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Ham and eggs put Ninh Bình on the foodie map of Việt Nam

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Quý Dương

Ninh Bình Province is well-known for its virgin and beautiful landscape sites, such as Tràng An and Bích Động, but also giò trứng (egg pork paste) made by Nộn Khê Villagers.

Last week I was invited to visit the village by my friend Đặng Ánh Tuyết. 

When we arrived at the village gate, we could smell the sweet and fragrant giò trứng, which residents also call giò trứng Nộn Khê. Tuyết said it is a characteristic smell in the village.

Giò trứng (egg pork paste) can be found in Nộn Khê Village in Ninh Bình. Photos mia.vn

Giò trứng is also at our villagers’ weddings, engagements and Tết parties. It helps put the village on the map as one of Việt Nam’s best cuisine centres,” Tuyết’s mother, Hoàng Thị Thịnh, 65.  

Thịnh said no one in the village knows exactly when the dish came into being, but her mother related that the dish had been existing since she was a little girl.

In the past, the dish was only being made to welcome big anniversaries such as village festivals and Tết holidays, but now it is being produced year-round to meet increasing demands, Thịnh said.

Fishing line is used to cut the eggs cleanly. 

Ingredients to make the dish include ham, bacon, chicken egg, banana leaf, bamboo string, fish sauce and salt.

Thịnh said she has a contract with the butchers in the village to buy the ham when it is still warm.

The pork is ground into a paste before being covered by a layer of eggs and bacon. She said they are stacked on top of each other, adding that she can arrange these ingredients to make the dish look like a flower when it is being cut.

Each layer of pork paste is covered by eggs and several slices of bacon. 

“I have to use a fishing line to cut the eggs along its lengthwise. A knife can’t be used as it breaks the eggs. Each paste needs 10-16 eggs, according to the size of each pork paste ordered by customers. The normal size of each giò trứng is between 1.5-2 kilogrammes,” Thịnh said.

Giò trứng should be boiled for two and a half hours before being immediately pressed into a square by four flat wooden sticks. It takes about 4-5 hours until the dish becomes cool, she said, noting that in the past, it was cooked over a wood fire but now is usually boiled. 

The solidity of the dish depends on how hard it is pressed. 

The dish is often enjoyed with pickled onions dipped in Phú Quốc fish sauce.

It takes two and a half hours to boil giò trứng.

The completed dish is a beautiful mix of light pink pork paste, bacon and bright yellow eggs.

I was so impressed with the dish because it stimulated all my senses since the first bite from the mix of buttery fat from the bacon, lean pork paste, greasy chicken eggs, and very comfortable fragrant from fresh banana. They all create the dish’s characteristics that even gourmets feel unforgettable.

Different from other pork paste, which is available in the country’s three regions, giò trứng only exists in Nộn Khê Village. It must be used within a week. 

Thịnh said her family often produces 100 kilogrammes of giò trứng daily and triple and more during Tết (Lunar New Year) to supply customers inside and outside the country. VNS

Source: http://ovietnam.vn/dining/ham-and-eggs-putninh-binh-on-the-foodie-map-of-viet-nam_338422.html

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HCM City eyes six million foreign arrivals in 2024

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Ho Chi Minh City has set a target of welcoming six million foreign visitors next year, according to the municipal Department of Tourism.

Given stable political-economic conditions, and good recovery of tourism and related industries, Ho Chi Minh City expects to welcome a tourist influx from the Republic of Korea, Japan, India, and China.

As of October, the Vietnamese southern hub had served more than 4.1 million foreign visitors, accounting for 82% of the plan for this year. As the peak season for international approaches, it hopes to serve five million international tourists for the whole 2023.

According to large tour operators such as Saigontourist, Vietravel, and TST Tourist, tours to explore Ho Chi Minh City and inter-regional tours that connect the city with localities in its vicinity during year-end festivals are selling like hot cakes.

The third Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Week slated for early December is expected to stimulus both international and domestic tourism demand, and create an opportunity for travel firms to introduce their attractive offerings in 2024./.

Source: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/hcm-city-eyes-six-million-foreign-arrivals-in-2024/272241.vnp

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Vietnam honoured as World’s Leading Heritage Destination for fourth time

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Vietnam has won the World’s Leading Heritage Destination 2023 title of the World Travel Awards for the fourth time so far, reported the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT).

Vietnam honoured as World’s Leading Heritage Destination for fourth time hinh anh 1The Temple of Literature in Hanoi is a magnet for both Vietnamese and international visitors. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi – Vietnam has won the World’s Leading
Heritage Destination 2023 title of the World Travel Awards for the fourth time so far, reported the Vietnam National Authority of
Tourism (VNAT).

The award presentation ceremony recently took place in Dubai.

Together with the title obtained in 2019, 2020, and 2022, this
time’s award shows the globally outstanding values and attractiveness of the
country’s cultural heritage to the international community, the authority said.

Several
destinations of Vietnam were also granted different awards this year.

Among them, Hanoi won the World’s Leading City Break Destination
title while Phu Quoc in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang was named the
World’s Leading Nature Island Destination. Moc Chau in the northwestern
province of Son La was listed as the World’s Leading Regional Nature
Destination, Ha Nam province the World’s Leading Regional Cultural Destination,
and Tam Dao in the northern province of Vinh Phuc the World’s Leading Town Destination.

The World’s Leading Heritage Destination title will continue to
affirm Vietnam’s potential and attractiveness in terms of natural resources and
long-standing cultural heritage values. It will help further popularise the
country’s tourism images to the international community and also demonstrate
local people’s efforts in preserving and promoting heritage values, according
to the VNAT.

VNAT Deputy Director Ha Van Sieu said cultural heritage is a tourism resource
with great attractiveness to travelers, especially international ones. The
tourism sector views cultural heritage as an important pillar of tourism development
and the building of Vietnam’s tourism brand.

Heritage-based tourism in many places like Hue, Hoi An, Ha Long,
Trang An, and Hanoi has created jobs and income for many locals while promoting
mutual understanding, respect for cultural diversity, and cultural confluence. Part
of the revenue from this type of tourism has been used for heritage
preservation, restoration, honouring, and management.

Heritage tourism has substantially contributed to the
preservation and sustainable exploitation of cultural heritage, he added./.

Source: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-honoured-as-worlds-leading-heritage-destination-for-fourth-time/272224.vnp

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Visit Vietnam Year 2024 will highlight Dien Bien Phu victory

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The Visit Vietnam Year 2024 hosted by the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien will feature cultural, economic, and social events associated with the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory (May 7, 1954 – 2024), according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

Visit Vietnam Year 2024 will highlight Dien Bien Phu victory hinh anh 1Dien Bien province will host the Visit Vietnam Year 2024. (Photo courtesy of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism)

Hanoi – The Visit Vietnam Year 2024 hosted by the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien will feature cultural, economic, and social events associated with the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory (May 7, 1954 – 2024), according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

The events will introduce and promote the beauty, cultural values, and unique tourism products of Vietnam and Dien Bien in particular to visitors.

The opening ceremony and the Ban Flower Festival, highlighting the symbolic flower of the province, will be organised in March in Dien Bien Phu city. They will be broadcast live by the Vietnam Television.

Meanwhile, the closing ceremony is scheduled for the end of December, featuring a stellar art programme and flag handover to the next host locality of the Visit Vietnam Year.

In the framework of the Year, a total of 28 events will be held in Dien Bien, while the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will chair and coordinate with stakeholders to organise 13 other activities.

Dien Bien has set a target of welcoming 1.3 million tourists and earning a total revenue of 2.2 trillion VND (over 90.6 million USD) from tourism activities in 2024.

Dien Bien is striving to create breakthroughs in tourism development, through improving the quality of tourism services and human resources serving tourism, organising new tours, and investing in infrastructure development, thus creating motivation for its socio-economic development in the coming time.  

The National Tourism Year 2024 will also offer a chance to strengthen links in domestic and international tourism development.

Visit Vietnam Year 2024 will highlight Dien Bien Phu victory hinh anh 2Visitors to Hill A1 in Dien Bien province (Photo: VNA)

As a land with significant historical and cultural value, for the past 69 years, Dien Bien has preserved and promoted the value of the Dien Bien Phu historical site, contributing to making it an attractive tourist destination. 

The Dien Bien Phu Campaign lasted from March to May 1954 under the command of General Vo Nguyen Giap. The victory on May 7, 1954, led to the signing of the 1954 Geneva Accords in which France agreed to withdraw forces from its colonies in Indochina.

The former battlefield has become a major tourist attraction in Dien Bien province.

The complex of Dien Bien Phu battlefield features 45 relic sites scattering in Dien Bien Phu city, Dien Bien and Tuan Giao districts.

According to statistics, from 2016 to 2020, Dien Bien welcomed 3 million tourists, earning a total revenue of 4.8 trillion VND.

Dien Bien has achieved unprecedented economic growth, resulting in significant improvement of the cultural and social well-being of its residents.

The locality’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) expanded by an average 6.8% per year in the 2016-20 period./.

Source: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/visit-vietnam-year-2024-will-highlight-dien-bien-phu-victory/272149.vnp

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