National culinary specialties

Ethnic cuisine display at Het Cha Festival, Na Ang residential group, Dong Sang ward, Moc Chau town.

Son La , a long-standing home to 12 ethnic groups, each with its own unique dishes and cooking methods, creates a diverse, rich and colorful culinary picture. In particular, we must mention the dishes: Banh day, the famous thang co of the Mong ethnic group; dried buffalo meat, grilled stream fish, bamboo rice, five-color sticky rice, wild vegetables, bon soup of the Thai and Muong ethnic groups; sour meat, deer wine of the Dao ethnic group... The special thing is that the main ingredients to make these unique dishes are mainly taken from nature, combined with unique spices such as: Mac Khen, Doi seeds, Cham Cheo, creating a unique flavor.

When tourists come to a tourist destination, in addition to learning about history and exploring the natural beauty, they also want to enjoy local specialties. Through delicious meals, tourists can experience and learn about unique traditional cultural aspects. That is also the factor that creates the attraction to "hold" tourists.

Ms. Luong Thi Hong Tuoi, Head of the community tourism development group of Vat Hong residential group, Muong Sang ward, Moc Chau town, shared: In community tourism, we identify cuisine as an indispensable part to introduce the unique culture of the Thai ethnic group here to tourists. In addition to popular dishes such as grilled fish and smoked meat, we also introduce dishes during holidays and Tet and explain the meaning of each dish to tourists. Coming here, tourists can also make bamboo rice, grill fish or pound cham cheo by themselves. Through these experiences, tourists have more memorable experiences with the dishes, and love the land and people of Moc Chau more.

Ethnic cuisine competition at Moc Chau Cultural Tourism Week.

Delighted in experiencing the preparation and enjoyment of ethnic dishes in Son La, Ms. Hoang My Hanh, a tourist from Hanoi, excitedly said: Coming to Son La, I enjoyed five-color sticky rice, smoked buffalo meat, grilled chicken, stream fish, bamboo rice, bon soup... each dish has a very special flavor, completely different from dishes in the lowlands. I will definitely return to Son La to explore more of the culinary culture of this land.

The construction, preservation and promotion of culinary cultural values, becoming one of the unique tourism products is being implemented by all levels, sectors and localities in many forms. Mr. Tran Xuan Viet, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: If cuisine is exploited as a tourism product, it will contribute to creating a good image of the people and land of Son La. Therefore, we have coordinated with localities and training institutions to organize training courses, foster knowledge and skills in preparing ethnic dishes, ensuring food hygiene and safety for community tourism businesses, restaurants and hotels. Encourage and support the construction of tours and tourist routes associated with culinary experiences; organize culinary competitions... Thereby, creating conditions for tourists to enjoy delicious food and drinks, immerse themselves in "local cultural space", feel the cultural identity and traditional values of the localities in the most authentic way.

Tourists experience pounding sticky rice cakes at the peach blossom festival, Long Luong commune, Van Ho district.

It can be seen that for tourists, cuisine not only meets nutritional needs during the journey, but is also an opportunity to explore the culture, customs, habits and aesthetics of the local people. The novelty, deliciousness and attractiveness of cuisine at tourist destinations will be a driving force to retain tourists, making them come back. Therefore, exploiting and developing culinary services will create a good impression, increase the effectiveness of tourism promotion, and attract more and more tourists to Son La.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/du-lich/dac-sac-am-thuc-dan-toc-JOqK31bHg.html