Preparations are underway for the upcoming culinary festival, which will feature iconic regional specialties and local folk art performances. — Photo baobacninhtv.vn

BẮC NINH — The Bắc Ninh Culinary Tourism Festival 2026 is scheduled to take place on November 20-25 at the Cultural and Exhibition Centre in Bắc Ninh City.

The six-day festival will be spearheaded by the Bắc Ninh City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in collaboration with the Bắc Ninh Centre for Cultural and Tourism Promotion, five other provinces within the regional tourism alliance and various local craft villages and culinary businesses.

Designed to promote the image, people, culture and cuisine of Bắc Ninh to both domestic and international visitors, the event also serves as a tourism stimulus, contributing to the province's ambitious 2026 targets of double-digit economic growth and socio-economic development.

The festival is expected to strengthen tourism cooperation and connectivity among six regional provinces – Thái Nguyên, Bắc Ninh, Phú Thọ, Cao Bằng, Tuyên Quang and Lạng Sơn – for the 2026-2030 period, creating a vibrant networking platform for enterprises and individuals.

Themed 'Gathering Culinary Quintessence: Connecting Bắc Ninh Tourism', it will feature approximately 100 standard booths partitioned into two specialised zones.

Zone A, comprising 20 booths, will be dedicated to displaying and introducing the iconic local culinary products and tourist attractions of Bắc Ninh City. 

Visitors can explore regional agricultural products, dried goods, processed foods and specialties prepared on site, alongside traditional distilled and blended beverages from local travel agencies, cooperatives and culinary clubs across various wards. 

It will also present local tourism tours, routes and projects seeking investment.

Zone B, consisting of 80 booths, will showcase a rich assortment of delicacies from Bắc Ninh and other regions. 

Featured treats include bánh đúc riêu cua Vạn An (Vạn An rice cakes with crab soup), bánh cuốn Mão Điền (Mão Điền steamed rice rolls), bánh đa Kế (Kế rice crackers), bánh chưng Hoàng Vân (Hoàng Vân square sticky rice cakes) and bánh ngũ sắc Thị Cầu (Thị Cầu five-colour pastries).

Other specialties on offer include bánh phu thê Đình Bảng (Đình Bảng husband-and-wife cakes), kẹo lạc Trang Liệt (Trang Liệt peanut brittle), bánh khoai (steamed taro rice dumplings), bánh tẻ Chờ (Chờ steamed rice dumplings wrapped in leaves), bánh gio (ash-lye rice cakes), bánh dày (round sticky rice patties) and bánh gai (thorn leaf sticky rice cakes).

Visitors can also sample bánh giò Đáp Cầu (Đáp Cầu steamed pyramid-shaped rice dumpling), nem nướng Liên Chung (Liên Chung grilled pork rolls), nem Bùi (Bùi fermented pork rolls), nem ngựa (fermented horse meat rolls), Phở gan cháy Đáp Cầu (Đáp Cầu rice noodle soup with crispy pork liver), tương Đình Tổ (Đình Tổ fermented soybean sauce) and trà Bản Ven (Bản Ven green tea).

In addition to the culinary showcases, art, music and dance performances celebrating cultural heritage will be held daily at 8pm to entertain visitors. Special performances of Bắc Ninh traditional folk arts will also be staged on 23 and 24 November. — VNS