First day of vegetarian food festival in Ho Chi Minh City: Hundreds of attractive 'picture-perfect' dishes

Hundreds of attractive vegetarian dishes appeared on the first day of the 2025 Vegetarian Food Festival in Ho Chi Minh City, making many diners fascinated. How long will this festival last?

Today, October 31, the first day of the 2025 Vegetarian Food Festival (Green Food Festival) took place at Binh Phu Park (HCMC), hundreds of attractive vegetarian dishes appeared to surprise diners. The event is open to the public and lasts until November 4.

The Organizing Committee announced that today, two culinary competitions including “Green Master Chef Vietnam 2025” and “Green Future Chef Vietnam 2025” officially took place at the central stage of the Vegetarian Food Festival 2025, marking the start of the largest Vegetarian Food Week in Vietnam, lasting from October 31 to November 4, 2025.

PHOTO: CAB

From early morning, thousands of visitors flocked to the main stage area to watch the competition of more than 100 student chefs and 100 professional chefs from leading schools, restaurants, hotels and culinary training centers in Ho Chi Minh City.

PHOTO: CAB

Each contestant’s performance was a work of art. The teams won over the judges with their exquisite presentation skills, the philosophy of “eating green – living healthy” and the harmonious combination of tradition and modernity.

PHOTO: CAB

Attractive vegetarian ingredients

CAB

Picturesque dishes that fascinate diners

PHOTO: CAB

The two competitions “Green Master Chef Vietnam” and “Green Future Chef Vietnam” carry the message of the 2025 Vegetarian Food Festival: “Chefs not only cook delicious food, they are the ones who sow the seeds of a green lifestyle, the messengers of awakening”. Through the competition, the Organizing Committee wishes to honor the vegetarian chef profession, arouse the love of Vietnamese cuisine among young people, students and city residents as well as spread the culture of clean eating - green living - peaceful living to every Vietnamese family.

PHOTO: CAB

Mr. Dieu Phong, currently studying at Binh Phu High School, attended the 2025 Vegetarian Food Festival on the first day and said that he tried many vegetarian dishes such as spring rolls, grilled meat... Among them, his favorite dish is vegetarian beef wrapped in betel leaves. He looks forward to more festival activities in the coming days.

PHOTO: THAI HOA

At the festival, there were also 150 brightly decorated vegetarian food stalls from three regions, along with a vegetarian buffet area with 100 dishes such as vegetarian Hue noodles, lotus hotpot, pepper-braised mushrooms, five-color pancakes, beauty desserts, organic fruit juices... for visitors to enjoy.

PHOTO: THAI HOA

Unique vegetarian dishes appeared at the festival. Ms. Phuong Lan (HCMC), owner of the Minh Tuyet vegetarian stall, said that every morning she had to wake up 2 hours earlier to prepare the ingredients and set up the stall to serve customers. Among them, the "vegetarian balut" dish she made from skin and seaweed, aroused curiosity and interest for many people.

PHOTO: THAI HOA/NGOC NGOC

In the evening, more and more customers come, the atmosphere of buying and selling becomes more bustling, mixed with the aroma spreading from vegetarian dishes prepared on the spot. Ms. Linh, living in Ho Chi Minh City, shared that she was especially impressed with the duck noodle dish, which has a flavor that is no different from the familiar salty dish, rich even though the "duck meat" is made entirely from tofu.

PHOTO: NGOC NGOC

The 2025 Vegetarian Food Festival (Green Food Festival) will take place from October 31 to November 4, 2025 at Binh Phu Park (HCMC). This is considered one of the biggest cultural - tourism - culinary activities of the year, organized by the HCMC Culinary Association (FBA) in coordination with the People's Committee of Binh Phu Ward, with the participation of many leading enterprises in the fields of F&B, banking, green consumption and media.

The organizers said that during the festival, there will be many special activities, the highlight of which is the record of 200 vegetarian dishes from Vietnamese lotus set by leading artisans and chefs.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ngay-dau-le-hoi-am-thuc-chay-o-tphcm-hap-dan-hang-tram-mon-dep-nhu-tranh-185251031202116844.htm