According to information from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hai Phong City, for 3 days from May 10 to May 12, at Hai Phong station and Nguyen Du flower garden (also known as Nha Trumpet), this unit will organize a culinary festival of Hai Phong delicacies.

seafood
Rice noodle soup with crab, one of the popular dishes of Hai Phong people

This activity is part of a series of events celebrating the 70th anniversary of Hai Phong Liberation Day and the Red Flamboyant Festival - Hai Phong in 2025, aiming to connect and introduce railway tourism products - the Red Flamboyant train, to stimulate demand and attract tourists to Hai Phong.

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Graphic of Nguyen Du flower garden (Trumpet House), one of the locations chosen to organize the culinary festival

Due to its uniqueness as a gateway for international trade via sea, the changes of history and the intermingling of many cultures are the foundation that contributes to the formation of Hai Phong's unique culinary features.

Among those imported forms, French and Chinese cuisine, two of the world’s leading cuisines, have influenced Hai Phong in many ways. Typically, it can be seen in dishes such as spicy bread, xi long cau cake, pate, sui din, katka cake, chi chuong, chrysanthemum tea, coconut coffee, etc.

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Background of Hai Phong culinary festival 2025

As a coastal city, when mentioning Hai Phong cuisine, the first thing that comes to mind is seafood. Hai Phong seafood dishes have the sophisticated preparation of Hanoi, but the ingredients are fresher because they do not have to be transported long distances, so they have a different flavor.

Hai Phong cuisine is not too spicy, not too salty or sweet, so although it is a Northern cuisine, it is also easy to enjoy for Central and Southern people. The style of seafood processing in Hai Phong emphasizes the essence and fresh taste of the ingredients more than the sophistication in the use of spices and processing methods.

Among them, the typical and popular ingredients in Hai Phong cuisine are the relatively abundant seafood resources caught naturally from the seas of Do Son, Cat Hai, Bach Long Vi... or farmed in ponds, cages. The main types of seafood used are shrimp, crab (both freshwater and sea crabs), fish, sea cucumber, mantis shrimp, squid...

Hai Phong delicious food
Chrysanthemum tea is a drink chosen by many tourists coming to Hai Phong.

Many seafood dishes are more delicious thanks to the dipping sauces that go with them. In Hai Phong, many families have a long tradition of making fish sauce, vinegar and chili sauce (also known as chi chuong). Fish sauce is produced in the traditional way of the people of Cat Hai island district, while vinegar and chili sauce are often made according to the family recipes of the Chinese people in Hai Phong. These are also the three important spices used mainly in Hai Phong dishes.

Tourists coming to Hai Phong all have the same feeling that the food here is prepared with the bold flavor of the sea; both rustic, unpretentious, yet with a bit of the strong, bold and innovative taste of coastal people. In Hai Phong, it is not an exaggeration to say that just stepping out of the alley is delicious food. Cuisine is therefore also one of the unique and impressive highlights that make tourists love this land.

During the 3 days of the Hai Phong Food Festival 2025, at Hai Phong station there will be 5 booths (counters displaying and selling street food - food tours to take home, providing tourist information, destinations, souvenirs, handmade products).

At Nguyen Du flower garden, there will be 20 booths, including 9 food tour booths; 11 booths of cuisine, delicious dishes, local specialties, OCOP products of districts, etc.

In addition, the Food Festival will display, promote, introduce and sell Hai Phong's signature dishes and drinks. Visitors will enjoy the experience of preparing Hai Phong's delicacies, street art performances, participate in games to receive gifts and vouchers to explore Hai Phong's cuisine.

Minh Phong

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/thang-5-lien-hoan-am-thuc-mon-ngon-hai-phong-2025-2398674.html