserts with different ingredients including rice ba..

Vietnam among 16 nominees for world’s leading culinary destination award

By admin 7 months ago

A loaf of bread filled with pork slices and herbs in HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/Thien Chuong Vietnam will compete with 15 other rivals for the world’s leading culinary destination title at 2021 World Travel Awards. The other nominees are Australia, China, Colombia, France, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Thailand and the U.S.
The winner will be determined by votes from travelers around the world on the awards website, with the ceremony to be held Nov. 26 in Russia.
World Travel Awards, launched in 1993, acknowledges excellence in the travel and tourism industry, and are described as the “travel industry's equivalent of the Oscars.”
Last year, Vietnam was voted Asia’s leading culinary destination.
Vietnamese cuisine has become better known in the world over the past few years, with international chefs and prestigious food magazines praising several national dishes.
Some of the dishes found on street corners here have made it to all corners of the world,..

HCMC among world’s 10 best destinations to enjoy coffee

By admin 7 months ago

Two cups of iced black coffee (L) and iced coffee with condensed milk at a shop on Phan Dinh Phung Street in HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/Di Vy Ho Chi Minh City ranked seventh among the 10 most favored destinations for coffee aficionados in the world endorsed by global travelers, according to online travel agency Booking.com. “Ho Chi Minh City is home to upscale coffee shops and many more traditional spots where locals and tourists can sit on plastic stools that line the streets enjoying ca phe sua da, a ground dark roast Vietnamese-grown coffee often served over ice with condensed milk,” the U.S-based Booking.com stated.
The online travel agency highlighted Vietnam’s rich and varied coffee culture, with many areas coining their own delicacies including ca phe trung, or egg coffee.
Egg coffee was invented in the 1940s when there was a scarcity of milk in the city, prompting a bartender to use a replacement. The alternative, whisked egg yolk, turned the coffee into one of the most renowned..

Mekong vendor serves up Vietnamese noodles with coconut cream for two decades

By admin 7 months ago

A banh tam bi (thick noodles with coconut cream) shoulder-pole vendor in An Giang Province has survived for the past 20 years thanks to word of mouth. Banh tam bi is often regarded as a popular street food dish in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam's rice basket, because of its delicious and appealing taste. On a tour of An Giang that borders Cambodia, don't forget to visit the shoulder-pole vendor near Long Hung crossroads in Tan Chau Town, going strong for more than two decades.
Banh tam noodles are different across the Mekong Delta, depending on the type of rice available in the area and the noodle-making process. No one knows the exact origin of the dish but many people in the delta believe it originated from Bac Lieu Province.
Its main ingredients are thick noodles made of rice and tapioca flour, shredded pork skin (bi), herbs, coconut cream and sweet fish sauce.
The protein component of the dish is a mix of lean pork sliced into thin strips, shredded pig skin (bi) and thinh, a..