Must-Try Quang Ninh Dishes

This list of local food will guide you on your next trip in Quang Ninh.
January 08, 2022 | 09:34

Quang Ninh is not only loved by tourists for its beautiful natural landscape, natural wonders and pagodas but also for its unique cuisine.

Bun Be Be

Photo: Bao Nguoi Lao Dong
Photo: Bao Nguoi Lao Dong

A bowl of seafood noodles has many kinds of seafood such as fried fish, shrimp, squid and crab meat, which combine with the sweetness of bone’s broth.

This is a popular dish in Quang Ninh because you get a good variety of food at a great price. A bowl of seafood noodles is about VND40,000 (about US$2).

Sweet cabbage, shrimp, catawissa, fried onion, tomato and chilli are added for an irresistible taste but what makes the dish different is the fantastic mantis shrimp and the wonderful bouillon of all tastes from sweet and spicy to sour.

Cuttlefish/squid patties

Photo: VNO
Photo: VNO

Throughout the long coastline of Vietnam, cuttlefishes are everywhere. Each region has their special type, with different shapes or sizes. As a coastal province, Ha Long is no exception.

Quang Ninh has many kinds of cuttlefish: kislip cuttlefish, broadclub cuttlefish, pharaoh cuttlefish, and golden cuttlefish, etc.

They can be used to cook dried, grilled or fried cuttlefish, but cuttlefish patties are the best of all.

The recipe requires skills and experience. From the first steps such as choosing the right cuttlefish and cutting its organs, to the last steps such as seasoning or frying, the cook must pay attention to details. After being fried, the patties have a delicious, yellow color and irresistible fragrance.

Their spicy and salty taste is most noticeable when we eat them with sticky rice or Vietnamese pancakes.

In Ha Long City, there is eben a street near Bach Dang Theater named "Cuttlefish Patties Street."

Sa Sung (Sand worms)

Locals at Quang Ninh will show you how to properly eat Sa Sung. Not everyone has the chance to taste this special food, but anyone who has agrees that the combination of fried Sa Sung, fresh lettuce, and beer is something beyond the imagination.

Dried Sa Sung. Photo: Hai San Xanh
Dried Sa Sung. Photo: Hai San Xanh

Sa Sung is a rare seafood species, often found in the waters of Quan Lan in Quang Ninh.

Sa Sung can be processed into many dishes with different flavors, and also has significant medicinal qualities.

Sa Sung live on the seashore where the tide goes up and down every day. When it ebbs, locals look for Sa Sung by digging the sand.

Sa sung can be fried with fresh garlic to create a tasty and buttery dish. The fried food is Moi Xao, a distinctive and popular food of Ha Long.

Another way to serve Sa Sung is to dry them before roasting.

Sa sung is a very pricey product. The price for 1kg of dried sa sung goes uo to VND4.5 million (over US$200).

Hill Chicken

This is a famous specialty in Tien Yen district of Quang Ninh.

Photo: Vietnamnet
Photo: Vietnamnet

The hill chicken got its name from the fact that local people raise the chicken without cages. Instead, they are free to roam and wander on the slopes of the hills.

This is the secret to why the meat of the Tien Yen hill chickens is firm and juicy, rather than tough and greasy.

Be sure to try steamed hill chicken. Even though the chicken is boiled in a normal way, its skin has an incredibly tempting yellow color as if there were saffron and oil on it.

Tien Yen hill chicken is priced at VND200,000 - VND300,000 (USD 8,7-13) per kg.

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