HÀ NỘI — Hoàng Thi Mai smiled broadly as she tasted the Amok fish, the national food of Cambodia, at a Cambodian gastronomy stand in Hà Nội on Saturday.

It’s the first time that the young woman has enjoyed a Cambodian dish.

“It’s very tasty. Before today, Khmer food was still a mystery for me as I has never been to Cambodia and because Cambodian menus still have limited exposure in Việt Nam or other countries,” she said.

“I plan to visit Cambodia at the end of this year. It will allow me plenty of new food adventures,” she said, excited.

The fish, which is seasoned with lemongrass, garlic, shallots and chilli before being steamed in a banana leaf basket is the pride of the Cambodian people, explains Op Sophy, consular at the Cambodian Embassy in Việt Nam.

Besides food from Cambodia, guests and visitors also had the opportunity to taste specialties from nine other ASEAN countries.

The event was part of the ASEAN Golden Festival which was held on Saturday to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It was organised by the ASEAN Women’s Circle in Hà Nội and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Việt Nam.

The festival offered visitors and guests the opportunity to better discover the culture of ten ASEAN members through music, gastronomy, and photo exhibitions.

“Today’s festival is an opportunity for the ASEAN family in Hà Nội to join international friends in celebrating the 50^th Anniversary. This is also the opportunity for us to demonstrate our joint commitment to make the ASEAN Community ever more united and stronger,” said Nguyễn Nguyệt Nga, honourary President of the ASEAN Women’s Circle in Hà Nội, at the opening ceremony.

At the event on Saturday, representatives and artists of ten ASEAN countries also performed traditional dances of their countries. They included the Indonesian Poco Poco dance, the Lao Lamvong dance and the Thai Rabam dance.

They also tasted various traditional foods of ASEAN countries, including Thailand’s Pad Thai, Myanmar’s Mohinga fish noodles, the Malaysian Teh Tarik milk tea, Brunei’s Nasi Lemak (coconut rice), Indonesia’s Sate Ayam (chicken satay), Singapore’s Kaya Toast (toasted bread filled with butter); and Vietnamese seafood spring rolls.

Guests and visitors also took part in traditional games such as Philippines’ Pabitin, a Singaporean game of five stones, and Coconut-Shell Shoes Race of Thailand.

Fifty award-winning photos featuring the landscapes and people of ASEAN were also on display. — VNS