Chris and Shayna Dufresne are a Canadian YouTuber couple, owners of a travel channel with nearly 20,000 followers, documenting the world exploration journey of a family of four.

Recently, the couple came to Vietnam and had a culinary journey to explore Hoi An (Da Nang). There were 2 Hoi An specialties that made the couple exclaim: "Honestly, Cao Lau and White Rose Cake alone are enough to make me want to come back to Hoi An many times."

The couple enjoyed a strange dish called "white rose" at a famous family restaurant in Hai Ba Trung (Hoi An). Entering the restaurant, they saw women meticulously shaping the white, soft, and flexible cake crust and smiling friendly to welcome customers.

White rose cake, Hoi An specialty
Skilled workers mold the crust. Photo: The Dufresnes

In fact, this "white rose" dish is steamed dumplings and banh vac, arranged together on a plate, beautifully arranged like a blooming white rose. This is a dish created during the Vietnamese - Chinese culinary exchange in Hoi An hundreds of years ago, processed very meticulously, elaborately, and the ingredients are also carefully selected.

To foreign tourists, this specialty is popularly known as "white rose".

White rose cake is a specialty that attracts tourists in Hoi An. Photo: Foodieandami/White Rose Banh Bao and Banh Vac Oven

The main ingredient to make these two types of cakes is rice - delicious, sticky, fragrant rice. The rice is ground into flour, filtered, filtered again to be very pure, then rolled into large blocks. After kneading thoroughly until soft and thick, the dough will be rolled into an oblong shape, then small pieces of dough will be broken off, and with your fingers, you will shape it into a very thin and even shell, like a pretty white rose petal.

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Molding the dough requires meticulousness and skill. Photo: The Dufresnes

The filling of the dumplings includes shrimp, lean meat, black fungus, bean sprouts and a little green onion, all thinly sliced, stir-fried with spices to taste. The dumplings must be wrapped in a very thin layer of dough, shaped like rose petals, the dumplings are larger than the dumplings, shaped like a handle of a bucket. The dumplings are usually filled with a little minced shrimp in the middle.

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Shaping the cake requires meticulousness, to shape each little fold on the tiny shrimp paste filling in the middle of the cake shell. Photo: The Dufresnes

After shaping, the chef arranges the "white rose petals" in a steamer, about 15 minutes until the cake is just cooked. Arrange the cake on a plate, spread a layer of fried golden onions, a spoonful of fragrant peanut oil on the surface to make the dish shiny and attractive. When enjoying, diners will feel the sweetness of shrimp and meat filling, the aroma of white rice and fatty fried onion slices.

When the hot dish was brought out, the two Canadian tourists did not hesitate to try it. "It's absolutely delicious," Chris exclaimed.

The couple enjoyed and commented: The pork was tender, seasoned just right, with a touch of mildly spicy black pepper. The crust was soft and chewy, not as soft as many other types of pie. Shayna said the crust reminded her of pierogi - a traditional Polish dumpling.

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When dipping the cake in fish sauce, the flavors blend salty, sweet, and spicy, making the dish "more memorable". Photo: The Dufresnes

Each plate of white rose cake at this famous Hoi An restaurant costs 70,000 VND.

Khanh Linh

Chinese tourists come to Hanoi , praising the famous dish at the Western restaurant. A female Chinese tourist praised the Western cake with golden, crispy crust, served with a basket of fresh, rich vegetables. This is a Western restaurant in Hanoi that Michelin Guide listed in the category of delicious restaurants with affordable prices.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/khach-tay-me-tit-dac-san-banh-hoa-hong-o-hoi-an-gia-70-000-dong-dia-2458372.html