(CPV) – Ha Giang is not only famous for its majestic, overlapping highland landscapes, golden terraced fields in the ripe rice season, poetic buckwheat flower fields, brilliant pink colors, or unique national cultural identity, but is also a place where diverse and rich culinary quintessence converges with specialties that attract diners when coming to the rocky plateau.

Corn noodle soup is a culinary specialty that can only be found in Ha Giang.

Ha Giang currently has four specialties in the Top 100 outstanding gift specialties including: Mint honey, Hoang Su Phi snow tea, buckwheat cake and Quan Ba ​​seedless persimmon and four dishes in the Top 100 outstanding gift specialties including: Men men, au tau porridge, thang co and smoked meat, 03 dishes in the top 121 typical Vietnamese culinary dishes including silver carp, corn pho, au tau. These irresistible delicacies with the flavor of the mountains and forests, along with five-color sticky rice, buckwheat cake, yeast corn wine, grilled stone moss, humpbacked banh chung, sausage, thang co… are the culinary quintessence originating from the living and working process of the community of 19 ethnic groups here, which have many traditional dishes, bearing the characteristics of each ethnic group, along with special processing ingredients that nature has bestowed on the northern mountainous region of the Fatherland such as: Mac Khen, doi seeds, star anise, cardamom, honey.

Coming to Ha Giang, besides experiencing the scenic spots and unique customs, visitors certainly cannot miss enjoying traditional specialties at stops in the villages.

When mentioning Ha Giang, tourists often think of the specialty of au tau porridge. This dish tastes quite strange. The bowl of porridge has a fatty and rich taste mixed with a little bitterness of au tau, the delicious aroma of chicken eggs and the accompanying herbs. Au tau is a typical tuber of Ha Giang, containing toxins. But the Mong people detoxify the tubers by soaking them in rice water, then simmering for about 4-5 hours. Then, grind them, cook them with bone broth and yellow sticky rice mixed with a little sticky rice. When the porridge is cooked, it will be scooped into a bowl and eaten with minced lean meat, salt, pepper and green onions. Au tau is a nutritious dish, curing colds, aches and pains… On cold winter days in the rocky mountains, enjoying a bowl of hot, nutritious au tau porridge is definitely an unforgettable experience for tourists.

Humpback Chung cake is also one of the culinary quintessence of the rocky plateau of Ha Giang.

In addition to Au Tau porridge, Thang Co is an irresistible delicacy for diners when coming to the stone plateau. Thang Co means meat soup, a traditional dish of the Mong people, made from horse meat with a very unique flavor. Nowadays, to suit tourists, the restaurant owner has replaced the ingredients with buffalo, beef, and pork. The locals also use beef organs to cook, because horse meat is very difficult to buy. The essence of Thang Co is especially in the broth, simmered from bones and internal organs and mixed with 12 typical spices such as star anise, cardamom and lemon leaves… creating a fragrant pot of broth. The meat will be fried briefly and then put into the broth to simmer until soft. This dish has a strong smell for those who try it for the first time, but the more you eat, the more addicted you become. It will be more attractive when eaten with men men, grilled corn cakes and corn wine.

Tourists coming to Ha Giang to experience the paradise of buckwheat flowers should not miss the opportunity to enjoy the specialties made from buckwheat seeds, which are very delicious, unique, and very popular, such as: cakes, pho, beer, noodles, dried vermicelli, wine. Buckwheat is a flowering herb with many colors: white, pink, purple, red, and has long been famous as one of the symbolic flowers of the Northeast region of Ha Giang.

On the journey to explore the rocky plateau, visitors can also enjoy other wonderful dishes such as: Dong Van ancient town rolls, humpbacked banh chung, Dong Van egg rolls, Bac Me bamboo rice, smoked buffalo meat, sour pho, thang den… If you have the opportunity to taste it, diners will have an aftertaste of the dish and remember it forever.

In recent years, Ha Giang has emerged as a leading attractive destination, tourism has been shaped into a driving force for economic growth in this locality. Among the tourism products, the community tourism model integrating the quintessence of local culinary culture is the most effective development direction. Homestays, with the support and facilitation of authorities at all levels, have cleverly exploited the typical culinary cultural values ​​in the service process to give visitors the most satisfying experience. Visitors not only enjoy specialties but also witness the food preparation process, and are shared about the completely natural origin of the ingredients harvested by ethnic people in the forest such as: wild bananas, mac khen, wild bamboo shoots, colored leaves for making five-color sticky rice or plants and animals raised, grown, and cared for to prepare dishes according to traditional recipes.

Au Tau porridge is a must-try and must-mention dish when setting foot on the “fence” land of the Fatherland.

Recently, in order to honor, preserve and promote the culinary culture of the locality, Ha Giang province has organized the 2023 Northern – Central – Southern and Ha Giang Culinary Culture Festival in Ha Giang City with many exciting and attractive activities, attracting a large number of domestic and international tourists. To continue the success of this event, Ha Giang plans to organize the International Cultural Tourism and Culinary Festival – Ha Giang in 2024 for 3 days, from March 29 to 31, 2024 at 26/3 Square and Green Park, Ha Giang City.

With the theme Ha Giang – Culinary quintessence of Asia’s leading destination, Ha Giang is determined to elevate the values ​​of local culinary culture, introduce and promote widely to domestic and international tourists; build and effectively exploit the culinary tourism brand through collecting, restoring, developing a quintessential, unique and quality culinary and tourism culture; promote cooperation in tourism development, promising to bring many interesting experiences to tourists.

According to the plan, the International Culture, Tourism and Culinary Festival – Ha Giang in 2024 will include a series of unique and special events, the most notable of which is the promotion program, setting a Vietnamese record of “50 culinary dishes and drinks made from buckwheat” with the participation of chef experts from the Japan – Vietnam Culinary Association directly preparing dishes and drinks, creating a menu of 50 dishes from the main ingredient of buckwheat according to the five sets of “trees, animals, flowers, tubers, fruits”. In addition, there will be a series of activities such as: Organizing the judging and awarding of typical dishes of provinces and cities; organizing culinary and tourism cultural exchange and experience activities; mass art performances; Organizing a survey program for Asia’s leading typical destination – Ha Giang 2023; organizing a workshop on positioning the Ha Giang tourism brand.