Trang Tien Ice Cream

When it comes to Hanoi specialties, it would be a mistake not to mention Trang Tien ice cream. This ice cream brand has long been imprinted on the hearts of many Vietnamese people by its attractive flavors. For tourists, Trang Tien street has long become a must-visit destination for its reflection of a tradition of the capital Hanoi.

Trang Tien ice cream, which was named after the street where it was sold, was first introduced in 1958. The first ice cream parlor was at 35 Trang Tien street, which has stood firmly as the most popular ice cream parlor in Hanoi for more than 50 years.

Earlier in the 30s under the French colonialism, Western people enjoyed ice cream at some  luxury ice cream parlors like the Ze'phyz (which is still present on Dinh Tien Hoang Street), the Con Giong Hotel  (16 Ngo Quyen) and the Hoa Binh Hotel (which is 35 Trang Tien now). For lower-class residents, they found their demands of ice cream satisfied at smaller parlors around the Hoan Kiem lake.

The ice cream was made completely manually and requires a lot of effort. To make ice cream, one of the must-have tools was a wooden box  which had a corrugated iron box inside to keep the temperature low. Ice cream makers filled ice into the gap between the two boxes. Then, they rotated the handle of the box for about an hour and the last result is a mixture of milk, flour and vanilla. That was how simple but delicious ice cream was made.

At the time, to get ice cream, children had to queue up and wait for a long time. It was also very cool for a man to carry her girlfriend on his Peugeot bike to enjoy the coolness of ice cream under heat in Hanoi.

It was not until 1940s when the Japanese came to Vietnam that Hanoians noticed the existence of an ice cream stick (kem que). The Japanese made many kinds of ice cream, but the Eskimo ice cream was remembered the most among old generation. The ice cream looked like the present ice cream stick, but without a stick and was wrapped with glossy paper, and had a lot of flavors like orange, lemon, etc.

Trang Tien ice cream was first introduced during peace time from 1957 to 1958. At the time, the ice cream was very cheap, and suited pockets of ordinary workers. Trang Tien ice cream’s main flavors were green beans, green rice flakes or coconut milk, which were not as diverse as current.

Trang Tien ice cream with different flavors

Now, the most chosen Trang Tien ice cream  is coconut milk ice cream cones (kem oc que.) The sweetness of the ice cream combined with the crunch of the cone creates a perfect combination. 

kem oc que

Trang Tien ice cream looks simple, but when you takes one bite, its superb flavor will make it an unforgettable experience in Hanoi. In the memories of older generations of Hanoians, Hanoi was made up by delicate scent of milk flowers (hoa sua) on streets, simple image of an old mossy roof, gentle fragrance of young green rice (com) in the early morning, and sweet coolness of Trang Tien ice cream! It is not just ice cream; it is a representative of Hanoi in the past.

Hoa sua

Writer: Son Nguyen

Source: http://laodong.com.vn/van-hoa/kem-trang-tien-ngot-mat-trong-ky-uc-nha-ha-noi-hoc-46116.bld

Cốm - Gracious Gift of Hanoi

Cốm (young green rice) is a typical representative of rice-growing culture of Vietnam. For centuries, it has been a popular dessert across Vietnam, especially in Northern Vietnam’s food cuisine.

Cốm (not cơm which means cooked rice) is specially processed sticky rice grains with sweet flavor. Authentic Cốm must be flat, lime-green, chewy, sticky and has the scent of green rice. Eating it plain is more recommended, though it can be served with coconut, banana and persimmon. “Taking a pinch of cốm and savoring its naturally sweet taste feels like we are absorbing the fragrance of the immense green paddy fields of our ancestors” (Vũ Bằng – “Hà Nội delicacies”). 

In addition, Cốm can be featured in many dishes such as Bánh Cốm (green rice cakes) with mung bean filling, Cốm Nén (Compressed Cốm) and Chả Cốm (Cốm Sausage). The green rice can also be made into ice-cream (Kem Cốm) or sweet dessert soup (Chè Cốm), and becomes a coating for fried food like fried shrimp coated with Cốm.

Bánh Cốm

Chè Cốm

Chả Cốm

Fried shrimp coated with Cốm 

Cốm appears in all parts of Vietnam, but each region has its own recipe of making Cốm. In the North, people roast immature rice over very low heat then pound it in a mortar and pestle until it is flat. However, in the Central and Southern Vietnam, people make Cốm differently by roasting ripe sticky rice grains until rice kernels pop like popcorns and then mixing them with sugar and caramel malt (mạch nha).

Cốm plays an important part in Vietnamese culture. It is present in wedding ceremonies, ancestor worships, and becomes an appreciated gift to relatives and friends. There are also some Cốm-related festivals in ethnic minority groups such as “Giã cốm gõ máng” (The Muong), “Kin Lẩu Khẩu Mẩu” for wishing abundant harvest by the Thai, and Mah Quai for respectful offering rice to ancestors by the Kho Mu.   

A festival of the Thai

The most famous Cốm is from Vòng Village, which is in Cau Giay district, about 8km northwest from the center of Hanoi. Cốm Vòng has stayed in Vietnamese people’s hearts for approximately seven centuries. Its recipe of making Cốm is confidential among family members. It is commonly known that the process of making Cốm in Vòng Village requires much meticulousness and skillfulness. 

At firstly, rice grains must be plucked by hand right at the moment when they begin to ripen and still contain milk. The rice grains are then carefully selected, winnowed, and washed. After that, the grains are slowly dry roasted in a large cast-iron pan over little heat from a wood burning stove. Next, portions of roasted grains are pounded in a mortar and pestle. After pounded for ten minutes, they are winnowed to remove husks and pounded again. This process is repeated for five times, and then based on the quality of rice, the villagers divide it into three types and pound it separately for another two times. Once finish, Cốm is stored in two layers of leaves: one layer is green leaves to preserve its color and freshness, and the other is lotus leaves for delicate fragrance. 

In Hanoi, besides Cốm Vòng, there are many other well-known brands such as Cốm Lủ and Cốm Mễ Trì. In the past, women who sold Cốm were usually dressed traditionally with turban, lotus leaf collar, carrying baskets with a bunch of lotus leaves to pack Cốm. But now Cốm can be easily bought at shops around Cau Giay district (Hanoi), particularly in Vòng Village. 

Two recommended address for buying Cốm in Hanoi:

1/ No.36, lane 99, Xuan Thuy street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi.

2/ Lane 165, Xuan Thuy street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi.

For Cốm cakes, the best ones are available at shops on Hàng Than Street (Hanoi), one of which is Vĩnh Lộc shop where King Bảo Đại visited in the early 20^th century and praised exquisite taste of the cakes. 

Get more information about Cốm Vòng and how they make it, please click to the following video link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_mtFNgfTng 

Writer: Son Nguyen

Bánh xèo - a must-try food of Vietnam

Bánh xèo, Vietnamese-style savory crepe, is a popular traditional Vietnamese dish nationwide, especially in the South-western region of Vietnam with one famous Bánh xèo brand from Can Tho Province – Bánh xèo Muoi Xiem.

What is Bánh xèo?

Bánh xèo, literally meaning “sizzling cake”, named for the sizzling sound made when rice batter is poured into a frying pan. Its batter has yellow color of turmeric as well as green color of spring onions. A crepe has variety of size, ranging from 15cm to 25cm, depending on bakers’ preference.

A typical Bánh xèo is stuffed with pork, prawns, bean sprouts and garnished fresh herbs. In the South-western Vietnam, you may find minced duck meat, or minced pork with cassava or apical buds of adult coconut plants inside its yellow crispy batter.

How is Bánh xèo made?

To make its batter, besides rice flour and water, people in South-western region usually add coconut milk, 1 or 2 eggs and a little white wine to make bánh xèo more crispy.

Bánh xèo definitely loses its flavor in the absence of fresh herbs and dipping sauce.

The South-western region of Vietnam provides suitable condition for many kinds of plants to grow, partly because it is a fertile alluvial plain with interlacing network of channels, and partly because it has dry and wet seasons. The herbs served with Bánh xèo include lettuce leaves, coriander, mint, Thai basil leaves, piper lolot, etc.

As for dipping sauce, it fundamentally contains fish sauce, water, fresh lime juice, garlic clove, long fresh red chilli and sugar. The best dipping sauce is a perfect combination of salty, sweet, and sour. Someone says that a sauce maker is also a great artist who is able to estimate the exact amount of the ingredients for the complete mixture.

How to eat Bánh xèo properly?

First, take a lettuce leaf (or a piece of rice paper), put other herbs on the leaf, and then roll them with a portion of bánh xèo. After that, dunk it into the dipping sauce and enjoy its superb flavor when the taste of crispy batter, prawns, meat, fresh herbs, along with sweet and sour sauce are combined.

The meaning of making bánh xèo is beyond enjoying a delicious dish, but to provide an opportunity for family members to gather, cook and share meals together. Bánh xèo becomes the ingredient that strengthens family bonds. Therefore, it is delicious partly because of the perfect combination of the ingredients, and partly because of the love among family members. In Doan Ngo festival, held on the 5^th day of the 5^th lunar month for farmers to get prepared for a new crop, bánh xèo is an irreplaceable part in meals of Vietnamese families.

The pancake has been proud to reach the world with more and more people falling in love with it. In June of 2007, Muoi Xiem was selected to perform making bánh xèo and introduce bánh xèo to international friends in the Smithsonian Festival in the USA.

Some recommended Bánh xèo restaurants in Ho Chi Minh city :

- Bánh xèo Muoi Xiem

            + 119 Nam Ki Khoi Nghia street,  Ward 6, District 3, HCMC

            + 225-227, Nguyen Trai street, Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward, District 1, HCMC

- Bánh xèo 46A

            +6A Đinh Cong Trang, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1, HCMC

- Ba Hai restaurant

            +64,  Nguyen Trong Tuyen street, Phu Nhuan District, HCMC

- Mien Tay restaurant

            + 31/6 Hoang Hoa Tham street, Ward 13, Tan Binh District, HCMC.

Writer: Nhu Anh

Translator: Tuan Nguyen

Taste Vietnamese tea in Bao Loc (Lam Dong)

For a long time, tea has been the main source of income as well as the pride of people in Bao Loc – a city of Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam. Unlike Thai Nguyen Tea which is famous for its strong taste, Bao Loc Tea’s fame rests on its fragrant smell and mellow taste. Therefore, in the past, Bao Loc was dubbed “the Kingdom of Tea” by the French.

If you plan to visit Lam Dong, then Bao Loc is a good destination to stop by and enjoy a cup of tea. In the harmony of mild atmosphere and a nice view of the lush green hills, a hot cup of Bao Loc tea with its strong aromatic flavor helps you relax and escape from the strains of life.

To ensure the best flavor of tea, the process of making tea in Bao Loc was mostly done by hand. First, the tea leaves are plucked by hand, and then dried under the sun and baked. After that, the dried tea leaves are carefully selected and packaged, ready for being marketed.

Recently, there are many well-known Bao Loc tea brands such as Do Huu, Bao Tin, Tram Anh, Ngoc Trang, Tam Chau, and Thien Thanh with various types of tea and different flavours.

Types of Bao Loc Tea:

1/Jasmine Tea

Vietnamese Jasmine tea bears similarities to Chinese Jasmine tea in terms of scenting method. However, the taste of the Vietnamese tea differs from that of the Chinese one in the herbs added into the tea. 

There are three main benefits of Jasmine tea:

- Treatment for headache, cough and rheumatic disease.

- Boost your energy:

Jasmine Tea is commonly known that it contains a lot of nutrients as an excipient in weight loss. Compared with green tea, it does not have many energy properties, but it is sedative and can regulate blood circulation and reduce stress.

- Contains benzilic acetate, linalcohol, indole and jasmon to titillate.

Price: 350.000 VNĐ - 500.000 VNĐ/1kg. 

Jasmine

     Jasmine tea

2/Lotus Fragrant Tea

Lotus fragrant tea is considered as a representative of the tea culture of Vietnam. Ideally, a cup of lotus tea is served at a lotus pond where you can enjoy tasting tea and beautiful scenery simultaneously. 

Lotus fragrant tea is good for:

- Losing weight.

- Curing some diseases such as insomnia, petechial fever, hemorrhage and so on.

- Having antifebrile effect.

Price: 300.000 VNĐ - 6.500.000 VNĐ/kg.

3/Chlorantus Inconspicuus Swartz Tea

Chlorantus Inconspicuus Swartz Tea is unique to Bao Loc. The tea has the taste of soft fragrance, sweet and purity.

However, the chlorantus Inconspicuus Swartz Tea market is narrowed due to its meticulous production process and seemingly high price.

Actual price: 300.000 VNĐ - 1.200.000 VNĐ/kg.

4/Oolong Tea

In ancient time, Oolong Tea is usually served in solemn rituals and considered to be a tribute to the King and Queen. Oolong tea appeared about 400 years ago in the Ming Dynasty. It was not until 1992 that this tea was introduced into Vietnam and since then has become a big market in Bao Loc city, Lam Dong province.

Oolong Tea has a distinctive taste with varied flavor depending on its styles. It can be sweet and fruity with honey aromas, woody and thick with roasted ones, or green and fresh with bouquet ones.

Oolong Tea is a highly nutritional because of its attractive aroma, sweet taste as well as special substances of the leaves such as strong antiseptic Tannin (26%-28%) and antioxidant, amino acids (1.6%), vitamin B1, B2, C, and caffeine (150mg/g).

The benefits of Oolong tea:

- Tannin can prevent and cure varicose veins, protect blood vessels and enhance the endurance of small capillaries.

- Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) helps to cure beriberi, peripheral neuropathy and rheumatism.

- Vitamin B2 plays an important role in harmonizing visual function.

- Vitamin C prevents and cures Scorbut disease, as well as helps to improve your body’s resistance power.

Price: 700.000 VNĐ - 3.000.000 VNĐ/kg

Tourists coming to Bao Loc can buy tea from some restaurants and shops in Bao Loc. Besides, at some restaurants, tourists can buy teacups with beautiful patterns reflecting Vietnamese culture.

Some places to taste and buy tea:

Tam Chau Supermarket

Address: 294A Tran Phu Street, Ward 1, Bao Loc city, Lam Dong province

Tel: +84 63 3866 991                       Website: http://tamchau.com/en

Tram Anh restaurant

Address: 807 Tran Phu Street, B’Lao Ward, Bao Loc city, Lam Dong province

Tel: +84 63 386 4493           Website: http://www.tramanhtea-coffee.com

Do Huu Tea and Coffee

Address:  985 Tran Phu Street, Bao Loc city, Lam Dong Province.

Tel: +84 63 386 3131           Website: http://www.dohuu.com.vn

Ngoc Trang Tea

Address: 582 Tran Phu Street, Loc Tien Ward, Bao Loc vity, Lam Dong province

Tel: +84 633 86 4477

Bao Tin Tea

Address: 5626 Tran phu Street, Loc Tien Ward, Bao Loc vity, Lam Dong province

Tel: +84 633 86 4141

How to get there?

There are several bus companies providing regular bus from Ho Chi Minh city to Lam Dong. You can either directly go to bus stations to buy tickets or call for reservation.

Phuong Trang Bus

Ho Chi Minh’s address: 272 De Tham Street, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

Bao Loc’s address: 456 Tran Phu Street, Loc Son Ward, Bao Loc city, Lam Dong province

Reservation No: 19006067                                    

Website:  https://futabus.vn/en-US

Price:  180.000 VNĐ/seater, 210.000 VNĐ/sleeper

Thanh Buoi Bus

Ho Chi Minh’s address: 266-268 Le Hong Phong Street, Ward 4, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City

Bao Loc’s address: 139 Tran Phu Street, Loc Son Ward, Bao Loc city, lam Dong province

Reservation No: 19006079                                

Website: http://www.thanhbuoi.com.vn/Default.aspx

Price: 180.000 VNĐ/seater, 200.000 VNĐ/sleeper

Mai Linh Bus

Reservation No:  +84 838 306 306

Price: 155.000 VNĐ/seater

Thinh Phat Limousine

Address: 13A3 Lac Long Quan Street, Ward 5, District 11, Ho Chi Minh City

Reservation No: +84 888 641 641

Price: 350.000 VNĐ

Photos: Internet

Source:

http://tamchau.com

www.tramanhtea-coffee.com

www.dohuu.com.vn

http://www.traviet.com/2011/08/lich-su-vung-tra-lam-dong/

Writer: Zjn Miu

Hue's traditional food inside Saigon

Hue is the ancient capital in the central Vietnam, and Bánh bèo Huế is one of the most famous traditional food in Hue. 

What is Bánh bèo Huế?

Bánh bèo is a small steamed rice cake/pancake in traditional Vietnamese cuisine which you may find it very difficult to try it outside of Vietnam.  Typically, it is white in color, and has a dimple in the center, which is filled with savoury ingredients including chopped dried or fresh shrimp, scallions, mung bean paste, crispy fried shallots, fish sauce, rice vinegar and oil (Wikipedia). The ingredients vary in different regions, mostly in the Central and South of Vietnam.

Bánh bèo chén

Bánh bèo from the Central Vietnam, including Hue, and Quang Nam, is served in a very small ceramic bowl, which gives it another name as Bánh bèo chén (Chén means the small bowl holding Bánh bèo), while Southern-style Bánh bèo is usually thin, and served together on a plate.

Southern-style Bánh bèo

Where to eat Bánh bèo Huế in Saigon?

Actually, Bánh bèo Huế itself is also the name of a famous small restaurant serving Hue's dishes in the crossroad of Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Nguyen Thuong Hien streets, near Vuon Chuoi market, district 3. 

The restaurant has served Bánh bèo for 20 years since the present owner’s mother-in-law started her business with a small food stall at Vuon Chuoi market nearby. Delicious food with low price has attracted more and more people coming to the restaurant and becoming its regular customers.

Besides Bánh bèo, it also serves other Hue rice cakes including Bánh bột lọc (Rice dumpling cake), Bánh nậm, Bánh bèo chén, Bánh ít trần, Bánh đúc along with Chả (pork bologna), Nem (fermented pork roll), and fish source.

Bánh bột lọc (There is a piece of shrimp inside 😊)

Bánh nậm (rice floor with shrimp and pork meat mashed)

Bánh ít trần (Vietnamese mochi with a mixture of pork, mung bean and wood ear mushrooms inside)

Bánh đúc (steamed rice cake with coconut flavor)

If you want to try all of them, just order “một đĩa đầy đủ” (a special dish) with the price of VND20,000 (0.9$). 

The restaurant is open from 4p.m till 9p.m or even later sometimes. Because of small space, there are just a few of small chairs and tables for sitting. Avoid visiting the restaurant from 4.30p.m till 6.30p.m if you do not want to wait for too long 😉