Differences in Vietnamese Regional Cuisine

As a traveller, many people wonder about the Differences in Vietnamese Regional Cuisine . As one of the tropical countries with warm, humid, monsoon climate, Vietnam create a distinct and unique culinary system. For Vietnamese people, cuisine shows culture, tradition and spirit so that each meal features a combination of five fundamental taste elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, water. The similar point of Vietnamese cuisine stretching along an S-shaped land is the harmonious mix of tropical spices, following the principle of yin and yang. Nevertheless, while sharing some key features, Vietnamese culinary tradition differs from region to region, from North to South, created the Differences in Vietnamese Regional Cuisine , depending on the differences in geographical, climic and cultural features. Travel to Vietnam

Northern cuisine
Pho is an iconic to Vietnamese culture and considered an unofficial national dish. If you come to Hoi An, you can save our recommendation for local stalls who cook best Pho in Hanoi Differences in Vietnamese Regional Cuisine[/caption] In northern Vietnam, a colder climate limits the production and availability of spices. As a result, the foods there are often less spicy than those in other regions. There is less sugar and a whole lot fewer chillies in northern Vietnamese fare. Because of the north's cooler climate, herbs and spices are not used as frequently as in the cookery of southern Vietnam. Black pepper is used in place of chilis as the most popular ingredient to produce spicy flavors. In general, northern Vietnamese cuisine is not bold in any particular taste — sweet, salty, spicy, bitter, or sour. Most northern Vietnamese foods feature light and balanced flavors that result from subtle combinations of many different flavoring ingredients. In addition, based on long-standing cultural traditions and personality of the northern people, food is also slightly subtle classical ritual. With the strict traditional principle, Northerners also bring perfectionism and stylish in their own dishes. Food are processed according to complex formulas, with adequate ingredients and spices, eye-catching and sophisticated presentation. Being the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, northern Vietnam produces many signature dishes, such as Phở, Bún riêu, Bún chả and bánh cuốn… Vietnam Halong bay cruise
Central Cuisine

Differences in Vietnamese Regional Cuisine

Differ from Northern people, the central habitants are gruff but outspoken, straightforward due to severe weather. Thus, central cuisine is notable for its bold and attraction, which sets it apart from austerity and complex dishes in the North. Central Vietnam also boasts the country's most complex and flavorful cuisine. The food is spicier with less Chinese influence than the north, while still retaining some of the French flavors and techniques that are popular towards the south of the country. The region’s cuisine is also notable for its sophisticated meals consisting of many complex dishes served in small portions. Chili peppers and shrimp sauces are among the frequently used ingredients. Coming to the centre of Vietnam, it’s regrettable to not try Tam Ky chicken rice or Cao Lau in Hoi An, Quang noodle in Da Nang and mussel dishes as well. Once time putting footprint in this harsh land, let’s stop a little to enjoy the warmth of its people throughout their homeland tasty dishes.
Southern cuisine Mekong river tours Vietnam

The warm weather and fertile soil of southern Vietnam create an ideal condition for growing a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and livestock. As a result, foods in southern Vietnam are often vibrant and flavorful, with liberal uses of garlic, shallots, and fresh herbs. Sugar is added to food more than in this region, likes the sweetness and friendliness of Southern people. The preference for sweetness can also be seen through the widespread use of coconut milk in southern Vietnamese dishes.Despite a few of Differences in Vietnamese Regional Cuisine,they still have some common features, reflected personality and culture of the Vietnamese people: warm, charming and sophisticated.

Traditional sport activities in sapa

Recently, visitors travel to Sa Pa more and more. It is true to said that, Sa Pa‘s natural beauty has attracted them. They want to have adventures on Hoang Lien Son, they want to reach the Fanxipan peach , and they want to discover the life of ethnic minority here.Traditional sport activities in sapa
Attending in many local and traditional festival is really nice experiences. At this time, the local administration have a new kind of tour , that is very exciting, that is a combination between  SaPa tour service and the local sport activities. Coming here, visitors will be attracted by many local festivals, and they can take part in many traditional games and sport of ethnic minorities here such as tug of war, shutting with cross-bow wrestling, so on. Vietnam travel private
Traditional sport activities in sapa
These games and sport have the own characteristics of the local people here, maybe this is one of new reason that makes the visitors come here more and more.
The fact that local administration here has had many attempts to make Sapa has a considerable position in the eyes of the global visitors. Do you know the Fanxipan climbing competition or horse race competition in SaPa? If you ask anyone who had taken part in, he will say that it is so exciting and fun. Alova Gold Cruise Halong bay

Traditional sport activities in sapa

With two kinds of these sport activities, Lao cai is more famous in the eyes of the foreign visitors, and this province  also gained many experiences to operate other sport activities in the following time. Coming here, in the next time, you will have a lot of chances  to take part in these traditional  sport activities as well as understand more about the mental life of people here. Mekong Amalotus cruise
In order to take this advantages, Lao Cai local administration also tends to celebrate the sport activities on a larger scale, and invest more in building infrastructures for it. It means that if you coming here, you can enjoy the wonderful sceneries, enjoy a lot of delicious traditional foods, and live with the real life of the ethnic minorities here ( including their works and there entertainments).

Top Three Souvenir Shops in Hanoi

Travellers often buy souvenirs as gifts and as mementos, and it can be hard to distinguish quality from fake. Below are our hand-picked souvenir shops in Hanoi that provide quality products.

 1 – MINH LONG FINE PORCELAIN

At first glance, Minh Long Fine Porcelain on Hang Than street doesn’t stand out from other pottery stores. But once you enter the shop, you will be overwhelmed by the elegant displays of such a huge variety of products. North Vietnam travel

The shop has only one floor but it has just about all of the products you would want to find in a porcelain store. They range from simple designs and average prices to complex designs and prices up to tens of millions of VND – statues, tea sets, bowls, dishes for decoration, and vases in different sizes, colours and decorations.
The rich texture of Vietnamese flowers (lotus, ‘mickey mouse’ or bird’s-eye bush, daisy and peach blossom) are hand-drawn in small lines with soft brushes and no colour stains, showing the high level of mastery of the art. Travellers are often keen on lotus decorations. JAHAN CRUISE
You can test the quality of a vase by lightly knocking it to see whether the sound is solid or hollow, feeling whether the texture lines are smooth or not, and observing if the glaze is well done or not.

Address: 32 Hang Than, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Open: 9am–8pm

Top Three Souvenir Shops in Hanoi

2 – IPA NIMA STORE

Ipa Nima is an iconic fashion site in Hanoi that female travellers should visit. But it should be a top priority for men too if they are seeking an elegantly unique gift for their significant others. Alova Gold Cruise

Ipa Nima has two stores, one at 72 Trang Thi Street and one at 5 Nha Tho Street, both in Hoan Kiem District. The store at 72 Trang Thi has more space and is more beautifully decorated. The main products here are bags, and there’s a plethora of styles and colors to choose from. No design is the same, and new ones come out frequently.
Most details on the bags are meticulously and intricately made by hand. Besides the high-end bags, Ipa Nima also sells other fashion accessories such as bracelets, necklaces or shawls with eye-catching designs, sometimes at very reasonable prices around the 200,000VND mark.

Address: 72 Trang Thi, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
               5 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Open: 9am – 7pm

3 – TAN MY EMBROIDERY AND TAN MY DESIGN

Tan My is a repository of beautiful embroidery designs for which Hanoi is famous. Founded in 1969, Tan My has been going for three generations. With intricately designed bed linens, table cloths, clothes and handkerchiefs, the two Tan My stores on Hang Gai street are a good place to shop for beautiful and meaningful gifts or mementos.

Tan My’s unique and colourful designs include envelope-shaped bags, colourful pillows for kids and one-of-a-kind, embroidered pictures that you would not be able to find elsewhere. Embroidered pictures are a unique Vietnamese art form and they make great gifts.

A small bag or pillow may be priced under 100,000VND, while bigger embroidery pictures could be tens of millions of dong.


Address: 61 and 66 Hang Gai, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Open: 9am–7pm

How to pick the best binoculars for travelling

Have you ever traveled with a pair of binoculars?! From 2011, I always carry a binoculars as closest companion on my trips. They allow me see things that can not see by naked eyes, look a same land but in a completely different way compared to others, that’s so amazing. If you’re learning about binoculars for travelling, you may want to consult my experiences. Southern Vietnam with extension to Cambodia 10 days

With over 3 years experience in binoculars, I concluded that 3 most important factors for travel binoculars are weight and size, view quality and price (of course!). I’m a big fan of Nikon, my 7 of 8 are Nikon Binoculars, so my experieces will mainly direct to this brand.

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Weight and Size. These’re the most important factors. In a trip, you will have to move much so surely you would not want to carry something too heavy and too large. When started travelling with binoculars, I picked the Nikon Action ones, they weigh over 2lb (1kg) and quite large compared to others but good-quality optic. At first, the 2lb weight was not problem but after tramping for miles in woods, I just wanted to throw them away. Huong Hai Sealife

How to pick the best binoculars for travelling

So my advice, you should be willing to sacrifice a bit image quality to exchange compact size. Compact binoculars usually weigh from 0.5lb to 0.8lb, you can consider Nikon Trailblazer 25mm, Aculon compact zoom, Travelite or the best is Premier LX-L 8×20 or 10×25. Monarch ones are also good choice with over 1lb weight and very high-quality optic.

View quality. In view quality, there’re few other smaller factors:

Magnification. Binoculars have 2 numbers as AxB. The first number is magnification and the second is size of objective lens. Do not be too greedy high-magnification binoculars. 8x ones are quite a lot and strong enough for travelling. Higer powers (10x, 12x,…) are too shake, very difficult to hold steady and focus on anything.
Size of Objective lens - The second number.  Usually, in same quality, larger Objective lens will better in optics. However, larger lens also makes binoculars heavier and bigger. So the size of lenses from 20 to 30mm are good.
FOV – Field of View. Basically, this figure as high as good. A wide field of view allow you see more and easy to follow fast objects (small birds, fishes,…).
Close focus distance - the closest distance that binoculars can focus. This’s not too important for travelling. However they are as low as good.
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Price. A compact binoculars are very easy to lose in trips so I usually do not pick expensive binoculars for traveling. Price of under $100 is ok. Nikon Trailblazer 25mm, Aculon compact zoom, Travelite are in this price-range. But if you have a lot of money, you can pick Premier LX-L 8×20 or 10×25 for best quality.

Other factors. You may care to Eye relief, if you weares glass then this’s very important. It help you to see full field of vision. Basically, the Eye relief is as long as possible (for Eye glasses).

Above is my experiences to pick good binoculars for travelling. Wish you find a good pair of binoculars. You can also visit The Best Nikon Binoculars for Price / Quality to find the best one. Thank you!