Pork wrapped in "banh trang"

You should make the rolls yourself from boiled pork, vegetables and noodles. Just roll the ingredients in soft "banh trang" and dip them in spicy fish sauce.

Only a dish of pork wrapped in “banh trang” like other rolled dishes, the most important ingredient is pork. Pork for this dish should be rump meat from a 70-kilogram pig. Usually, only 5 kg can be selected and 40% of this is suitable for the dish.

The boiled meat must be well done and the pure colour of its fat retained. Pork is poiled in medium fire so that it is not well done so soon. Utensils must be rinsed before touching the meat to maintain its flavour and hygiene. Except for vegetables, fresh onion and green pip bananas, other additional things including fried “banh trang”, noodles (made by rice flavor to roll with boiled pork) are made by the saler for higiene requirements. Hot fish sauce will make the dish more special.

Some kiosks in Danang City:

1. Mau Kiosk
- Add: 35 Do Thuc Dinh Street
- Tel: (84)511.846615

2. Quynh Giao Kiosk
- Add: Do Thuc Dinh Street
- Tel: (84)511.846410

3. Nam Phuc Kiosk
- Add: Do Thuc Dinh Street
- Tel: (84)511.846385

4. Dong Noi Kiosk
- Add: 115 Do Thuc Dinh Street
- Tel: (84)511.846615

The philosophy of Hue cuisine

Dishes that are identified with the former imperial city of Hue number over 1,000. Most preferred, however, are beef rice noodle, rice cake, rice flan, rice cake with shrimp, mussel rice, grilled meat rolls, and lotus seed sweets. The culinary culture of Hue is noted for its fineness, elegance and taste. For this reason it stirs passions among gourmets.

Each and every woman of Hue can be regarded as an artist when she prepares the city's specialties. She presents the dish like a piece of art that pleases the eye of the diner. Then, thanks to many spices she has added, he can enjoy its good smell and taste. Maybe it is because of this use of spices that Hue's cooks have called spices their coloring ingredients.

Aside from their attractive colors, Hue dishes captivate the eye of diners by their fine trimming and arrangement of ingredients. In a plate of fresh vegetables to be taken with banh khoai are green lettuce leaves arranged underneath slices of ivory white unripe banana, looking like moon crescents, and thin slices of carambola or fig.

A dish of rice cooked on lotus leaves can give the diner an impression of something rustic but at the same time royal: the white rice grains with tiny cubes of shrimp and meat wrapped inside the lotus leaf and surrounded by lotus petals. Even a very popular dish of Hue folk, the com mo cau (rice on an areca spathe) to be eaten with ruoc (shrimp paste), is also presented artistically: the white grains of rice are wrapped in a freshly cut piece of areca spathe and have the smell of areca fruit.

The small white rounds of banh beo with purple fried shrimp bits look like flower petals with red pistils in the middle; the rectangular banh nam with cubes of shrimp meat stuffed inside that are placed on a dark green banana leaf; the banh ram is displayed in pairs of white and yellow pieces; or the bot loc, so transparent that the red-colored shrimp inside can be seen. They all look so beautiful that one may dare look at them but not dare to put them to one's mouth for fear of spoiling such a masterpiece of art!

Hue's attention to detail is reflected in the way meals are presented on the table. Tableware must be set along with the sauce to be taken with the dish. Most Hue foods are well arranged because eating, too, is an art: "Eat a little but in detail."

The culinary art of Hue has important steps: the selection of raw materials (fresh and nice-looking), which are well prepared and well spiced (not too sweet but hot); and set out well on the table. This last is because foods must show the harmony of colors and of "yang and yin."

Hue's dishes were originally for ordinary people; they are simple meals. But when they were introduced to the royal court they became sophisticated and fine. Take the che hot sen (lotus seed sweet) for instance. The small and tender seeds of lotus flowers from Tinh Tam Pond (inside the citadel of Hue) are wrapped inside the pulp of longan and cooked with candy sugar.

Com hen (mussel rice) is a popular dish that all Hue people think of when away from their homeplace. The rice is ordinary, but with it in a small bowl there are many spices and herbs, for example, mentha and banana leaves, and the fine tasting sauce prepared from mussel soup.

The most popular dish from Hue is bun bo Hue. It can now be found everywhere in Vietnam and abroad. Yet, it is not easy to prepare a pot of Hue beef soup. The soup must be clear (no fat flakes) and colored with spices such as vegetable oil, red pepper powder, and chopped lemon grass. The stew of meat, beef and pork (pig's legs), and meat paste is simmered until the meat is well done and tender. It is to be taken with some strong smelling shrimp paste.

Wherever they go, the people of Hue look for the food that originated in their home-place. Though the food is popular, it is elegant and tasty.

Banh it - a must try specialty of the central region

A popular saying goes, “Muon an banh it la gai, co chong Binh Dinh cho dai duong di.” This roughly translate as “If you wish to eat banh it la gai, get married to a Binh Dinh man to increase your life experience.”

It shows how essential banh it la gai (sticky rice cake) is to the people in the central region. Originating in Binh Dinh Province on the central coast, banh it la gai has become a veritable specialty of that region of Vietnam.

Banh it la gai is made from five ingredients – sticky rice, la gai (a type of thorn leaf popular in the central region), sugar, green beans (or black beans) and a banana leaf.

The la gai is boiled and then ground in a stone mortar until its green colour turns black. The sticky rice is ground into flour. The sugar is dissolved in water and then boiled down to make syrup. Then the three ingredients are mixed together to make the dough. Meanwhile, the green beans are soaked in water for hours and then whipped before steaming. After that the well-done beans are ground and rolled into balls used as fillings for the dough.

The dumpling can also be made with sweetened ground coconut instead of beans. Either way the banana leaves are usually put quickly on the fire or dipped in hot water to make them soft so that it is easier to wrap the cake with them. The little packages usually are shaped like pyramids with square bottoms. Then people arrange the packets into a pot for steaming.

Visiting Binh Dinh, tourists can discover how banh it often stands right in the centre of locals’ lives.

In death anniversaries, it is acceptable for there to be no fish or meat, but there must be banh it la gai. In marriage rituals, a tray of banh it la gai is the gift of the bride’s family to that of the groom to show the skilfulness of the bride who has made the banh it together with other villagers.

In the former imperial capital of Hue in Thua Thien-Hue Province, tourists can also find banh it la gai and another type of banh it called banh it ram.

Banh it ram is a little ball of sticky rice flour stuffed with shrimp and pork so that the dumpling is also called banh it nhan tom thit. The tasty morsel is served plain or wrapped in banana leaves and is one of the indispensable dishes in the death anniversaries of a Hue family.

Banh it is also popular in the historic town of Hoi An in Quang Nam Province. There tourists can find banh it not only at family parties, wedding ceremonies and death anniversaries but also at restaurants.

Hoi An has two types of banh it: one with green bean filling and wrapped in banana leaves called banh it la gai nhan dau xanh and the other also filled with green beans but served plain called banh it la gai tran. Unlike common banh it la gai, banh it tran usually is pink and smells like la dua (a type of leaf that smells when it is steamed).

A famous banh it la gai-making family lives on Nhi Trung Street in Hoi An. Stopping by their ancient house, tourists can learn all the stages of making banh it. They can see how people prepare la gai, whip beans, grind sticky rice and form the dumplings. Above all, they can enjoy banh it right after it is steamed.

Phuc Trach pomelo

Like the southern region, the northern region of Vietnam has many species of pomelos. One of its most famous is the Phuc Trach pomelo from Ha Tinh Province.

This kind of big grapefruit is cultivated in Phuc Trach, Huong Trach, Huong Do and Loc Yen communes of Huong Khe District. The tree is said to appear in Phuc Trach Commune about 200 years ago. At the moment, about 1,600ha in the district are devoted to growing this tree.

The Phuc Trach pomelo (Citrus grandis Osbeck) is a perennial. From its sixth year of growth, the tree gives about 90-120 fruits in a season. It yields the most at the age of 11-15. The older a tree is, the tastier its fruit is. This tree gives fruit from the seventh to the ninth lunar months of each year.

Phuc Trach pomelos have round fruits. With yellow-green peel and a weight of about 1-1.5kg, each fruit has 14-16 segments. Its flesh is pink. The flesh contains a lot of juice and is crispy. It is sweet and a bit pungent but not sour nor bitter. However, the fruit is not as good if the tree is grown elsewhere.

Good news is that the Huong Khe Farmers Association was granted a trademark certificate for the Phuc Trach pomelo in September 2004 by the Vietnam Office of Intellectual Property Rights. Pomelos with the Phuc Trach trademark were officially introduced the first time by Dong Nam Co., at a pomelo festival held in Ho Chi Minh City from September 15-17. At this event, hundreds of fruits were sold to guests and customers.

Food and drink in Hue

Hue City possesses a good number of specialties and it's well worth giving them a go.

Start at the Mandarin Cafe (12 Hung Vuong St) and try the banh khoai. Banh khoai is a corn yellow coloured fried pancake using egg and rice flour stuffed with shrimp, beansprouts, and pork slices, served with a sweet, salty peanut and sesame dip called nuoc leo if that doesn't do the trick try it at Lac Thien (6 Dinh Tien Hoang St) a restaurant famous for it's own take on Hue food. There it is a completely different beauty, packed full of fillings and served with the all important star fruit, green banana, lettuce and mint that cut through the oily taste. The greens aren't the only difference, the whole pancake was then wrapped in rice paper and dunked in a far superior version of nuoc leo.

Hue is rightly famous for it's noodle dishes so try my xao bo, crispy noodles with papaya and green beans or bun bo Hue, which is a soupy concoction of beef, pork, glass noodles, cabbage, bean sprouts, citronella, basil, and green beans with a good kick of garlic and chili and a bowl of bun bo at Lac Thien - pretty much the same as the bun bo Hue, minus the cabbage and with rice noodles instead of the glass noodles - really good stuff, with a nose wateringly powerful kick of chilly!

Another Hue speciality is a tea-time set of snacks, banh beo which consists of a small amount of steamed rice-flour dough topped with spices, shrimp flakes and pork crackling. banh nam, or banh lam is a similar dish but spread thinly in an oblong, steamed in a banana leaf and eaten with nuoc mam. Manioc flour is used instead of rice for banh loc, a translucent parcel of whole shrimp, sliced pork and spices steamed in banana leaf, but with a spicier nuoc mam. It consists of sticky rice dough one fried and one steamed to dip in a spicy sauce.

Coffee is of course a popular drink in Hue, but it's worth checking out che xanh dua (try a stall down an alley beside 29 Hung Vuong St), a drink concocted from green bean and coconut, fruit (che trai cay) or if visitor are lucky, lotus seeds (che hat sen).

Cam Ranh sweet mangoes

Cam Ranh Municipality in central Khanh Hoa Province has much to offer: a large mine of white sand to make quality glass, beautiful beaches, breeder shrimp farms, vast sugarcane and what’s more, mango plantations.

The town now has more than 4,000ha of mangoes supplying almost 200,000 tons a year. Shrimp breeding and sugarcane cultivation have been developed in Cam Ranh for just little more than a decade, but mango farming has existed here for more than a hundred years.

In Cam Hai and Cam Duc Communes, many age-old mango plantations are home to several centenary mango trees with huge trunks. The local residents consider the ovoid fruit with its sweet, juicy flesh as a precious gift from nature.

The mangoes’ unique taste has become popular not only in the central region but also in the north, where people are fond of Cam Ranh mangoes because of their sweetness and competitive price compared with mangoes from the south.

Farmers have shifted to growing famous mango varieties, such as Hoa Loc, Thanh Ca and Thailand. They have also focused on applying biotechnology to boost productivity, even making mango trees carry fruits out of season.

The main mango crop in Cam Rang is from June to September. During this time travelers passing by the municipality can see veritable mountains of mangoes for sale at stands along the 4km section from Cam Duc to Cam Hai Tay Communes on National Highway 1A – the backbone running from north to south.

Such stalls are also where the mangoes get packed for transport north. Travelers can see many trucks stopping at the stalls to load up baskets or crates of mangoes before moving on to Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Haiphong, Hanoi and even to the mountainous provinces of Cao Bang, Lang Son and Bac Kan.

Packing mangoes is an art in itself. People need to select the right (not too young) mangoes and wrap them in old newspaper pieces before arranging them tightly into crates. The packing ensures that their skins don’t get damaged, and they are kept warm so that they can ripen some more.

Along the section of highway, travelers can also find mango markets that sell the fruits specifically to tourists. There the mangoes are classified into different categories in terms of size or ripeness. Coaches transporting people from south to north usually stop at these markets so that passengers can buy mangoes as gifts for their relatives and friends after having sampled a few pieces.

Banh beo xu Hue ( Hue floating fren shaped cake)

banhxeo

Banh beo, a specialty which is essential for Hue City.

Banh beo is delicious with its core stuffed as rice, small shrimps and sauce made from a mixture of fish sauce, sugar, garlic, chilly and fresh small shrimps, watery grease. Therefore, it offers customers sweet, buttery and smelling flavors. Without delicious sauce, the cake would become worthless. When serving, it is required to use a tool called Que Cheo (bamboo folk) to take the cake, cut into pieces, pick and eat. Customers will remember long if having Banh beo in a green garden while listening to

Hue folk song coming from the Huong River.

Ha Noi serves up some Japanese soul food

Ha Noi serves up some Japanese soul food

If your idea of Japanese food is just over-priced sushi, Cafe Mot may surprise you with its hearty, rib-sticking and inexpensive fare. Vida Karabuva fills up.

My favourite Japanese meal was eaten in a semi-rural village an hour’s train journey from Tokyo on a freezing March night several years ago.

My host’s hands, callused and blackened from farm work, moved quickly to grill fish and arrange the condiments.

The meal consisted of many small simple dishes; dried and grilled fish, tofu, beans, pickled radish, rice and seaweed salad, that together formed a complex and very satisfying journey for the senses.

That night I gorged myself until I could eat no more, and to my delight the exact same meal was served to me for breakfast the next day, just before I was due to leave Japan.

Whether it was my hunger, the cold, the fresh country air, or simply that it was the last meal I ate in Japan, that simple homestyle spread stuck in my mind as one of the best.

I have eaten countless Japanese meals since then, in hip sushi bars, high-class hotel restaurants and even small Japanese working-class eateries, but none have come close to offering my soul the same sort of comfort. I had even started to imagine that the old woman’s hands, covered in soil and dirt for the better part of every day, had somehow infused the goodness of the earth into the food, and I would never eat a meal like that again.

So imagine my surprise when I came close to reclaiming that sense of reassurance in a small, nondescript Japanese eatery in a back street of Ha Noi.

Apart from a the street — in fact it’s a wonder I found it.

Inside the decor is classic but unremarkable, reminiscent of countless office-worker lunch joints in inner-city Tokyo, except for the walls of Japanese books, magazines and comics. If you are a die-hard manga fan, this is the place to head.

But what it lacks in interior design finesse, Cafe Mot more than makes up for in food. This is wholesome, belly-warming, homestyle Japanese comfort food at its best, served with little fanfare but packed with authentic flavours.

My first meal at Cafe Mot was at lunch time on a gloomy, rainy Hanoi autumn’s day. Arriving well before my lunch partner, I had time to perthe menu and noted that all my favourites were there – prawn tempura; udon, hot and cold; Japanese curries; Japanese-style pork cutlets and potato croquets.

There were also some interesting additions, such as the Kushicatsu Set, with deep-fried pork, chicken and beef skewers served with salad, miso soup and a bean dish for VND70,000.

In fact, no food item on the menu was more than VND70,000, and for those really dining on a budget there were curry dishes served with rice for VND50,000 and club sandwiches starting at just VND25,000.

The most expensive item on the menu is the Mugi Tairiku liquor at VND240,000 for a bottle.

Notably missing from the menu is sushi, but for Westerners not fully initiated in this cuisine – there is a lot more to Japanese food than sushi.

My dining partner finally arrived and we decided to order the Prawn Tempura Udon (VND50,000) and the Japanese (VND70,000) to share, with a side of Japanese-style potato salad – a steal at VND15,000. The restaurant also does a green salad with an impressive array of crunchy greens, including broccoli, for the same price.

I inquired if the meat dish in the Japanese could be replaced with a second seafood dish, and the staff obliged with a smile.

We then sat back with some complimentary iced green teas and a couple of manga comics, to wait for our meal to arrive.

While our waitress had been keen for us to order, the food actually took a while to come out. But when it did, it was well worth the wait.

The steaming bowl of Udon was adorned with two massive tempura prawns in a delicately sweet and nutty soy broth.

The Japanese was a lot to take in too, with its little bowls of boiled radish with squid, fried tofu, pickled vegetables, miso soup, rice, green beans served with sesame sauce (a real highlight), and a sizeable piece of grilled fish. Each dish had its own flavour, texture and aroma, offering a unique sensory experience.

The potato salad too, arrived in a large bowl, not the miniature type of saucer most side orders of salad are served on in Ha Noi, and it was one of the best I’ve had.

All together it was a remarkable spread, and far too much food for the two of us to finish. While my partner chickened-out halfway through, I bravely kept on eating and was rewarded with that sublime sense of having eaten an elaborate, hearty meal, without feeling heavy and bloated – which is one of my favourite aspects of Japanese dining.

We finished off our meals with simple Vietnamese iced coffees at VND10,000, but could have also opted for a Frappeccino or Mocha for VND15,000. The restaurant also does banana and mango shakes at the bargain basement price of VND15,000 and beers range from VND15,000-20,000.

A couple of hours later, I emerged onto Bui Thi Xuan Street with an extra little spring in my step, radiating satisfaction, and for the rest of that day, nothing could take the shine off my mood — not even getting soaked in the rain. It is amazing how really good food has the power to reconstitute you.

To top it all off, my little trip into nostalgia had barely cost me a dime — just over US$10 for food and drinks for two.

As I left the restaurant, I gave owner Ao Masataka a friendly little nod and he invited me to come back again soon. It’s an offer I will definitely take him up on.

For wholesome, homestyle Japanese comfort food that won’t burn a hole in your pocket, make your way to Cafe Mot.

Banh cuon ( Rolled rice pancake)

banhcuon

Banh cuon is popular to Vietnamese as a breakfast.

The cake preparing process includes grilled rice which is steamed and oil-spread to provide sweet-smelling. The cake is made ready at customer's order to ensure the smell and hot taste does not escape while waiting. It is good fun to watch the cook prepare the dish as his/her expertise is very special. The cake is called Banh cuon Thanh Tri as it originated from Thanh Tri Village in the South of Hanoi. Besides Banh cuon Thanh Tri, there is rolled rice pancake made from minced pork, Jew's ears and thin-top mushrooms. It is the dressing sauce that customers love about Banh Cuon Thanh Tri. The original banh cuon makers have their own know-how to prepare dressing, making a special sweet -smelling that is unique for the dish.