Unique cuisine increases the attractiveness of Nghe An tourism

Nghe An is not only famous for its historical relics and majestic landscapes, but also an attractive destination with a unique and rich culinary culture. From rustic dishes to famous specialties, Nghe An cuisine is becoming the "golden key" to increase the attraction and positioning of the local tourism brand.

Nghe An encourages the restoration of local specialties; organizes specialized culinary tours and related events such as festivals, seminars, chef competitions, vocational training programs...

Tourism promotion ambassador

Nghe An cuisine always fascinates tourists by its richness and uniqueness, including the famous eel dish. Whether it is fatty eel soup, nutritious eel porridge or braised eel with banana and bean, it all brings diners unforgettable taste experiences.

Located on Le Mao extended street, Truong Vinh ward, Hoa Lan Nghe eel restaurant has long been a destination for many tourists from all over the world when they want to enjoy delicious eel dishes. The restaurant specializes in serving dishes such as soup, porridge, eel vermicelli... To create delicious and attractive dishes, Hoa Lan eel restaurant has been careful from the selection of ingredients to the meticulous processing process to receive satisfaction from diners. The dishes at the restaurant are evaluated by diners as having rich flavors and reasonable prices.

“Each dish is carefully selected and seasoned with rich spices to bring the best taste to customers. For example, the eel soup has a very clear broth, the eel meat is sweet and fragrant, not broken, making everyone fall in love when tasting it. Not only enjoying it on the spot, many customers also buy it as gifts and use it in their daily meals,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, owner of the Nghe An Hoa Lan eel restaurant.

“Hoa Lan eel soup is my family’s “favorite restaurant” when I set foot in Nghe An. This is a restaurant with authentic Nghe An eel soup, attracting all diners with its eye-catching colors, fatty, sweet eel meat and soft, chewy rice noodles. We are really “fascinated” by the quality of the dish and the reasonable price,” said Ms. Kieu Ly (a tourist from Hanoi).

In addition to eel dishes, Nghe An also has many rustic but attractive dishes such as banh muot, Nam Dan soy sauce, lotus and seafood dishes such as Cua Lo flash squid. In addition, there are other dishes such as rice paper with mussels, porridge, veal sausage/me sausage, jackfruit pickles, Xa Doai oranges and specialties from other regions such as sesame rice paper, sweet cakes, pickled fish sauce, green tea, bitter bamboo shoots, Chinese sausage, sour meat, pickled bamboo shoots, beef/pork, smoked pork...

Nghe An cuisine is considered one of the factors that create attraction for tourism. Although Nghe An dishes are not luxurious or delicious, they are imbued with the style of Nghe An people, simple, hard-working, and patient. In recent years, cuisine has been effectively exploited by localities and businesses in tourism business activities, especially in programs of experiencing indigenous culture and agricultural tourism.

“During the journey of taking tourists to visit and experience, we received many compliments from tourists about the cuisine of the destinations. In addition to enjoying on-site, culinary tourism is also attractive thanks to the specialties that can be bought as gifts. These are traditional spices and side dishes, showing the rustic and simple culinary culture of the people here,” said Mr. Nguyen Huynh Suong - Director of Dong Duong Travel Joint Stock Company.

"Leverage" for tourism

Although Nghe An dishes are not luxurious or delicious, they still reflect the style of Nghe An people: simple, hard-working, and patient. Photo: VNA

Cuisine is being effectively exploited in tourism business activities, especially in local cultural experience tourism programs in Nghe An. With the purpose of introducing traditional culture of the region, culinary culture plays a very important role in connecting tourism services to form products that attract tourists. The typical culinary culture of the destination contributes to attracting more tourists, prolonging the length of stay, increasing the average spending of visitors, increasing tourism revenue and creating income for the locality.

Grilled chicken with tea leaves is not only a dish of the Hoa Quan people but also a specialty that attracts tourists every time they visit. Many restaurants and homestays in the tea region have included this dish in their main menu, combining eco-tourism experiences such as tea picking, boating, and visiting tea oases to spread the unique culinary culture of Nghe An.

Mr. Nguyen The Cuong - Chairman of Hoa Quan Commune People's Committee said: "The special thing about this dish is not only the way it is prepared, but also the experience of enjoying it. A delicious dish enjoyed in the middle of a green, peaceful mountain space, all create an unforgettable experience. Therefore, culinary tourism is one of the local development strategies, towards green and sustainable tourism".

Representatives of travel agencies believe that, for the tourism industry, cuisine plays an important role and significance, an indispensable product in tours. It can be said that cuisine is a special messenger that contributes to promoting and introducing tourism. To enhance the experience for tourists, travel agencies need to focus on creating products that bring the most authentic experiences to tourists such as participating in traditional food festivals in many regions and villages, including participating in cooking classes and culinary tours to fully explore Vietnamese delicacies.

Mr. Vo Hong Sang - Director of Thai Son International Travel Joint Stock Company proposed: It is necessary to build themed culinary tours such as "Discover Vinh eel" tour, "Flavor of Lam River" tour... Along with that, organize a combination of culinary tourism with visits to traditional craft villages so that tourists can better understand the origin of raw materials and production processes.

For Nghe An cuisine to truly become a "lever" for tourism, there needs to be synchronous and creative solutions. That is to build a distinctive culinary brand; support local culinary establishments to develop processing procedures, ensure food hygiene and safety, while preserving traditional flavors; organize culinary competitions, vote for "Typical Nghe An Restaurants/Specialties" and attach prestigious signs/certifications.

“Multi-channel communication is needed, such as using social networks (TikTok, Facebook, YouTube) to produce videos/articles about dishes, stories and people who make the dishes; inviting culinary bloggers, domestic and foreign celebrities to experience, film reviews and spread the appeal of Nghe An cuisine. The Department of Culture needs to build an online culinary map (web/application) with detailed information about delicious restaurants, reputable places to buy specialties, along with reviews and travel instructions,” suggested Mr. Truong Quoc Hung - Head of the Hanoi UNESCO Travel Club.

Current reality shows that culinary tourism in Nghe An still has some limitations such as: Some culinary cultural values ​​are being distorted or lost; products lack creativity, are still heavily commercial, service quality is uneven. In addition, Nghe An cuisine has not been exploited as an independent product but is often integrated into other tourism programs, leading to the failure to fully exploit its inherent potential.

Cua Lo beach was packed with tourists during the April 30 - May 1 holiday. Photo: Bich Hue/VNA

Mr. Tran Xuan Cuong - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Nghe An said: Building the brand "Nghe An - Culinary Capital" is a strategic step to promote Nghe An tourism through honoring the unique culinary cultural values ​​of the locality. This positioning not only creates a new and attractive look for Nghe An tourism but also contributes to preserving traditional cultural values.

Accordingly, Nghe An will build brands for Nghe An cuisine (folk, vegetarian, street, coastal, mountainous...); design Nghe An culinary identity and a system of standard restaurants; encourage the restoration of local specialties; organize specialized culinary tours and related events such as festivals, seminars, chef competitions, vocational training programs...

The province also focuses on preserving and spreading culinary values ​​through communication work, raising public awareness, and calling for domestic and foreign cooperation to promote Nghe An cuisine more effectively and professionally.

With its diversity, uniqueness and rich identity, Nghe An cuisine has great potential to become one of the main drivers to attract tourists. By implementing creative solutions, professionalization and strong promotion, it will certainly conquer all diners and bring Nghe An tourism to a new level.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/am-thuc-doc-dao-tang-suc-hap-dan-cho-du-lich-nghe-an-20251027095538758.htm