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| CNN assesses rise in popularity of Vietnamese salty coffee (Source: VOV) |
The article by CNN cites that a small, no-frills café in Vietnam’s historical city of Hue is widely credited with inventing this now-popular drink back in 2010, which is made by adding sweetened condensed milk to a base of Vietnamese coffee. The mixture is then topped with salted cream and can either be served hot or with ice.
“Cà phê” means coffee and “muối” means salt in Vietnamese. This combination of condensed milk, salt, and black coffee comes together to create a creamy mixture that softens the bitterness of the coffee whilst balancing the sweetness of the condensed milk, CNN wrote.
Before long, salt coffee became known as a specialty drink representing historic Hue and cafes nationwide began serving it as well. After the COVID-19 pandemic, salt coffee quickly became a trend across Vietnam, CNN quoted salt coffee founders.
According to the website, today sees the café bottle its salt coffee in order to sell in other Vietnamese cities as well. Though the name might turn people off, the flavours really do work. The sweetened milk and cream balances the bitterness of the coffee, whilst the salt heightens the sweetness in a similar way to how a little bit of salt in salted caramel makes the caramel flavors even more prominent.
Salt coffee is just one of several distinctive Vietnamese coffee drinks which may raise a few eyebrows among those who’ve yet to sample them, the writer Maggie Hiufu Wong confirmed.
The article also suggested that travelers drink other kinds of coffee during their trip to the nation, including egg coffee, known locally as cà phê trứng; coconut coffee, cà phê cốt dừa; fruit shake coffee, sinh tố cà phê; and yogurt coffee, sữa chua cà phê.
Vietnam wins big at Global Culinary Challenge Malaysia
The Saigon Professional Chefs' Guild (SPC) that represented Vietnam at the third Global Culinary Challenge Malaysia, held in Kuala Lumpur from June 25 to July 5, has brought home the championship title and many other prizes, reported VNA.
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| A booth of Vietnamese bread. (Photo: VNA) |
The record haul of 13 golds, 27 silvers and 28 bronzes earned by the 40 Vietnamese chefs demonstrates their professionalism as well as international diners’ love of Vietnamese cuisine, said Le Thi Kieu Oanh, a member of the delegation.
Oanh expressed her hope that Vietnamese chefs will have more opportunities to promote traditional foods to international friends in the time ahead.
This is the second contest the SPC has participated in Malaysia following the 2024 Penang Culinary Competition from June 27-29, where they also won a record number of prizes, including 18 golds, 26 silvers and 24 bronzes.
The Global Culinary Challenge Malaysia aims to promote Malaysian culinary skills and food culture and, at the same time, provide a platform for the participating chefs from all around the world to interact and share experiences.
TasteAtlas picks out two local dishes among world’s 100 best rated snacks
According to VOV, two Vietnamese dishes, including chả giò (fried spring rolls) and chạo tôm (sugar cane shrimp), have been listed among the 100 best rated snacks in the world, according to international food website TasteAtlas.
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| Chạo tôm (sugar cane shrimp) is one of the 100 best rated snacks in the world. (Photo courtesy of TasteAtlas) |
The 28th position went to the traditional Vietnamese snack chạo tôm (sugar cane shrimp) which consists of shrimp paste wrapped around a sugar cane.
The paste is often enriched with seasoning such as garlic and spices, as well as occasionally using pork paste before being shaped around the cane and then steamed, grilled, or fried.
The dish originates from Hue in Central Vietnam and is now enjoyed throughout the country. Although it was once reserved for special occasions, this delicious combination is nowadays most commonly enjoyed as an appetizer or as a light snack. The dish can be enjoyed as a whole, but the shrimp can also be taken off the cane, wrapped in lettuce, and then dipped in nước chấm sauce, the website wrote.
Aside from the dipping sauce, chạo tôm is often accompanied with sliced fresh vegetables and bánh hỏi rice noodles, it added.
Chả giò (fried spring rolls) ranks 85th in the list. The main characteristic of these tasty rolls is the pork and shrimp filling which is wrapped in delicate rice paper.
Frequent additions to the stuffing include vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, glass noodles, and bean sprouts. TasteAtlas shared that the rolls are shortly fried and result in a treat with an appetising golden colour; a thin, crispy, and light outer layer; and a delectable filling.
Rounding off the list of TasteAtlas’s 10 best rated snacks were many representatives from across the world, namely hamamatsu of Japan, guotie and smacked cucumber of China, pempek and batagor of Indonesia, karipap and roti canai of Malaysia, pão de queijo of Brazil, and esquites and antojitos of Mexico.
TasteAtlas is an encyclopedia of flavours, a world atlas showcasing traditional dishes, local ingredients, and authentic restaurants. The website has cataloged over 10,000 foods and drinks from across the world, with there being dozens of thousands yet to be researched and mapped.
HCM City enhances tourism connectivity with foreign markets
By deploying a range of tourism stimulus activities whilst strengthening connectivity with foreign markets, Ho Chi Minh City welcomed 2.68 million visitors in the first half of the year, representing a rise of 38% on-year, VOV reported the data by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism.
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| The Ho Chi Minh City Central Post Office (Source: VOV) |
The number of domestic tourists reached 17.1 million, up 4.4% against the same period from last year and fulfilling 45.1% of the set plan.
The southern city grossed VND92.6 trillion in tourism revenue throughout the reviewed period, up 14.6% on-year.
These figures can be attributed to the effective implementation of a variety of tourism and cultural events such as the Ao Dai Festival and the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival.
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| Tourists to Ho Chi Minh City (Source: VNA) |
In particular, at recent working sessions held alongside embassies and tourism promotion agencies of foreign countries such as Taiwan (China) and Armenia, Ho Chi Minh City pledged to exert great efforts to elevate the image of Vietnamese culture and tourism to these markets and vice versa.
Simultaneously, leaders from the southern metropolis have also invited representatives from tourism promotion agencies abroad to join the Ho Chi Minh City International Travel Expo (ITE HCMC 2024) which is scheduled to run from September 5 to September 7./.