Fruit festival in Tien Giang

Tien Giang Province in the Mekong river cruise hosted the first ever national fruit festival in My Tho city from April 19 to 24

Tran Hoa Huy, a member of the organization board, said the festival would welcome over 100,000 guests and tourists. There are 350 rooms available for accommodation in My Tho City and in nearby provinces such as Long An, Ben Tre and HCMC. The recently opened Trung Luong Expressway makes My Tho City only a 40 minute drive from HCMC. Visit South Vietnam tours

With more than 700 stalls, the event displayed 2,000 tons of fruit from 24 provinces, including the well-known Hoa Loc mangoes, Lo Ren Vinh Kim star-apples, Chin Hoa durians and Hung Yen longans. Also, the festival features agricultural products and plant exhibitions, food fairs, firework displays and festivities at Cai Be floating market. Several national records are expected to be set during the festival too, including the largest map of Vietnam and the longest dragon made entirely of fruit.

Fruit festival in Tien Giang 

There would also be an awards ceremony to honor farmers, scientists and enterprises who have contributed to research and planting processes to deliver high-quality Vietnamese fruit to both local and global markets.VAM HO BIRD SANCTUARY

Nguyen Minh Chau, head of the Southern Fruit Research Institute, said the country, and especially the Mekong Delta, boasts a wide variety of good fruit owing to favorable climate and soil.

Vietnam has a total of 776,000 hectares under fruit cultivation and can increase competitiveness compared to leading exporters Thailand and China if it invests more into seedling research, modern techniques and brand building.

The Fruit Festival will host a series of seminars on developing trademarks for Vietnamese fruit on the global market and measures to create and strengthen links between scientists, farmers, processors and local authorities to increase value.

This festival is set to become a five-yearly event.

Where To Go In Vietnam: North Or South?

Many who visit Vietnam say it’s one of the most colourful countries in all of Southeast Asia. And they might argue that this is due, in part, to the distinct differences in culture and climate that exist between the north and the south of this spectacular nation.

Whether you decide to spend your time in the north or south may depend on what time of year it is. The north tends to experience cool, damp winters and hot dry summers, whereas the south has more of a consistent tropical climate that is broken by a rainy season between May and November.

The North Vietnam tours – When & Where

An ideal time to visit North Vietnam is between September and December when it isn’t too humid and not yet cold. That said, capital Hanoi tends to be temperate all year round.

Halong Bay
UNESCO listed Halong Bay tours as a World Heritage site due to its outstanding natural beauty and unique biological importance. Visitors who come to Halong Bay encounter formations of limestone islands that jut out of the water and are covered by jungle vegetation. It’s a dramatic sight and looks almost unworldly, as if the islands are floating on the water! Many of the rocks are hollow, with huge caves clustered inside them, and kayaking tours are one of the most popular ways to explore them.

Hanoi
As the cosmopolitan capital of Vietnam, many visitors fly into Hanoi and use it as the starting point to explore the country’s northern regions. Boasting thousands of years of rich history, Hanoi is the place to come to see ancient Buddhist temples, national museums and get a taste of Vietnam’s long and varied traditions. The Old Quarter is well worth a visit. Little-changed since the days of ancient Hanoi, the streets are named after the various trades and retail goods once sold on them.

Sa Pa
If small traditional towns, spectacular mountain views and rice terraces are what draw you to Vietnam, then head to Sa Pa. Buses depart from Hanoi, but you can expect an eight-hour journey. It’s worth it though, as Sa Pa feels like a step back in time to a more traditional Vietnam. The locals are friendly and visitors can trek by verdant rice paddies, dense forests and spectacular waterfalls.

The South Vietnam Tours – When & Where
Visit between December and April during dry season, when the temperature tends to be steadily in the high twenties (Celsius). Having said that, downpours during the rainy season from May to November tend to be short-lived and rarely put travellers off.
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City is a bustling and at times chaotic place. It’s everything you would imagine from Vietnam’s largest city, only at 10 times the speed! As you fly in, you can see streets of scooters whizzing in and out traffic – so many in fact that streams of red and white lights can be seen from the plane. It’s a wild and wonderful place, with great shopping, a huge variety of dining options and fantastic nightlife. Many visitors come here for a few days of living it up, before heading to a quieter beach town to relax.

Da Lat
If you’re in Vietnam during the hotter months, Da Lat is a great option for a few days of cooler weather. It’s quite unlike anywhere else in Vietnam and is often referred to as ‘the city of eternal spring’. It’s not just the pleasant climate that draws in the crowds either; Dalat is surrounded by rolling countryside, huge waterfalls and forests and was once the playground for the elite of French colonial society.

Get away and relax in Da Lat
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is perhaps the most renowned beach resort town in the south of Vietnam. Popular with expats and international tourists alike, it’s more urban than other beach resorts in Vietnam, and for that reason is a sensible place to head for those who enjoy their creature comforts. You can also head here if you’d like to try a bit of scuba diving too!

Where To Go In Vietnam: North Or South?

Mekong Delta tours
Covering the southwestern portion of Vietnam, the expansive Mekong Delta is simply mind-blowing.  Boat trips down the Mekong River propel you straight into old-world Vietnam, and homestays in the area are becoming a popular option for those who want to really feel like they’re getting away from it all.

Ha Long Squid Ball

Ha Long Squid Ball- one of the most popular specialties of Quang Ninh has been named in the list of the top 50 recipes of Vietnam, according to the evaluation standard of Vietnamese specialties issued by the Vietnam Guinness Book of Records.

The dried squid ball has a fresh yellow, sweet- smelling and a nice taste
According to a survey’s results in 2012 of the Center for Agricultural Development and Research (under the Vietnam Agricultural Science Institute) in Ha Long city, this traditional dish was discovered in 1946 and was firstly made by Tai Le- a famous chief who served the domestic and international visitors in Hon Gai (during the French colonial period). Hoai Phuong-one of the 3 most well-known squid ball makers in Ha long city, is the one who was taught by Tai Le since 1946 and is now still keeping his old mortar.

Braying is the traditional technique to make the special quality of Ha Long squid ball
To date, Hoai Phuong has over 100 year experience in making squid ball. The owner - Mr. Dang Manh Hiep shared that to be a professional squid ball maker, you must be clever, meticulous, and hardworking. The very first step to make a nice dish of squid ball is selecting the squids. We should choose the squid with fresh and thick carapace on the back with a weight of around 0.8 to 2.0kg.

It is very scrupulous to “operate” the squid, too. We need to omit the bowel and the vesicle, remove all the skin. We should keep the fin on the two sides of the squids because this part would create the crunchy taste after cooked. Then, wash them with the water and slice them into pieces.

If we want the squids to be crunchy and fragrant, we should grind them in a stone mortar by our bare hands. Put the squids into the mortar one by one. It is recommended that we should not make them well kneaded, especially with the fins. In that way, the squid would be stickier and some parts that are not well grinded yet will turn to be very crunchy when you eat. When grinding, add some peppercorns to make them mix steadily with the squid meat because later the squid would stick very hard.

After that, adding some chopped onion, a little bit fish sauce and some spoons of liquid lard and mix them continuously in about 2 minutes.

Depending on the liking of each person, we can create different shapes for the squid ball. However, you should remember to prepare a bowl of water and put a little oil on your hands to prevent them from being sticky with the squid. Using a spoon to take a little squid and then put it in your hands, roll it into a ball and press it.

To fry the squid ball, we should use a sunken pan. Pour the oil into nearly half of the pan. Keep the oil hot, then lower the flame and fry the squid ball. Turn the balls over steadily; keep the flame in a medium level, not too strong, not too weak. When they turn into yellow, take them out and put them on the grill to keep them dry (if not the balls would be very greasy).

Tourists are buying squid ball at Thoan squid ball store.( in Ha Long I Market, Ha Long city)
Squid ball using with sticky rice has already become a famous specialty of the people of Quang Ninh. In Ha Long, there are even chains of street where people specialize in making this dish.

Hiep added that during the tourism season, an average of 70-80 kg of squid ball is sold on regular days and 100kg on peak days. The customers are mainly tourists from Hanoi, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen...They buy squid ball to give their relatives and friends as a special present from Quang Ninh. Travel to Vietnam

Pham Thi Giang- a tourist from Thai Binh province commented that Ha Long squid ball is a very delicious and unforgettable dish. It can be served with white sticky rice, Cuon cake and fish sauce with pepper. It costs around VND 350,000-370,000/kg.

Ha Long Squid Ball

There are 30 units specialized in making and selling squid ball within Ha Long city; of which 23 units based in Ha Long I market and 7 in Ha Long II market) under a wide range of well-known trademarks such as Thang Hue, Hien Nhung, Tien Chuyen, Kim Thoa, Thoan, Lan Diep, Hoai phuong... Squid ball is also made in hotels, restaurants.... Paradise Cruise. Jasmine Cruise

It is reported that the Ha Long City People’s Committee is considering and drawing geographical indication for Ha Long squid ball. The promotion Halong squid ball product helps to enhance its competitive advantage in the market, protecting its reputation and prestige. This is a good opportunity to introduce this specialty to the national and international market.