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Culinary arts converge in the heart of the Ancient Capital
The festival “Hue – the capital of gastronomy” is the occasion of convergence of the culinary elite of Hue and some localities in the country; bringing to the public a new perspective, as well as interesting experiences about the local cuisine of various regions across the country.
The on-site demonstration and enjoyment activities of some special dishes of the three regions help the public and visitors enhanced their understanding, and love for the unique cuisine of Vietnam. The dishes include the fermented pork rolls and ham in a royal peacock and phoenix shapes (a variation from Hue royal dishes), lotus tea, lotus seed sweet soup, the ‘kình’ fish pancake (‘kình’ fish is the white-spotted spinefoot or Siganus canaliculatus), salted rice, kumquat jam, pháp lam colorful cake, fruit-shaped cake, in cake (cake made from roasted glutinous flour pressed in a cake mold); fried green glutinous rice spring rolls (Hanoi), ‘rươi’ pancake with ‘gac’ leaves (‘rươi’ is the clam worm, and ‘gac’ is the Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng) (Nam Dinh), spring rolls and fried sticky rice from the Southern region, Son Tra seafood noodles and Ngu Hanh Son seafood spring rolls (Da Nang)…; besides, the ways to make lotus tea and the five-colored sticky rice of Hue cuisine are also introduced at the festival.
The festival also gathers famous culinary artisans and people with rich culinary experience from Hue and other regions such as People's artisan Ton Nu Thi Ha, Excellent artisan Phan Ton Gia Hien, Ms. Do Ngoc Quynh Chau, Ms. Tran Hoang Thuy Tien, Mr. Tran Thanh Quang from Hue; Vietnam Culinary Culture Association (VCCA) artisan Le Van Khanh from Hanoi, VCCA artisan Le Thi Thiet from Nam Dinh; and the VCCA artisans, namely Le Sanh, Van Ngoc Thanh, Pham Long Khanh, and Bui Thi Thanh Loan from Ho Chi Minh City; as well as artisans Tran Van Thang, Le Duc Ngoc, Truong Minh Phung and Nguyen Van Tuan from Da Nang City, etc.
The festival has attracted a large number of public, visitors and diners; creating a bustling and vibrant atmosphere, stimulating tourism demand during the occasion of the National Reunification Day (April 30) and the International Labor Day (May 1).
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the festival, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh hoped that via the activity, the value of the brand name identity “Hue – the capital of gastronomy” would be initially affirmed. These such events need to be held regularly in the Ancient Capital of Hue, in order to give the public as well as domestic and international visitors the opportunities to experience and discover the diverse, rich and unique culinary culture of romantic Hue; contributing to the promotion and development of tourism in Vietnam in general, and in Thua Thien Hue in particular.
The festival runs through May 1.
Following are some photos taken at the festival:
The Organizing Board of the festival presented certificates and gave flowers to the artisans from the three regions converging in Hue
The convergence of delicious dishes from the three regions
Preparing the ‘kình’ fish pancakes for diners
Artisan Ton Nu Thi Ha introduced the famous fermented pork rolls and ham in a royal peacock and phoenix shapes of Hue royal cuisine
Artisans gave the demonstration and instructions on how to make delicious dishes
The demonstration of Hue cakes
The "Salt Rice", a unique delicacy of Hue was introduced
A meeting with "Fermented pork rolls of the Thanh region" (from Thanh Hoa Province)
The unique ‘rươi’ pancakes with ‘gac’ leaves from Hanoi
The cuisine and the decorative arts
The festival is an interesting destination for Hue locals and visitors
By Duc Quang