Exciting Vietnamese street food festival in Paris

According to a VNA reporter in France, the Ici Vietnam Festival 2023, which has become an annual event for the past three years, was held on June 17 at Monge Square in District 5, Paris, in coordination between the Association of Vietnamese People in France (UGVF) and the Association of Vietnamese Youth in France (UJVF).

A booth selling Vietnamese products at the food festival.

Beef noodles, pancakes, rice cakes, pho..., mango, sugar cane, lychee, coconut..., people sitting on high tables, on low chairs, by the fountain... bustling DJ music, chattering laughter... all create a vibrant, colorful, flavorful panorama of the Ici Vetnam Festival 2023 street food festival. With the theme "Foodmarket & DJ Sets" (food fair and DJ music), this is the 3rd year this festival has been held and has become a meeting place for those who love Vietnamese cuisine and culture.

At the stalls, the dishes are prepared by professional chefs, hoping to create a fusion and connection between tradition and modernity, between French and Vietnamese cuisine, imbued with the unique characteristics of street food. Sharing with VNA reporters in France, young people Asia Beggs and Tham Lam said they like to come to the festival because this is where they can enjoy their favorite dishes such as beef noodle soup or rice rolls and many other Vietnamese dishes.

For young director François Bibonne, author of the music documentary Once upon a bridge in Vietnam, the festival is also the place that could be the source of his new film idea. He shared: "Living in Paris, I have the opportunity to eat a lot of Vietnamese food that I like. Ici Vietnam Festival is really a gathering place for Vietnamese cuisine and it made me think about being able to make a film to introduce Vietnamese dishes and culinary arts". And not only cuisine, contemporary music with the excitement of electronics, pop and rap, performed by talented French-Vietnamese DJ-beatmarkers.

Not only that, coming to the festival, visitors can immerse themselves in the space of books and stories, meet the authors, play shuttlecock, or simply join a vibrant picnic. In particular, this year, Vinfast Group has launched its latest electric vehicles so that customers can "see with their own eyes, touch with their own hands", and experience directly with the first car product of Vietnam reaching the world.

Shuttlecock, a Vietnamese folk game loved by many young French people.

According to Mr. Jérôme Thẩm Võ Mỹ, a member of the Organizing Committee, after the great success of the 2022 festival season, attracting nearly 10,000 people to the fair, this year, although the festival started at 12 o'clock, the number of people coming from early morning was very crowded. He hopes that with the participation of about 30 businesses, much more than in 2022, and the weather is also very cool and pleasant, the number of attendees will be higher than last year. According to Mr. Jérôme, the new feature this year is the presence of French DJ artists of Vietnamese origin.

Each with their own style, the artists will accompany the audience until the end of the day. "Our goal is to bring to the festival space not only culinary flavors but also other cultural features such as music, books, or games. Even the cuisine is not only traditional cuisine but also a harmony between tradition and modernity, between Vietnam and France," he emphasized.

Mr. Ngo Minh Duong, owner of Thanh Binh Jeunes supermarket chain, said that this year is the third year his company has participated in this fair. The products he brings are all from Vietnam, such as sugarcane juice, coconut water, lychee, mango, coffee, tea... Not only bringing Vietnamese specialties to the festival, Thanh Binh Jeunes company also cooperates with the association Graine de riz - Grain de vie (roughly translated as Each grain of rice - A piece of life) to call for charitable activities to help children and disadvantaged families in Vietnam and Laos, especially in the field of education, providing school supplies and bicycles so that they can go to school. According to Mr. Michel Blanc, president of this charity association, "Ici Vietnam Festival is a beautiful festival in every sense!".

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Ici Vietnam Festival 2023, Ms. Florence Berthout, Mayor of District 5, was very proud that her locality was chosen as a meeting point for Vietnamese cuisine. She especially appreciated the Foyer du Vietnam restaurant, located right next to Monge Square, which, according to her, "meets the criteria of quality and price". For his part, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang welcomed the idea of organizing the Ici Vietnam Festival and wished diners to enjoy the deliciousness of Vietnamese dishes.

From early morning, many Parisians came to the Ici Vietnam Festival street food festival.

On this occasion, the Ambassador expressed his joy at the presence of Vinfast electric cars at the festival and hoped to soon see the pride of the Vietnamese automobile industry rolling alongside French electric cars. Ici Vietnam Festival is the idea of a group of young French people of Vietnamese origin who want to organize festival events in many fields of film, art, painting and cuisine to introduce Vietnamese culture in France. Although the street food festival only takes place for one day, it has contributed to promoting a unique cultural feature of Vietnam and is an attractive destination not only for the Vietnamese community but also for French friends in the capital Paris.

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