Food you shouldn’t miss when travelling to Da Lat

Local food is one of the most important factor that visitors shouldn’t miss when travelling to Da Lat. How great it is to wander around the city and enjoy best local food in the cold weather!

Bò kho (beef stew)

“Bò kho’’ is a hearty, spicy and aromatic broth with diced beef, carrot and lemongrass. “Bò kho” can be eaten on its own with a warm baguette for dunking or served over noodles, and is almost always accompanied by haf a dozen of fresh herb.

Bánh mì xíu mại (shumai baguette)

The food is without a doubt a signature of Da Lat, even though neither the pork balls (shumai) nor the baguette is originally invented there. People in many other provinces and cities are crazy about the food, especially in Ho Chi Minh City, where several street sellers and restaurants have been trying to replicate the success.

Sữa đậu nành nóng (hot soy milk)

In Da Lat, you can never go wrong with a glass of hot soy milk. At the market in the downtown the drink is often served with either Chinese cruller called quay (yu char kway in Chinese), or French pastries such as croissants and pâte à choux. If soy milk is not your thing, you can order mung bean, black bean or cocoa milk instead.

Nem nướng (grilled pork roll)

Da Lat's nem nuong is not different much from its Nha Trang's cousin. The grilled pork stick is equally tasty and totally worth checking out. Ground pork is rolled around a bamboo stick and grilled, before being served with deep-fried rice paper rolls and raw vegetables. The best thing about nem nuong is its dipping sauce made from a finely ground liver, prawn, pork and peanuts.

Banh canh gio cha (tapioca noodle soup with pork)

Yet another protein-rich food which is supposed to keep you warm in the cold weather of Da Lat. It is, in fact, one of local people's breakfast staples. The tapioca noodle soup is topped with deep-fried pork roll (cha), fish balls, trotter cuts and pork slices.

Banh trang nuong

The popular snack, often dubbed "Vietnamese pizza" with toppings such as egg and cheese, is said to have been invented in Da Lat before gaining nationwide popularity in recent years. At about US$1, you can have a Vietnamese pizza with mixed toppings -- egg, cheese, pate, dried beef and mayonnaise. Basically anything that you put on the crispy rice crackers.

Ngoc Tran