During the Vietnam food tours in Ha Long (Quang Ninh), in addition to the experience of taking a boat to see the world natural heritage, tourists do not forget to enjoy delicious dishes bearing the name of this land.
Breakfast
Bun be be (Mantis shrimps noodle) is a popular breakfast and lunch dish in Quang Ninh, especially in Ha Long city. Be be is a species of seafood that is abundant in Ha Long waters, with firm, fragrant, sweet and nutritious meat.
Owners usually choose large, fresh, and superficial shrimps, peeling off in a careful manner so that the flesh inside doesn’t break.
A bowl of vermicelli has 3-5 smooth shrimps arranged neatly in a bowl. The noodle broth is also made from boiling be be with some other types of seafood such as shrimp, crabs, so it has a sweet taste and not fishy. Vermicelli dishes often include shrimp, fish, fried beans, served with herbs.
Bun dish has appeared here for less than ten years but has attracted many locals and visitors on Vietnam food tour. A vermicelli bowl costs about 30,000 – 40,000 VND. In the morning and noon, vermicelli is sold at many local markets, coastal seafood markets in Ha Long and tourist areas like Bai Chay.
In addition, pho is an ideal dish to start the day. This is a popular dish, easy to eat and long. You can also easily find pho in the center of Ha Long city or Bai Chay. Some addresses that are introduced by many visitors are Sinh beef noodle soup, Dinh Gia noodle soup or a restaurant on Tran Hung Dao street.
Lunch
Bun cu ky is a dish only in Quang Ninh. Cu ki is about the size of rocky crabs, but many of them have little flesh, but they have bigger and meatier pincers. Therefore, the pincers of cu ki are the main ingredient for cooking. Their meat is flavorful, different from the taste of crab meat, is peel and stir-fried with garlic and scalion to create fragrant smell, then put into a bowl of white vermicelli with the pair of pincers that has been crushed. The broth of this vermicelli has the meat of cu ki. The shops often add be be and shrimp to make vermicelli look full and delicious.
Vermicelli is often sold in the morning with bun be be, but tourists on food walking tour can still find this dish for lunch at the food and local markets in Bai Chay, Gieng Don. A bowl costs from 35,000 to 50,000 VND.
Afternoon snack meal
Balut and blood pudding stewed with wormwood
This is a nutritious snack usually sold in the afternoon in Ha Long. Taste of balut stewed wormwood is also one of Ha Long specialties, that is recommended by gourmets to try when coming to this city.
The flavor from the squares of the blood pudding makes bitter taste of wormwood to become more palatable when being stew, while the wormwood leaves make blood pudding less fishy. The diner also added duck egg to the bowl. The ingredients that are always heated on the kitchen should be more appealing on cold days.
Although the form is not very nice, this dish attracts many customers because of its high nutrition and cheap price, 10,000 – 20,000 VND each. To enjoy this dish, diners should look to market column 3, Ha Long market 1, 2.
Dinner
Squid meatball is the famous Ha Long specialty. People here use fried squid meatball to eat with banh cuon instead of cinnamon meatball, lean pork paste like many other places, creating brand of Quang Ninh banh cuon cha muc. Still white rice sheets rolled with fungus, some shops still add more shrimps, diners will find strange taste when eating with squid meatball. The squid meat is grinded or pounded into a skillful mixture so that the final product is still tough and crispy. The best dish when used with coriander and chili garlic sauce.
In Ha Long, diners can find squid meatball at any time of the day. Some famous addresses must include the brand name of Mrs. Ngan, Mrs. Yen and Quan Bang.
For more information/details: Hanoi street food, Hanoi traditional food, Hanoi cooking class