A gastronomic journey through Vietnam

If for you travel rhymes with discovery, then this route has something to seduce you. A trip to Vietnam around the great must-sees, from magnificent spectacles to marvel culinary discoveries. Immerse yourself even more in the heart of local customs by discovering the flavours and know-how so particular to each region of Vietnam.

Hanoi, an open-air kitchen

When you arrive in the Vietnamese capital, you will be surprised to see how Hanoi is a perpetual gastronomic feast! From dawn until late at night, Hanoi is a veritable open-air kitchen. With a gourmet mood, come and stroll through the streets and alleys of Hanoi's old quarter to find out. In this very lively typical district, you will find all the specialities of Vietnamese gastronomy. Hanoi is undoubtedly the great capital of street food in Southeast Asia. Take a seat in a small stall or on a stool in a street restaurant to taste the various soups, including the famous pho, fondues, spring rolls, sautéed noodles, grilled fish like cha ca, soft meats like pork with caramel, snails, seafood etc... You will be spoiled for choice!

>>> Read more: Top 10 unmissable dishes in Hanoi

Sapa, hiking and local cuisine

By night sleeper train or by road from Hanoi, you reach the confines of northern Vietnam to go to the former health resort of the colonial era, which was created at the beginning of the 20th century. Perched at an altitude of 1600 metres on the mountainside of the Hoang Lien Son, Sapa is a popular destination for travellers who love hiking. During or after a day of walking in the breathtaking scenery of rice terraces, nothing is more comforting and more refreshing than tasting some local specialities in a restaurant or in the company of a family of the Dao or Hmong ethnic group if you make the choice to sleep with the locals. Let yourself be tempted by the horse meat soup, the dried buffalo meat, the pork raised in full honey roast, the grilled black rooster with black mushrooms, the sticky rice with 7 colours and finish sweetly with the delicious picked pears in the forest.

Land and Sea Halong Bays

Here are two UNESCO heritage destinations that will amaze you with their breathtaking landscapes and surprise your taste buds with the quality of their cuisine. In Halong, during a magnificent cruise in the heart of the largest marine karst in the world, seafood is in the spotlight. As for the Halong Bay on land, in the lovely countryside of Tam Coc, the great speciality is goat meat. It is eaten with nem, grilled or in a fondue, and it is accompanied by vegetables from the many vegetable gardens and com chay or crispy rice.

>>> Read more: Top 10 unmissable dishes in Vietnam

Hue and its royal cuisine

Hue, the former royal capital listed as a UNESCO heritage site, dazzles with its cultural heritage and its refined cuisine, a legacy of its imperial past. Whether royal or common, Hue cuisine is eaten first with the eyes. Both simple and sophisticated, the gastronomy of Hue is considered the pinnacle of Vietnamese food art. It's hard to resist the famous bun bo hue, thick noodle soup with beef, crispy pancakes stuffed with pieces of fatty pork, prawns and bean sprouts, the pretty and tender banh beo made from rice pancakes cooked in steamed in very small cups and garnished with dried shrimp paste, fried pork skin, shallots, or nem lui, succulent skewers of grilled ground pork wrapped around a stick of lemongrass. As the cradle of Buddhism in Vietnam, Hue also offers top-notch vegetarian cuisine that is creative and bursting with vegetable freshness.

Hoi An, an ancient town where you can feast on elegance

From Hue, taking a beautiful coastal road and the spectacular Hai Van Pass, you arrive in the Hoi An ancient town, also listed as a UNESCO heritage site. Once a prosperous trading post on the Silk Roads in the 16th and 17th centuries, Hoi An is home to a large number of old buildings built over two centuries ago. Take a seat in the comfort of one of these magnificent timber-framed mansions to appreciate Hoi An's traditional architecture and divine cuisine. You can also stroll along the banks of the Thu Bon River illuminated by hundreds of lanterns and try from stand to stand some tasty specialities such as the unmissable cao lau soup, dumplings containing plump prawns or rice yellowed by turmeric mixed with pieces of chicken, slices of onions, mint and other aromatic herbs from the Tra Que market gardens.

Mekong Delta, nonchalant and gastronomic Eden

And why not take a cruise on the mythical river or on one of its branches to discover this region as endearing as it is surprising? Make yourself comfortable in the dining room of your boat and, while sailing through the enchanted labyrinth of the Mekong Delta, taste the quintessence of the cuisine of this nonchalant Eden, such as "elephant-eared fish", well fried with its scales, which is placed vertically in a plate decorated with typical herbs, or the "Mekong shrimps", large freshwater prawns with tasty flesh. During your stopovers, on foot, by bike or by boat, go and feast on tropical fruits bursting with deliciousness in the many orchards of the Mekong Delta.

>>> Read more: Top 10 culinary specialities of southern Vietnam to discover absolutely!

Take a cooking class

What could be better than taking part in a cooking class to discover Vietnamese gastronomy? During your trip to Vietnam, for each of these destinations, you can easily include a cooking class. Rich in conviviality and interactivity, a cooking class will allow you to unlock some of the secrets of Vietnamese cuisine while discovering certain aspects of the local culture since in Vietnam, gastronomy and culture are closely linked.

(Cooking class while travelling with Authentik Travel)

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