Leveraging cuisine to develop tourism.

Cuisine is not merely a basic necessity but also an indispensable part of spiritual life, reflecting the customs, traditions, and lifestyle of a community. Caring for and preserving local dishes plays a crucial role in conserving and promoting cultural identity and serves as a bridge for cultural exchange with other countries.

Ms. Ho Thi Thanh Xuan's Quang noodles are favored by many diners because they retain the distinctive flavor of the local dish. Photo: DOAN HAO LUONG

The beauty of local culinary culture

With the aim of creating a unique culinary identity for Da Nang city, the Da Nang Culinary Culture Association (DCCA), in collaboration with Grab Vietnam (Grab), recently announced and awarded the "Famous Restaurant" prize to 68 local restaurants and eateries.

Among them, 40 distinctive and unique eateries were honored in the "Famous Flavors" category, such as: My Quang 1A, My Quang Ba Xuan, Banh Xeo Ba Duong, Bi My Cho Con, Bun Cha Ca Ba Lu, Bun Bo Ba Roi…

And 12 eateries and restaurants were honored in the "Most Loved" category, including: Trang Kitchen, Ngoc Chi Vegetarian Restaurant, Co Cao Kitchen…

In addition, the "Growth Star" category recognized 16 businesses with impressive and flexible growth rates, such as Hai Coi Restaurant, Banh Mi 365, Tuc Tac Tea, etc.

According to Mr. Ly Dinh Quan, Chairman of the Da Nang City Culinary Culture Association, this event marks the first activity in the 3-year memorandum of cooperation between the Da Nang City Culinary Culture Association and Grab, aimed at promoting local culture and tourism through cuisine.

The units were selected and honored based on three main evaluation sources: nominations from the DCCA based on expert consultations, travel associations, and tourist surveys; feedback data from GrabFood users in 2024-2025; and each unit's compliance with operational and legal regulations.

"The association represents culinary culture, builds and promotes brands, and creates value chains to boost trade and investment, form culinary culture businesses, and create a new economy in the cultural industry. The association's mission is to connect three stakeholders (the state, schools, and businesses)."

Currently, culinary business models are still rudimentary and traditional, requiring professional, modern technology and human resources... in order to build value chains and establish a culinary brand for Da Nang," said Mr. Ly Dinh Quan.

Sharing her joy after receiving the "Famous Restaurant" award, Ms. Ho Thi Thanh Xuan, owner of Ba Xuan Quang Noodles restaurant (77 Ha Huy Tap, Da Nang), said: "We feel honored and proud that the Da Nang City Culinary Culture Association has shown interest in awarding us this prize, and it gives us more motivation to invest in improving the quality of our dishes and expanding our restaurant."

The awarding of the "Famous Restaurant" prize helps promote and introduce the restaurant to diners both domestically and internationally. To meet demand, the restaurant will soon expand its space to the second floor to better serve tourists."

Present at Bà Xuân's Quang Noodles restaurant after enjoying the food there, Mr. Glenn (an Australian, from Michelin) said that compared to some other Quang noodle restaurants, Bà Xuân's Quang noodles have an authentic local flavor, suitable for tourists to explore local specialties. To properly assess the quality of the dish, we need to enjoy it several times to truly appreciate its deliciousness.

Creating experiential food zones.

Despite being established only about 3 years ago, the Da Nang City Culinary Culture Association has coordinated and organized many major culinary events, including: collaborating with the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association to announce the 100 dishes of 13 central provinces in 2022; and the "Delicious Da Nang" event honoring Da Nang dishes such as Nam O fish salad, Nam O fish sauce, and Tuy Loan rice paper...

A local food experience area (right) at the 2025 Carnaval festival in the An Thuong Western Quarter. Photo: DOAN HAO LUONG

In 2024, the Da Nang City Culinary Culture Association, in collaboration with tea experts, organized a tea culture event to promote awareness of tea culture.

In 2025, the Grab association proposed 46 restaurants with local and traditional cultural elements.

Sharing his thoughts on Da Nang's culinary scene, Mr. Ly Dinh Quan stated that restaurants still have much work to do, such as protecting their brand, improving operational capacity, organizational management, food safety and hygiene, and developing long-term strategies. Therefore, the association will continue to support and assist entrepreneurs in reaching new heights.

In coordination with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Department of Science and Technology, we will register intellectual property and trademarks for restaurants; cooperate with universities to train human resources; and collaborate with the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association to honor Vietnamese chefs and artisans.

In the near future, the Da Nang City Culinary Culture Association will propose to the city to develop and implement a project to create distinctive culinary areas in Da Nang, starting with the An Thuong food court with approximately 28 stalls, including 8 stalls featuring Da Nang cuisine and 20 stalls showcasing cuisine from all three regions of Vietnam.

This food court will offer experiential spaces for activities such as cooking demonstrations, connecting and transferring local cultural models, and food tours to learn about local cuisine, thereby training chefs in local culinary traditions.

Additionally, mini-shows promoting local culture, such as the culinary culture of the Co Tu people and the Cham people, are organized, incorporating stories about culinary experiences.

According to Mr. Ly Dinh Quan, after merging with Quang Nam, the space and capacity to realize the vision will be greater, with more resources for creativity and opportunities to develop its grand goals. A larger space will create a larger market, more resources, and an increased number of dishes. As a result, cultural values, capabilities, and resources will also be amplified.

“Our primary goal is to inspire and promote local culture and establish a value chain for Da Nang's local culture to support livelihoods and entrepreneurship, form culinary and cultural businesses, and create competitiveness to boost local economic development,” said Mr. Ly Dinh Quan.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/khai-thac-am-thuc-de-phat-trien-du-lich-3299943.html