HCM CITY — Famous dishes of the southern region will be on offer at the annual Ẩm Thực Đất Phương Nam (Southern Land Cuisine) Festival that will take place from May 24 to 28 at Đầm Sen Park in HCM City’s District 11.

A wide range of popular street food in Sài Gòn from the past to present will be the highlight of the event this year, according to the organiser, the city’s Department of Tourism.

Nearly 100 kinds of chè (pudding) and bánh (cake), typical southern desserts, will be cooked and served during the event, such as chè chuối (banana with tapioca pearl pudding), chè bà ba (potato, tapioca pearl and cassava pudding), chè bắp (corn pudding), bánh khoai mì nướng (baked cassava cake), bánh ít trần (sticky rice dumplings) and bánh da lợn (steamed layer cake).

Chef Võ Quốc, Việt Nam’s culinary ambassador awarded by the World Association of Chefs Society, will conduct a cooking demonstration of traditional southern dishes such as cá kho tộ (caramelised fish in clay pot) and canh chua cá (sour fish soup).    

Ten troupes of đờn ca tài tử (southern folk music) will perform throughout the five days of the event.

The event will also feature a photo exhibition on the multi-sensory cooking of southern dishes.  

The gastronomy festival aims to introduce Vietnamese culinary culture, particularly popular and loved culinary features of the southern region, Lã Quốc Khánh, deputy director of the city’s Department of Tourism, said.

Last year, the event attracted nearly 80,000 visitors. — VNS