Unlike the smaller species with the same name living in fresh water, ba trau living in seas or rivers is larger, around 150 to 200 grams. To make the dish, you should choose fish weighing about 200 grams each and clean the fish out with vinegar or ginger water after cutting feelers and fins and taking the entrails out.

Next, you will soak ba trau with salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate, cooking oil and mashed green pepper. It takes about 15 minutes for the fish to absorb the mixture of spices.

Put the fish on the grill, wait until the fish turns yellow and turn them over.

Now you prepare raw vegetables such as fennel, tomatoes, sliced green bananas and cucumbers on the plate. Of course, you cannot forget to make a small plate of salt or fish sauce added with mashed green pepper, some drops of lemon juices and some garlic.

Sitting at a small stand along the riverside dining on this dish with some buddies makes for an enjoyable evening. Put a piece of rice-paper in you palm, pick up a piece of grilled ba trau with some raw vegetables and soft noodles and you have an unforgettable taste with a bowl of chili salt.

The delicacy is attractive due to its sweetness, crunchy taste and specific smell of the fish dissolving into the salty and hot flavor.

(Source: SGTO)

To distinguish it from the many different kinds of bread, Saigon bread is normally long-shaped with a crunchy crust, soft and solid crumb. Different from many other kinds of bread, in that lightly salted butter is an important part of the cooking process, so Saigon bread has a very sweet smell and taste.

Centuries ago, when the French invaded Saigon, they brought with them their love of bread. Western food, in turn, soon invaded a rice-dominated society and has ever since become an integral part of the local lifestyle. Pork pie, pate, grilled pork, a few slices of cucumber, onion and coriander

are arranged inside the bread to make ‘banh mi thit’ (meat bread). Finally, the seller adds sauce and chili. It’s time to eat and it only costs VND10,000-20,000.

There are many ways to eat Saigonese bread. Instead of pork and the other ingredients some people prefer dipping it in milk, covering it with butter or eating with fried eggs.

As a popular fast food, Saigon bread can be eaten everywhere and often for breakfast, students eat it in their classroom, workers in construction site, clerical officers munch in their offices, some young people also eat it while walking on the street.

It is not only for breakfast, though, as Saigon bread is also a great snack for lunch, dinner or supper. Some people also keep bread in their bag in case they feel peckish during the day, especially students. Saigon bread is also a popular choice for a picnic or trips to rural areas or a trek to the mountains.

It’s easy to buy bread. You can find it in every street corner where women with a pedaled glass sideboard have tons of bread and cucumber, potatoes, pork pie, grilled pork, salted shredded pork and some chicken eggs. They often have a small oil stove to fry eggs.

Everyday you hear the shout Banh mi Saigon, dac ruot, thom bo! (Saigon bread! solid core, butter-smelling!) from hawkers as they pedal bicycles through alleys in early morning, sunny noon or late afternoon.

Some popular brand names of Saigon bread are Ngan Saigon, Ha Noi or Nhu Lan. Now, many famous brands have come to town such as Tous Les Jour, Kinh Do, Duc Phat, Givral in many shapes, sizes and flavors but Saigonese still love to buy their bread in sidewalk booths for the authentic taste of Saigon.

(Sourcel: SGTO)

A foreigner takes a photo of children in a lantern parade in the Mid-Autumn Festival last year in Phan Thiet City - Photo: Khai Nguyen

Authorities in Phan Thiet City have mapped out detailed plans for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival.

Offering a healthy and happy playground for kids, the program will take place from September 10-12 with a lantern parade, lantern making contest and festivities in residential areas.

The lantern parade, which will be 2900-meters long, will be attended by students from elementary and high schools and will take place at 6 p.m. on September 10 at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square area. Students will parade through Nguyen Tat Thanh, Ton Duc Thang, Thu Khoa Huan, Tran Hung Dao, Nguye Du, Phan Thiet intersection, Tran Phu and Le Hong Phong Bridge.

The festival will also have music and dance shows performed by the kids.

(Source: SGTO)

Tom long nau bong so dua is delta favorite - Photo: Hoang Tham

Tom long lives in canals and waterways or along the banks of Tien and Hau rivers. The local farmers usually put bung, a tool to catch this shrimp, in the area with strong flows of water. The crayfish can even be raised in paddy-fields or small ponds.

To cook tom long nau bong so dua, you need a half kilo of fresh catches. First, you need to wash them, cut their feelers and leave the shrimps in a basket until they dry.

The next step is to cook a pot of water, wait until it boils and add some salt. Then you need to mince some lemon grass, red pepper and merge it all into hot water.

After that, you put some sugar, monosodium glutamate, fish sauce, tomatoes, pineapple, and tamarind into the pot. The dish will be even tastier if you add some con me.

A half kilo of flowers of so dua should be prepared for the next step. When the water boils, you have to put tom long into the pot first.

When the shrimps turn red, put so dua flowers into the pot and turn off the cooker. What you have to do now is to add some flavor with mu om vegetables.

Enjoy the dish with hot cooked rice or bun (soft noodles), and dipping one shrimp into delicious fish sauce or a combination of salt and red pepper surely makes for a beautiful taste. The season to taste tom long is from January until the rainy season arrives.

You can find many tom long dishes in several restaurants in Mekong Delta provinces, including tom luoc nuoc dua (shrimps boiled with coconut milk), tom chien bot (shrimps fried with flour), tom tron goi ngo sen (shrimps mixed with lotus rootstock) etc. However, the most simple and attractive one is still tom long nau bong so dua.

(Source: SGTO)

Fried crab’s pincers with chili salt is a popular snail dish of Saigonese - Photo: My Tran

It is easy to find snail eateries as they are everywhere in Saigon, from downtown to outlying areas, from big restaurants in main streets to small bistros off alleys or along the city’s many canals. Don’t think for a minute snail dishes are only for beer drinkers, as it is a favorite snack for both young and elderly Saigonese, from students to executive and clerical officers, from cyclo drivers to glamorous celebrities.

Snail eateries often open from late afternoon to midnight. When students finish classes or workers gather to eat and make some jokes with friends before they head home. Middle-aged men with drinking companions enjoy idle talk while women come to satisfy their eating pleasure and gossip with their buddies. Also, celebrities come to sample something from home instead of signature Western foods in luxury restaurants.

People call them snail restaurants but they serve many kinds of dishes to meet diverse options of diners. From many kinds of snails such as oc buou (middle-sized snail), oc huong (sweet snail), finger snail or oc mo (fat snail), diners can also enjoy clams, oysters, shrimps, crab and duck embryos. They are often made with lemon grass, lemon leaves, tamarind and garlic – boiled, grilled or steam fried to balance the flavor of the seafood and make them delicious.

In some snail stalls, revelers can also find other dishes made of pork, beef, rabbit, ostrich and many kinds of hotpots. Therefore, boiled oc buou with lemon leaves, fried oc mo with tamarind, grilled oyster with onion fat, steamed oc len with coconut juice, steamed clam with lemon grass, snail salad, fried crab or shrimp with chili salt, grilled chicken wings, legs or fried rau muong (water spinach) with garlic, seafood fried rice and fish or beef hotpot are some popular dishes for oc lovers.

The price depends on location and season. But the dishes often cost from VND30,000 to VND100,000 a dish.

Beer or a soft drink like coca-cola are suitable drinks for snail eaters who are recommended not to drink fruit juice or sweet soup while eating snail dishes to ensure they don’t get stomach trouble. If you are also an oc addict, why don’t you make an evening out with your friends when you finish work today. I make a bet on that you will have a lot of fun and will enjoy some tasty delights.

(Source: SGTO)

Fishermen sew nets on Mui Da Beach in lagi Township in Binh Thuan Province

In the early morning when it is still cool, dewdrops spatter on the leaves and the sun has not yet risen, photographers wake up and head to the beach in time to catch glimpses of fishermen returning to Mui Da Beach.

Strolling on the path leading to the wharf and listening to the pine trees singing in the breeze, tourists will feel at peace. The beach lies deep in the green pine forest, with an asphalt road heading toward the sandflat where some simple bamboo barriers mark the wharf.

Many colorfully-painted coracles are dried on the sandbanks, and the seawaves ripple there. The stillness overwhelms the immense sea in the evening, while animated atmosphere engulfs it in the morning. Even though it is quite early, locals get ready to serve food on the beach. They light fires to boil water and set up tables and chairs for guests.

The sea is still dark in the very early morning but the space is getting crowded. Some sit gazing at the sea, while others are busy taking the oxcarts close to the sandbank and feeding the oxen. Meanwhile, photographers look encumbered carrying their cameras, lenses and bags, anxious for that perfect shot.

Everything is ready on the beach to welcome the returning boats. The aroma of breakfast dishes fills the air. From the open sea, the light illuminates the sky and some boats are seen heading toward the beach. Giant boats with fishing nets, lifebuoys and catches of fish ride the waves to the shore. The beach is bustling and the oxcarts are waiting at the water’s edge.

Due to the shallow sea, big boats have to anchor far away and as such tourists cannot see them clearly from the beach. Locals use smaller motorized boats to transfer aqua-products and equipment ashore.

Upon reaching shallow water where the boats touch bottom, fishermen turn off the motors and drag them onto the sand. Oxcarts are responsible for pulling them ashore. Some fishermen bring the motors home for safekeeping, others take out fish from the nets and sort them.

As the sunrise shines its glory, more boats sail back and the oxcarts have to work non-stop, despite the short distance.

Since fishermen were working throughout the previous night, they have to wear raincoats in a bid to resist the cold. In the daytime, however, it’s scorching. They return in the morning exhausted.

Along Vietnam’s coastline, there are many such fishing ports but while some are popular, others have their own potential. Lagi Township has a large fishing port with modern fishery service infrustracture, but the very nestled fishing villages with scenes like these are typical in every region.

For instance, tourists are intrigued to see the way locals use oxcarts to drag the boats ashore, or fishermen shaking fishing nets on the sandflat. From 9 a.m., when the morning catches are finished, cart owners leisurely sit smoking on the sand while the oxen freely graze by the immense sea.

(Source: SGTO)

A guest enjoys a Thai-style hotpot in Ba Huyen Thanh Quang Street in District 3 - Photo: Kieu Giang

Saigon has many locations offering different kinds of hotpot including keo fish at Ba Huyen Thanh Quan, Su Thien Chieu and Nguyen Thi Dieu streets in District 3, beef at Truong Dinh Street in District 3 and An Duong Vuong Street in District 5, goat at Nguyen Cong Tru Street in District 1, mam (fish sauce) at Tran Huy Lieu Street, fish heads at Chau Van Liem Street in HCMC’s District 5 and mixed hotpot at Tung Thien Vuong Street in District 8.

Apart from local hotpot, people can find many international styles of Thai, Japanese and Korean hotpot at many restaurants around town.

Eating hotpot doesn’t mean dining only. It brings you into a cozy atmosphere when friends and family members gather to talk and share a big cook of soup. Food accompanied with hotpot is diversified, including many kinds of meat, seafood and vegetables for people to choose which one they like or sometimes to compete with each other for their favorites. It makes a happy and jubilant atmosphere and sees people join together.

The most important thing about hotpot is the soup; it has to be not too salty or not too flat so that when you put all the ingredients together they will mingle together for a perfect taste.

Once eating this dish, we should put the food which takes longer to cook first then wait until bubbles appear on the surface to put vegetables inside. Then, we take some rice vermicelli into a small bowl, and pour soup and food into the bowl.

It’s a big mistake not to mention the fish sauce when eating hotpot. If soup contributes 60% to the delicious flavor of the dish, fish sauce adds 20%.

The freshness of vegetables and ingredients is the other 20% to complete the perfect hotpot. Just imagine the pungent spice of fish sauce at the top of your tongue mingled with the morish flavor of hot soup and the chewy taste of vegetables is an amazing feeling that only a hotpot can give us.

Additionally, hotpot not only wakes up our taste buds but also our vision thanks to the many colors of ingredients including the white-yellow soup, the green vegetables and the white and red meat and dark brown of fish sauce.

People, especially foreigners, find it interesting to see different cookers at different hotpot shops. They range from a coal cooking fire in Chau Van Liem Street, alcohol cookers at Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Street and gas cooker at many hotpot shops.

Prices for hotpot vary from VND80,000 for a small pot to over VND300,000 for a large one. If you want to order more vegetables or food for the pot, you pay VND10,000-50,000 per dish.

Even when the rain stops, people don’t want to leave hotpot shops. Maybe they are scared of the coldness outside or does the soup, the warmth of the cooker or the happiness inside keep them in the bosom of the hotpot.

(Source: SGTO)

In the Mekong Delta there are many old homes for tourists to visit but there is none quite like Tien Giang Province’s Ba Kiet Old House.

External view of Ba Kiet Old House

An ancient oil lamp in Ba Kiet Old House

Cai Be District is known for its winding canals, orchards and a floating market where tourists can buy local specialties from dried foods to fruit and seafood.

But that is merely scratching the surface as the real treasure is located in an orchard on an area of 1.8 hectares in Phu Hoa Hamlet, Dong Hoa Hiep Commune.

Ba Kiet Old House was built in 1924 and is a popular model for traditional houses in the South in Can Tho, Vinh Long or Tien Giang.

It has five areas and more than 100 wooden pillars and the house is in great condition thanks to a renovation in 1998 at a cost of VND1.8 billion (USD87,378) by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

It is famous for its meticulously-detailed and elegant carvings on the walls, pillars, doors and gate. There are also finely preserved antiques such as a set of settees, oil lamps and a balcony carved with patterns presenting landscapes and flowers of the four seasons.

Tran Van Binh inherited the house and it has been developed as tourist site for visitors to the province.

(Source: SGT)

The number of three- to five-star hotels in Ho Chi Minh City has nearly doubled in the last three years to 73 with a total of 9,700 rooms, the city Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has said.

The three-star category saw the strongest growth, increasing in the period to 47 hotel from 21, according to the department.

As of last month, there were 13 four-star and five-star hotels, an increase from eight and 11.

Hundreds more luxury hotel rooms are expected to open this year to meet increasing demand from foreign visitors.

The 335-room, five-star Nikko Sai Gon Hotel in District 1 is scheduled to be completed in October.

The four-star Grand Hotel will complete its upgrade into a 500-room, five-star hotel this year.

With a 15 percent increase in foreign visitors a year, the demand for high-end hotel rooms was huge, Tran Hung Viet, general director of the State-owned Saigontourist Holding Company, said.

Earlier this month his company broke ground for work to expand Majestic Hotel Saigon into a new complex with 538 rooms by 2014, including 353 newly built rooms.

It will open two other hotels in the downtown area, the four-star Novotel Sai Gon Centre with 250 rooms in 2012 and the five-star Pullman Sai Gon Centre with 300 rooms a year later.

Saigontourist targets adding 2,000 luxury rooms by 2015.

The city tourism industry forecasts that the existing and new hotels could serve around 4 million foreign visitors to the city next year.

(Source: VNA)

A photo exhibition called “Legends of the land of An Tra” opened on July 22 in the central city of Quang Ngai.

The exhibition introduces 100 photos selected from nearly 450 photos by 55 photographers sent to the “Legends of the land of An Tra” (Quang Ngai’s An mountain and Tra river) photo competition, held by the Literature and Art Association of Quang Ngai province.

Around two thirds of the photos are about the love of Vietnam’s sea and islands, the daily life of fishermen, the vestiges of the Hoang Sa Flotilla on Ly Son Island, Quang Ngai province.

Dr. Dang Nguyen Vu, director of the Quang Ngai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that the exhibition aims to advertise the images of Quang Ngai’s land and people and to rouse up patriotism and pride of Vietnam’s sea and islands.

The organising board presented prizes to 11 photographers.

The beauty of Vietnam’s sea and islands at the exhibition:

“Reflection” (An mount, Tra river) by Tran Minh Anh

“Releasing ships at the troop banquet ceremony of the Hoang Sa Flotilla” by Ly Van Hien

“Tien Well” (a famous relic on Ly Son Island) by Bach Ngoc Huong

“When drinking water, remember its source” by Bach Ngoc Anh (an old fisherman on Ly Son island arranges the tablets of soldiers of the Hoang Sa Flotilla at the troop banquet ceremony).

“Looking to the Hoang Sa – Truong Sa Islands” by Thanh Long

Visitors at the exhibition

(Source: Vietnamnet)