Thứ Năm, 11 tháng 6, 2015

10 Vietnamese street foods we can't live without!

Cyclo Tours

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I love to check the articles on CNNGo, they have many interesting things about food, sightseeings, adventures, travel tips...Especially about the food, very interesting to know how Western tourists taste what we love to eat, to drink in Asia...and how they think about it!
Many articles about the most stinky foods, most repulsive (disgusting) dishes in Thailand or those foods that will send you running to the bathroom...then running back for more!
Or best foods that Taiwanese or Hong Kong can't live without!
So I wonder what could be the street foods that we can't live without in Vietnam? I try to list down within 10 but as I'm living in Sài Gòn, probably my focus is more on the South! I may miss something that is your favorite, please add it to the list and make it 40 (*) street foods that we, Vietnamese, can't live without!
By the way, from this list of 10, we have two - beef noodles and summer roll which have been considered on CNNGo as ones of the world's 50 most delicious foods. To me, it should be more than 2 compared to our neighbor - Land of smile, but as usual that list of 50 always remains a subject of many discussions and argues!

1. Beef noodles (Phở bò)
This could be the No 1 street food in Vietnam and most recognizable Vietnamese food outside of Vietnam. Originated from the North, but has found home in the South since long time, that's why we have "phở" in two different styles: northern and southern. According to some foodies, in Sài Gòn besides these two official northern and southern styles we still have some other "styles", but I would say it's more like taste. Good Phở should have all good three components: soup, beef and noodles! To me beef noodles should be a dish that inspires competitiveness and innovation in chefs, at that time everyone wants to claim the honor title "Beef noodles King"!

Beef noodles at Phở Tàu bay

2. Broken rice (Cơm tấm)
My all time favorite, but today "cơm tấm" is quite different and to be honest, I don't like it as before. Cơm tấm An Dương Vương or Kiều Giang are far from the best, too commercial! They make so many dishes to go with broken rice and by somehow it makes the broken rice lost the traditional taste as in the old days: broken rice with pork skin (cơm tấm bì) or egg cake (chả trứng)! But even saying so, I still can enjoy good cơm tấm at different places: simpler but more original! To me, most important for broken rice is the rice itself and fish sauce, flavorful rice and a little bit sweet, a little bit salty, a little bit spicy fish sauce and by the way don't forget to top broken rice with special minced green onion stirred in the oil (mở hành)!

Broken rice with roasted chicken, egg cake and pork skin at Ba Ghiền

3. Sticky rice (Xôi)
This is a great breakfast dish that give you a boost of added energy. Similar to beef noodles, sticky rice also has two styles: northern and southern and they are quite different. Example, corn sticky rice (xôi bắp) in a northern style is very different from a southern and to me tastier! Sticky rice has sweet and salty. My favorite for sweet is a corn sticky rice in a northern style (xôi bắp), there is many things: softly cooked corn mixed with sticky rice, topped with green mung bean, tasty fried shallots, sugar. For salty one (xôi mặn), my choice could be a sticky rice with dried shrimp, chinese sausage, green onion stirred with oil, flavored with soy sauce.

Sweet corn sticky rice in a northern style

Sticky rice with chicken floss

Sweet sticky rice in a southern style

4. Saigon baguette (Bánh mỳ Sài Gòn)
Along with beef noodles, Saigon baguette (bánh mỳ Saigon) is the most famous dish outside of Vietnam, something that tourist rave and hype about. But in Sài Gòn to taste the best Bánh mỳ, you should know the place! Not every place! A good, warm and crunchy bread is filled with many things!
It could be several kinds of Vietnamese pork ham, liver paste (pâté gan), veggies (cucumber, coriander, green onion, chili...) and sour things (đồ chua) which made from pickled shreds of carrot and white radish!

Saigon baguette is filled with "everything" Bánh mỳ đủ thứ!

5. Rice noodles (Bún)
There is many dishes with rice noodles. Many! I tried to count but then gave up. Because living in Sài Gòn I may know only those popular dishes here, but in North or Central? Anyway to me most popular dish with rice noodles (bún) could be bún thịt nướng (rice noodles with grilled pork), bún riêu (rice noodles with sour crab soup), bún chả giò (rice noodles with deep fried spring rolls)! I personally select two to represent rice noodles: bún thịt nướngfor rice noodles served without soup category and bún riêu for rice noodles served in soup category!

Rice noodles with grilled pork

It would be a big miss if I don't mention a glorious dish from Huế, super popular in Saigon! Beef noodles in Huế style, same as traditional beef noodles that I list down on the top, we can have this bún bò Huế for breakfast, lunch or late dinner! The most distinctive is its flavor - thanks to the special Huế shrimp paste (ruốc Huế) and lemon grass added to the soup during cooking!

Beef noodles in Hue style - strong flavor and mildly spicy!

A popular rice noodles with sour soup, crab paste...bún riêu!

6. Roll cake (Bánh cuốn)
Again and again we have two different: roll cake in a northern style, filled with pork meat (bánh cuốn nhân thịt)and roll cake in a southern style - we call bánh ướt (wet cake!). Both are made from rice, steamed and served with sweet, spicy fish sauce, ham and blanched bean sprouts, herbs. Both are most popular but wet cake (bánh ướt) could be more popular as street food in Sài Gòn as it's easy to sell from a moving cart! These days I saw many these carts on the street!

Roll cake in a southern style - we call "wet" cake (bánh ướt)

Roll cake filled with pork meat in a northern style at Thiên Hương

7. Papaya salad with pork liver (gỏi bò)
My childhood favorite snack and until now I'm happy to have it whenever I have a chance! Used to be one of the most popular snacks among the youth, esp. school teenagers. These days maybe the taste has been changed, we may not find this street stall selling this yummy papaya salad in front of many schools anymore but certain places are famous for this special salad. Made from shreds of young papaya, served in sour-sweet spicy sauce, topped with roasted peanut, Vietnamese basil, shrimp cracker and most important beef liver or lung (!?) that has been braised in secret aromatic dark sweet sauce with probably different spices!

Green papaya salad topped with secret beef liver, peanut...

8. Big noodles (Bánh canh)
I love the big noodles or I always call it jokingly "udon" due to its jumbo size! Vietnamese udon or bánh canh! We have a quite large variation of bánh canh, depends on the area. In South we have bánh canh with pork knuckle (bánh canh giò heo), or with crab (bánh canh cua). Very popular. Then in Central we have bánh canh with crab in a Huế style or with snakehead (bánh canh cá lóc)...We even have sweet bánh canh in coconut soup, very tasty, the speciality from Mekong Delta! Bánh canh is good for breakfast or light meal before dinner! My all-time favorite isbánh canh with crab. The soup with crab meat, crab cake or some other stuffs, we need to add only some fresh chili, squeeze some drops of lime juice, all of it makes bánh canh heavenly good!

Vietnamese big noodles with crab (bánh canh cua)

Big noodles with flower crab - another version from Central!

9. Yellow noodles
Originated from China, but this noodles dish already found home in here, probably hundred years ago!
I did try yellow noodles in Beijing and in Hong Kong, I may prefer the Vietnamese version, probably I already used to the local taste here! Good for breakfast or late night meal! Yellow noodles can go with either seafood, chicken, pork or little of everything (mỳ đủ thứ). I love the noodles texture - should be a bit hard, not too soft! And, of course, the soup itself!

Yellow noodles with everything at Minh Ký Mì Gia!

10. Fresh spring roll (Gỏi cuốn)
If talking about the roll in Vietnam, it would take days...as we have so many things that we can roll in rice paper (bánh tráng)! The most popular among the rolls - deep fried spring rolls but as street food - by somehow fresh spring roll or we simply call "gỏi cuốn" - more popular!
Just a good rice paper, we roll with rice noodles, veggies and veggies, then cooked pork meat (thịt heo luộc) and cooked prawn! Dip sauce is sweet soy sauce mixed with chopped roasted peanut!

Summer roll as it's called on CNNGo - one of the world's 50 delicious foods!

(*) The list still goes on! As we may end it up not with only 20 but 40! I don't know why 40! Could be 100? 100 street foods that we can't live without! It would be a good guidebook for any tourist in Vietnam!

Thứ Sáu, 5 tháng 6, 2015

The wheel of fortune keeps turning in ancient Hoi An

cyclo tours, ho chi minh city, cyclo tours, mekong delta, halong bay, cuchi tunnels, city tours

Local herbs: Tourists learn how to make salad during a cooking class at Water Wheel Restaurant in Tra Que herb village in Hoi An town. — VNS Photos Cong Thanh

by Hoai Nam

Tra Que village, 2km from Hoi An town, was a wonderful stopover for Bill Zou and Alexandra Pabon from New York.

They had time to travel around the UNESCO-recog-nised heritage port city and taste its food. But they found the most fun was learning to cook Vietnamese food – and then eating it.

Tra Que Water Wheel, in the middle of the popular Tra Que Village, was a cool option for the two Americans exploring Asian cooking and farming. Water Wheel hosts Vietnamese farm tours and cooking classes.

"It was a very nice day when we explored Hoi An market and chose produce for the kitchen. Spring rolls with salad was the first dish we learned at Water Wheel," Bill said.

"The guide prepared sliced papaya, carrot, squid, chilli and vinegar for a salad. It was a bit difficult squeezing the papaya, but I eventually finished the process and added herbs, pepper and chilli," he said.

"Rolling rice paper needs skilful hands – and we slowly got going. It's an easy dish to make – and eat," Bill said.

Nguyen Thi Hien, a guide, said the tour offered visitors a real experience with cooking skills and local lifestyles.

"Tourists are asked to visit Hoi An market by bicycle. We guide tourists on what food to select and how to bargain with sellers," Hien said.

"We offer different menus to tourists before they go to market. They can choose food for six dishes for their lunch at the Water Wheel," she said.

She said vegetarian spring rolls and pancakes were the favourite dishes among foreigners at the restaurant.

Family fun: Visitors are guided to make spring rolls from rice paper and grilled fish with banana leaves in Tra Que Village.

Duong Hien Hoang, owner of the Water Wheel restaurant, said the restaurant was based in a garden at Tra Que herb village.

"Tourists can find a tranquil rural life with vegetable farming in the 500-year-history village," he added.

"The symbol of the Water Wheel belongs to rice farming. They can be seen in remote areas in Viet Nam. The bamboo wheel help direct water from mountains to paddy-fields," he said.

He said the restaurant was built of bamboo and had a thatched roofs to cool it down on hot summer days.

Jean Baptiste, a French tourist, said Tra Que village was the second stop for his family in Viet Nam after HCM City.

His five-member family enjoyed making banh trang, a traditional Vietnamese dish made by using paper-thin wrappers made by steaming rice-flour liquid. When the liquid solidifies in the steam, the wrappers are then filled with the ingredients one desires, cut up and served with sauces.

"It's very interesting when my kids joined in making the wrappers. The guide just instructed us once and we could do, but not as fast," Baptiste said.

Working model: A water wheel has been set up within the restaurant as a symbolic object of the venue.

"My kids have never had such a close experience with rural life. Anyway, they loved the taste of the food that they made themselves," he said.

"It's a bit difficult to use a bamboo wand to pick up the steamed rice wrappers from the steam-pot, but the second and third tries were more successful. The dish is not fat because the rolls are filled with herbs and just a little oil. We love it so much," he added.

Baptiste said rice wrappers could also be used to roll a mixture of salad and bean sprouts called banh cuon (steamed rolled-rice pancake).

Bill Zou said papaya squid salad was a delicious and easy dish.

"I try to do the dish once a day in New York. Tra Que is quite different to my city of skyscrapers and multitudes of cars," Bill said.

"I also learned how to grill fish in banana leave on a charcoal stove. The guide instructed me to fan the coals with my hand, but to keep the fish out of the flames," she said.

The tour manager, Hoang said there are different options for tourists at Water Wheel including farming skills and exploring the village by bicycle.

"We also include a vegetarian menu in our cooking classes and foot massages after shopping in Hoi An and riding bikes around town," he said. — VNS

Thứ Tư, 27 tháng 5, 2015

Stunning beauty of Ly Son Island

Ly Son Island in the central province of Quang Ngai is seen as an attractive destination for many tourists due to its stunning, natural beauty.

Let’s take a tour around the island:

saigon cyclo tours, hochiminh cyclo tours, mekong delta, cuchi tunnels, halong bay

Ly Son garlics are planted in An Hai Commune

Sunset on the island

Dawn on Ly Son Island

Blue sea

Unique stones in An Binh Commune

Fresh water is very scarce on Ly Son Island

Evening clouds on Co To Island

Co To Island in Quang Ninh Province has the most beautiful and romantic beach in Vietnam with transparent blue sea, white smooth sand, golden sunshine, and green mountains and forest.

Tourists who have never been to Co To cannot imagine how fascinating and charmingly beautiful it is. Visiting Co To, tourists have a chance to become one with nature in a relaxing and fresh environment of blue clean seawater, and visit primitive forests, the impressive lighthouse of Co To, Ho Chi Minh’s Monument, Co To Pier, fishing village and natural reefs and islets.

Co To Lighthouse is the symbol of the island, which offers the most beautiful panorama of Ha Long Bay. From the lighthouse, tourists have a great view of a breathtaking picture of the Northern Gulf with unique formation of small islets on emerald water of the bay, the pristine white color of beaches, the lush green color of forests, and yellow rice-fields. On the way to the hill where this lighthouse is located, tourists have an opportunity to go through a romantic forest with a variety of alluring flowers blooming along the path, not to mention listening to the melody of the forest composed by thousands of rare species of birds.

In Co To, you might feel free to go in the clean water while watching flocks of seagulls flying above or wandering around the beach to look for their food. With many beaches in Co To, you should never worry about finding a good spot for a relaxing afternoon.

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Cao Anh Tuan

VNE

Pictures: Y Ty in the summer

VietNamNet Bridge - Located at an altitude of over 2,000m with a cool climate all year round, Y Ty in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai is a favorite destination of domestic and international tourists.

Y Ty is at the back of Nhiu Co San mountain with the top at 2,660 meters. Y Ty is covered by white clouds much of the time and the sun rarely shines 12 hours per day. The roads to Y Ty are zigzag trails among the forest leaves and looming houses in the cloud. People feel like they have stepped into another world when they come to Y Ty.

Y Ty’s stunning scenery changes with each season. In May and June it’s time of watering terraced rice fields. These fields look like sparkling mirrors shining under the blazing sun of summer.

In late August to October, the rice fields are in the harvest season. The yellow color of ripe paddy with the green of unripe rice plants creates an interesting picture.

In December to February, the peach and plum flowers bloom. And if you are lucky, you can experience the amazing cloud paradise.

Below are pictures of Y Ty in the summer:

VNE/VNN

Preparing for Southern Fruit Festival in HCM City

Cyclo Tours
Address 1: 123 Ly Tu Trong, Ben Thanh Ward, Dist 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel:              (84-8) 38229068 - 38229069 / Fax: (84-8) 38229070
Email:          booking@cyclotours.com.vn
Website:     www.cyclotour.com.vn
From June 1-20, 2015, the Southern Fruit Festival will take place at Suoi Tien Tourist Area, HCM City.

The event aims to honor values of exotic fruits and growers in Viet Nam and the Southern region in particular as well as to promote the cultural identity of Vietnamese people.

At the festival, there will be more than 150 kinds of regionally distinguished fruits, like Nam Roi grapefruit, Queen dragon fruit, Luc Ngan lychee, and Cai Mon, Ben Tre durian… to be introduced to visitors. In addition, many other activities will be held in the frame of the festival such as fruit parade, a show of rare fruits and cooking contest.

Specially, an int’l music performance staged by both domestic and foreign art troupes from India, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos and folk games will also be held.

In 2014, the southern fruit festival welcomed more than 1 million visitors.

Pham Thanh

Viet Nam: 3 destinations among top 27 amazing natural wonders

SmarterTravel, one of the largest online travel resources of the US, has revealed the world’s top 27 amazing natural wonders in Asia, including 3 destinations in Viet Nam.

Accordingly, Ha Long Bay triumphed the first place in the list.

The online travel website suggests that visitors should take one of the overnight cruises offered within the bay and watch the sunset over its tranquil waters.

Son Doong, the world's largest cave, located in central Vietnam took the 19th place.

According to SmarterTravel, the cave is more than 5.5 miles long and has its own jungle and river. Still, it wasn't even discovered until 1991, or fully explored until 2009.

Can Gio Mangrove Forest is also named in the list.

“The Can Gio wetlands support not only thousands of mangroves, but also around 200 different species of wildlife and 150 species of flora”, says the website.

Rounding on the list of top 27 include Longdong of Taiwan, The Chocolate Hills, of the Philippines, Flaming Cliffs of Mongolia, Marble Rocks of India, Thi Lo Su Waterfall of Thailand, Natural Forest Park of Zhangjiaje of China, Al-Hasa Oasis of Saudi Arabia, Tubbataha Reef of the Philippines, Karst Mountains and Caves of China, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park of the Philippines, Mt. Kelimutu of Indonesia, Komodo National Park of Indonesia, Kuang Si Falls of Laos, The Valley of the Geysers of Russia, Okama of Japan, Tojinbo of Japan, Lonar Crater and Lake of India, Manjanggul Lava Tube of the Republic of Korea, Ta Prohm Temple Trees of Cambodia, Tiger Leaping Gorge of China, GunungMulu National Park of Malaysia, The Stone Forest of China, Taroko Gorge of Taiwan, and Lion's Rock of Sri Lanka.

Source: VOV

Thứ Sáu, 22 tháng 5, 2015

Sai Gon and south western delta

Cyclo Tours
Address 1: 123 Ly Tu Trong, Ben Thanh Ward, Dist 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel:              (84-8) 38229068 - 38229069 / Fax: (84-8) 38229070
Email:          booking@cyclotours.com.vn
Website:     www.cyclotour.com.vn
Established at the confluence of the Saigon River and Canal Kinh Te, Ho Chi Minh City is currently the largest city in Vietnam in terms of population with 7,000,000 inhabitants in 2005 and economic standard of living 2 times the rest of the country.
It was also the seat of government of Cochin name given to the south of the country during the colonial era and the capital of South Vietnam from 1956 to 1975.

And, originally, the city was called Saigon. and renamed Ho Chi Minh city in 1975, that is to say at the end of the Vietnam War, the city remains in the eyes of many non Saigon and Ho Chi Minh City, its official name. Besides "Saigon" still appears on some brands.

The tourist attractions of the city lies in its colonial district its cathedral and central position between his and other Chinese district of Cholon. The Saigon's Chinatown, is truly a city within a city, a sort of nest in total contradiction with other neighborhoods, which is its charm. More like Vietnamese in any locality, we find the religious monuments including pagodas.
Similarly, near the city harbor Tay Ninh temple religious building monumental and outrageous.

The city was occupied by the Americans during the Vietnam War. Also, it still shows the scars of this heavy past. Similarly, near the city are visible witnesses of resistance perpetrated by communist North Vietnam and South (Viet Minh and Viet Cong). These are the Cu Chi Tunnels.

saigon cyclo tours, hochiminh cyclo tours, mekong delta, cuchi tunnels, halong bay

South Vietnam but not limited to its capital. Instead, the region is more his fame and tourist attraction of its natural major Mekong Delta. It is made of two major river arms interconnected by a network of secondary rivers that flow into the South China Sea at the southern tip of the country.
The ideal is to navigate the Mekong, to go to meet the established villages on its shores and to make stops in its floating markets, including that of Phung Hiep. The Mekong Delta, majestic and singular fact unanimously tourists.

Finally, two destinations "nature", less touristic worth visiting: Can Dao islands and island Phuo Quoc.
Can Dao is characterized by its natural park while Phuo Quoc Island has somehow condensed as a paradise of Vietnam, with its white sand beaches and verdant hills.

History of Ho Chi Minh City
The first settlers on the present territory of Ho Chi Minh City were the Khmer majority people of Cambodia. The city is then summarized in a small fishing port, named Prey Kor.

The arrival of the Annamite people in central Vietnam in the seventeenth century, the site became known as Saigon.

Then, in 1859, the city was conquered by France and will be part of Conchinchine French colony. Saigon will become the "Paris of the Far East", and until 1954 the date of the signing of the Geneva Accords that marked the withdrawal of the French colonists and the division of the country into two independent states.

The Vietnam War was declared in 1964, following the failure of the unification of "two Vitenam" in 1956, strongly mark Saigon. The city was occupied by the Americans in particular, allies South Vietnamese army.

At the end of the conflict in 1975, the town was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in honor of the Vietnamese Communist Party chief eponymous.

Currently, even though the city has not regained its former glory, it remains less austere than its rival North, Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh City has also become the country's economic capital.