Thu Hà

Tourists and travellers have been flocking to Đồng Nai’s Long Khánh city to enjoy ripe rambutans - the pride and speciality of the province.

Rambutans are available in the country’s southern provinces, particularly in the Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta, but the most delicious are the fruits of Long Khánh City.

Nguyễn Bích Ngọc and her friends from HCM City last week excited to tour fruit gardens in Long Khánh which is about 50 km from the city.

Visitors pick rambutans, enjoying the fruits on the spot. Photo mydongnai.vn

Ngọc and her group arrived at Long Khánh’s Bình Lộc fruit village full of fragrant flowers flying out and sweet fruits.

Ngọc said her group chose Cây Đa Hamlet for its large, attractive and beautiful fruit gardens of rambutan, durian, and mangosteen.

“The owners of these gardens are so friendly. They explained to us about each sort of fruit, and guided and consult us on how to pick them,” said Ngọc, adding that with entrance prices to the garden ranging between VNĐ100,000 to 120,000, her group was delighted to enjoy the fresh and sweet flavour rambutans.

Long Khánh rambutan is famous after being issued with a certificate of geographical indication. Photo mydongnai.vn

“We immersed ourselves in the garden where rambutan branches hang down over and around us. It is as though we are in a fairy landscape,” Ngọc said.

Her group was advised to choose the longan-rambutans whose fruit is a bit smaller but has its own characteristics and flavour that no other rambutan cultivars can compare to.

While wandering around the garden for about one hour, Ngọc said she was witnessing many groups from HCM City and surrounding provinces flocking in to tour the garden.

The Long Khánh rambutans are more fragrant, sweeter and crispy compared with others. Photo bigomart.vn

Ngọc and her friends each also bought a dozen kilos of rambutan with price of VNĐ 25,000 per kilo to bring home.

The price is not much cheaper than it is sold in HCM City market. However, it gave her with a strange pleasant feeling when she herself can choose and pick the fruit from the trees.

Ngọc’s group also visited a green grapefruit garden which was planted with thousands of trees, all of them full of dangling fruits. Each fruit is between 1.5 to 2 kilo or more.

“Many guests take selfies and enjoy the fruit, “Ngọc said.

Locals also use rambutans to cook with beef and make salad by mixing it with pork and shrimp and many other tasty dishes. Photo dienmayxanh.com

Before returning home, Ngọc’s group took a rest in a small thatched roof camp inside the garden where they were served traditional dishes such as salad rambutan with boiled pork and shrimp, grilled snakehead wrapped in rice paper, and a dipping bowl of sour and sweet sauce mixed with minced garlic and green chilli. They also had free-range chicken porridge, field crab soup with rice and more for VNĐ120,000 per person.

“We are very pleased because we all enjoyed both the meal and the beautiful landscape with ripe fruits hanging down everywhere in the garden,” Ngọc said.

In 2016 the Department of Intellectual Property granted a certificate of geographical indication for Long Khánh rambutan which has been also recognized by Vietkings as a top 50 specialty of Việt Nam.

The geographical indication helps Long Khánh farmers to improve their living standards and attracts visitors, including foreign tourists to the city, said an official from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The fruits have been consumed by local people via vendors, online sale and supermarkets. They have also been exported to China, Laos, Cambodia and elsewhere, the official said. VNS