TOP 13 MUST-TRY SPECIALTIES OF HALONG BAY
Hello, everyone!
We are back with another post about Halong Bay. This time, we are not going to search for new places in Halong Bay, but explore a new feature of Halong Bay : the culinary art. In this list, we will list out 13 specialties of Halong Bay that you must try when you come here. Some of these specialties can be strange and weird to international tourists, make sure you are not allergic to any of these specialties!
Beside enjoying the significant landscapes of Halong Bay, savoring delicious food is also a great way to understand the culture of Vietnamese. We hope after reading this list, you will find some good dishes to add to your favorite food list!
Let’s get started!
GRILLED CHOPPED SQUID
We can say that Grilled chopped Squid is the most famous specialty of Halong Bay. You can’t say you visited Halong Bay without trying grilled chopped squid!
Squid is grinded manually and deftly then it will be fried in a moderate heat until it turns crispy and golden brown. You should eat grilled chopped squid with sticky rice and fish sauce or steam rice rolls.
The average price for a plate ranges from 15,000 vnd to 20, 000 vnd or you can buy grilled chopped squid with the price from 300,000 vnd/kg.
You can try the dish at the shop next to Bach Bang cinema or most of the food stalls in Halong City.
Sticky rice with grilled chopped squid
Grilled chopped squid with steam rice rolls
You can eat grilled chopped squid without sticky rice
You can buy grilled chopped squid in any market in Halong Bay
SA SUNG (Sipunculus nudus)
Sa Sung is a kind of seafood that you could see at Quan Lan – Minh Chau island (Van Don, Quang Ninh). From the ancient times, Sa Sung is a precious tribute to the King or functionaries. Only rich people could afford it.
There are many dishes can be made from Sa Sung such as: Sa Sung boiled, Sa Sung fried with garlic or lemongrass, dried Sa Sung deep fried, etc. The taste of Sa Sung is very different and delicious with ketchup and beer.
You can buy Sa Sung as a present for your friends and family with the price from 3,000,000 vnd/kg.
Sa Sung in Quan Lan – Minh Chau island
Sa Sung soup
Sa Sung fried with vegetables
Dried Sa Sung
Sa Sung deep fried with sesame seeds
HALONG BAY OYSTERS
Oyster is one of the famous seafood in Halong Bay which is high nutritious food. Grilled oysters are the best with beers. Fresh oysters are washed carefully before grilling on charcoal burner. You can eat grilled oysters with the mixed sauce from pepper, salt and lemon. Grilled oysters with green onion or chili-lemongrass are also quite tasty.
The price for a table for 2 with grilled oysters and beers is from 200,000 vnd. You can savor grilled oysters in any restaurants in Halong Bay or small food stalls along the coast.
Fresh oysters in Halong Bay
Grilled oysters with green onion
Oysters are quite fresh and tasty because local people raising oysters in an eco environment.
HALONG BAY LOBSTERS
Visiting Halong, you will be able to enjoy lobsters in a unique way: drifting on floating restaurant in Halong Bay, nibbling the dish and feeling the tang of the sea.
Many dishes can be made from lobsters: fried lobster with salt, rice gruel with lobster, lobster salad or steamed lobster. Among them, steamed lobster enjoys the greatest popularity since it preserves the original flavor of lobsters.
Lobsters have a variety of different weight, depending on the number of customers that the restaurant can serve.
Delicious lobsters of Halong bay
Lobster salad
Steamed lobsters in Halong bay
Rice gruel with lobsters
HOANH BO SOAKED RICE WINE
Not only the incredible scenery and delicious food in Halong Bay can take your soul away but also the drink! We are glad to introduce you the most famous wine of Halong Bay – Hoanh Bo soaked rice wine!
This special wine was made from a special sticky rice which you can find it no where else. Sticky rice was cooked and brewed naturally. After the fermentation, people soak some special leaves which was taken from Hoanh Bo forest in the wine jars.
Hoanh Bo wine are sour, slightly sweet. It is good for your digestion, and especially taste in the summer.
Hoanh Bo soaked rice wine
This is the special sticky rice which is the most important ingredient of Hoanh Bo wine
This is how Hoanh Bo wine looks like when you pour it out from the jar
Hoanh Bo forest where people take the special leaves for making Hoanh Bo wine
SEA SNAIL
Halong is famous because of many kinds of seafood like not only lobster, squid but also snails. Halong has many kinds of sea snails; each kind has its own processing and its own taster.
You can eat a lot of dishes made from sea snails at Cao Xanh area which is nearby Bai Chay Market. The atmosphere in this area is always bustle and hustle due to the huge amount of customers eating here.
On the way to Bai Chay, you also catch a big Sea Snail supermaket which will surprise you with a long menu of sea snails!
HORSESHOE CRAB
Horseshoe crabs are marine arthropods of the family Limulidae and order Xiphosura or Xiphosurida. They live primarily in and around shallow ocean waters on soft sandy or muddy bottoms.
Many dishes can be made from horseshoe crabs: blood pudding, salad, sweet and sour fried legs, fried horseshoe crab’s eggs, etc.
You can try this specialty at Cao Xanh area, Gieng Don area or on 25/4 street, Bach Dang ward, Halong City.
This is what a horseshoe crab looks like
The back side down of a horseshoe crab
Grilled horseshoe crab
Sour and sweet fried of horseshoe crab’s legs
NGAN
Ngan are similar to clams but bigger. They can be process by various ways: grilled, steamed, made soup, fried with noodles or vegetables. Ngan are also used to brew wine, the taste of Ngan wine is full of sea scented.
You can try Ngan at almost every restaurant in Halong Bay.
This is what a Ngan looks like
Grilled Ngan
Rice gruel with Ngan
Fried Ngan
Fried Ngan with rice noodles
CA SAY TIEN YEN
“Cà sáy” is the hybrid of duck and cairina, through processing of Tien Yen people, the flavor becomes doubly delicious. In order to savor fully the good taste of Ca Say, local people use a mixed sauce made of Cat Hai fish sauce and other seasonings.
Ca Say Tien Yen
Crispy Cay Say
TU HAI
Tu Hai are a rare species of seafood with high nutritional value. They has been successfully researched and commercially produced since 2015 in coastal area of Bai Tu Long Bay, Van Don district.
This is the most famous dish of Van Don district, so of course you should come there to savor this delicacy. There are many way to process Tu Hai such as: steam, make soup and gruel, grill or fried.
This is what a Tu Hai looks like
Grilled Tu Hai with green onion
Steamed Tu Hai
Mixed vegetables with Tu Hai
BA KICH WINE
Another special from Halong Bay that we want to introduce you – Ba Kich Wine. This kind of wine was made by soaking Ba Kich – a popular vegetables in Quang Ninh province. There are 2 kinds of Ba Kich wine: the white wine or the purple wine. In comparing to other special drinks, Ba Kich wine is easier to drink and it doesn’t cause headache.
Drinking Ba Kich wine with a moderate quantity will help your body healthier.
This is Ba Kich vegetables
The purple Ba Kich wine
The white Ba Kich wine
HA SOUP
The same family with oysters but Ha are smaller and their shell are harder. Due to its hard shells, people have to use hammer to crash the shells. The local people use Ha meat to cook sour soup which is such a delicacy.
You can order Ha soup at almost every restaurants in Halong city.
This is what Ha look like
Ha sour soup
SALTY ROASTED BE BE
Be Be is a quite typical seafood that you can only see them at Cat Ba island. Some people call Be Be as small shrimp or sea mantis. Be Be can be processed by many ways but the best taste is Salty Roasted Be Be.
You can savor the best dish of Be Be at Hotel Huong Duong 1 (Nui Ngoc Street). This place got the best talented Chef who can cook Be Be but still keep its own fresh taste!
Salty roasted Be Be
This is a Be Be looks like
Yeah! That’s all of the TOP 13 MUST-TRY SPECIALTIES OF HALONG BAY! What do you feel after reading this post? Are you hungry yet? Let us know what you are thinking! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to share this post if you like it! To find more interesting tours of Vietnam, please check out our website at TRULYVIETNAMTOUR.COM
To read about Top most beautiful beaches in Halong Bay, click HERE
Or Top most incredible islands of Halong Bay, click HERE
Have a nice day!
