Travel

Saladstop!: tasty yet healthy meals in HCM City

Published

5 months ago

November 14, 2022

TienphongNews

The salad restaurant Saladstop! is located in District 2, where many expats live. – VNS Photo Việt Dũng

By Việt Dũng

Salad has never been one of my favoured dishes, but a visit to District 2’s Saladstop! soon changed my mind.

The eatery can be found on Xuân Thủy Street, where many restaurants have opened to appeal to the large population of expats living there.

After entering the restaurant, the first thing that caught my eye was its open salad bar, with many fresh and delicious-looking ingredients visible to everyone, including fresh vegetables, meat, sauces, corn, and must-have toppings.

The inside of the restaurant itself is spacious and inviting, and the bamboo chairs lend a green and healthy vibe, fitting for a salad bar.

Diners can look at how the cooks delicately prepare their meals from start to finish, which is delightful to watch and fills diners with anticipation.

I ordered one of their signature dishes, the “Java Sunrise” salad. After a few minutes of waiting, enjoying the cosy atmosphere, I picked up my meal: a salad bowl with a generous heap of mouth-watering toppings, which surpassed my expectation.

I went along with a friend who has similar views to me regarding salad: a healthy side dish to ensure your fibre intake, sure, but never the main meal itself.

Yet we were both surprised at how much we enjoyed our meal and how irresistible it was.

A bowl of ‘Java Sunrise’ salad with an abundance of tasty toppings and savoury sauce. – VNS Photo Việt Dũng

The fresh romaine lettuce was drizzled with the rich, peanut vinaigrette and topped with grilled tofu chunks and plenty of deliciously cooked lemongrass chicken (which added a delightful spicy tang). The dish was impossible to put down once you started digging in.

A sliced boiled egg also added a much-needed creaminess to balance the richly flavourful salad. Extra toppings such as peanuts and carrot shreds tied the whole dish into a satisfying dining experience.

We ordered a “Berrylicious” smoothie made with raspberry, strawberry, blackberry and coconut. The healthy and fruity drink did a great job of balancing out the salad, which was a little too salty for me by the end.

The “Java Sunrise” bowl was VNĐ125,000 (US$5), which is more expensive than an average salad dish elsewhere, but the sheer amount of tasty toppings available more than made up for it.

Our smoothie was VNĐ85,000, but the restaurant has a special deal where any salad plus a smoothie only costs VNĐ185,000, which makes for an affordable and filling meal.

We were so satisfied with the restaurant that we even ordered a salad home the next day via Grab Food. This time we went for the classic Caesar salad named “Hail Caesar”.

While not as deliciously memorable as the Java Sunrise, it was a fine meal. The crispy bacon bits, croutons and cheese paired wonderfully with the romaine lettuce dressed in a rich, creamy sauce.

A bowl of home-delivered ‘Hail Caesar’ salad may appeal to anyone hungry for the classic dish. VNS Photo Việt Dũng

Saladstop! is an international chain that spans many countries, such as Singapore, the Philippines, Japan, Spain and Korea. In HCM City, there is another branch at District 1’s Plaza Saigon.

In addition to various salad dishes (with ingredients such as tuna, avocado, salmon, roast chicken and soba noodles), its menu also features a wide range of other healthy dishes, including quinoa and red rice meals, quesadilla, and juices.

If you’re hungry and want a tasty and filling meal, do not feel ashamed of yourself and give Saladstop! a try. – VNS

Saladstop!

Address: 54 Xuân Thủy, Thảo Điền Ward, District 2, HCM City

Tel: 028 7300 3570

Opening hours: 9:30am to 9:30pm

Comment: A great salad bar with a wide variety of delicious meals for any health-conscious diner.

Source: http://ovietnam.vn/dining/saladstop-tasty-yet-healthy-meals-in-hcm-city_338984.html

Travel

Localities work to foster sustainable development of rural tourism

Published

5 hours ago

March 31, 2023

TienphongNews

In recent years, many provinces and cities throughout the country have bolstered the development of rural tourism in a bid to promote their natural landscapes, people, traditional crafts and products to visitors. Rural tourism is considered as the key to facilitating economic development and fostering the building of new-style rural areas.

Localities work to foster sustainable development of rural tourism hinh anh 1

Visitors take a boat tour at Gao Giong eco-tourism site in Cao Lanh district, Dong Thap province. (Photo: dulich.dongthap.gov.vn)

Hanoi – In recent years, many provinces and cities
throughout the country have bolstered the development of rural tourism in a bid
to promote their natural landscapes, people, traditional crafts and products to
visitors. Rural tourism is considered as the key to facilitating economic
development and fostering the building of new-style rural areas.

Locals
and authorities join hands to develop tourism

In 2016,
agricultural tourism in Dong Thap began to thrive, making the Mekong Delta
province an ideal destination for domestic and foreign tourists.

Currently, Sa
Dec city, and Thap Muoi and Cao Lanh districts in Dong Thap province have taken
advantage of their natural conditions, such as rivers, rice fields, lotus
fields, and mango gardens, to build new tourism products.

Tu Mach’s mango
garden in Cao Lanh district welcomes hundreds of visitors every day, generating
significant income for his family.

Director of the
Dong Thap provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Huynh Thi Hoai
Thu said that agritourism helps farmers earn an income 1.5 times higher than
farming alone. This is also the optimal solution to utilise local labourers,
improve income, increase the value of agricultural products, and raise locals’
awareness of environmental protection and preservation of traditional culture.

To date, a total
of 63 agricultural and community-based tourism sites have been established in
Dong Thap, including 8 homestays, 2 farmstays, and 53 tourist attractions. The
locality plans to launch an additional 40 sites in the coming time.

In the 2016-2021
period, community-based tourist sites in Dong Thap served more than 4 million
visitors, with a total revenue of more than 486 billion VND.

In central Thanh
Hoa province, the tourism sector has also been active in integrating natural
landscapes, OCOP products, and indigenous culture in tourism development.

According to
Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Vuong Thi Hai Yen, the province is working on a project on developing
agricultural tourism.

In 2022, tourist
sites and attractions in Thanh Hoa province welcomed over 11 million visitors
and earned more than 20 trillion VND in revenue, 3.2 times and 4 times higher
than the figures of 2021, respectively.

The province has
launched new agricultural tourism products such as tours to grow clean
vegetables in Yen Le commune, Nhu Xuan district, in addition to tours to Yen
Trung tourism village in Yen Dinh district, and tours to Linh Ky Moc ecological
farm in Thanh Hoa city.

More
momentum for agricultural and rural tourism

Agricultural
tourism can ensure a profit that is 1.5 times higher than common farming
methods. Therefore, many localities have actively developed rural tourism
product services.

Figures from the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that as many as 65 OCOP
products in the group of community-based tourism services have been certified
within the one-commune-one-product (OCOP) programme. Which, many regions,
including the northern mountainous region and the Mekong River Delta, have
brought into play their advantages of natural conditions, agricultural
production, culture, and traditional craft villages, to build rural tourist
attractions.

Rural tourism
not only helps to promote the potential and advantages of agriculture, craft
villages, culture and ecological environment of localities but also contributes
to improving the living quality of the local people while restructuring the
rural economy towards industrialisation and modernisation.

Under the
programme on developing rural tourism and building new-style rural areas in the
2021-2025 period, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked
localities to identify the development of rural tourism as one key task.

The programme
sets targets that by 2025, about 50% of the rural tourism establishments in
Vietnam will be certified to meet tourist service standards.

Also, at least
50% of the rural tourist spots are recognised to be digitised and connected
with digital technology.

To realise the
programme, the ministry requested localities to accelerate communication
events, raise awareness of tourism businesses and individuals about sustainable
rural tourism development, and launch new tours and rural tourist sites which
can promote local cultural values while protecting the environment.

It is hoped that
with full participation from the socio-political organisations, local
authorities and people, rural tourism will further develop, making an important
contribution to the socio-economic development of rural areas./.

Source: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/localities-work-to-foster-sustainable-development-of-rural-tourism/250325.vnp

Travel

Vietnam becomes favourite destination for Cambodian tourists

Published

13 hours ago

March 31, 2023

TienphongNews

The number of Cambodian tourists coming to Vietnam has increased significantly, Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper, citing statistics of travel agencies.

Vietnam becomes favourite destination for Cambodian tourists hinh anh 1

Visitors arrive at Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh province. Illustrative image (Photo: tuoitre.vn)

Hanoi – The number of Cambodian tourists
coming to Vietnam has increased significantly, Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper, citing statistics of travel agencies.

It said previously, Cambodians
visited Vietnam mainly for medical services, but over several recent years, the inflow of middle-class visitors from the neighbouring country to Vietnam for tourism purpose has been rising, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic was put under control.

The central beach city of Da Nang, the ancient town of Hoi
An, Da Lat – the city of thousand flowers in the Central Highlands region, Nha
Trang, Vung Tau and the “Paradise Pearl Island” of Phu Quoc are some of top
favourite destinations among Cambodian tourists.

Tran Quoc Thinh, director of Tay Ninh province’s Tourism Promotion
Centre said Cambodia is a traditional tourism market of Tay Ninh, which shares a 240-km border with Cambodia’s Svay Rieng, Prey Vieng and Tboung Khmum provinces.

Cambodians regularly cross the border to Tay Ninh for sightseeing, shopping or visiting pagodas, especially on weekends or holidays, according to Thinh.

The province has introduced many new, unique and interesting tourism products such as caravan and cross-border road tours in order to lure more Cambodian tourists. Local tourist accommodation establishments and restaurants are also improving
service quality to serve big tourist groups with longer stay.

Statistics of Tay Ninh’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism showed around 2.1 million Cambodians have visited the province for tourism purpose since 2018. Although the number dropped in 2020-2022 due to COVID-19 travel restriction, a rising trend was seen in the first quarter of 2023.

Truong Duc Hai, director of Indochina Pearl Travel, noted that while more middle-class Cambodians are choosing beach resorts in Vietnam for their holiday, demand for medical tours remains high but there are limited products designed specifically for this segment. Such tours are mainly organised by Cambodian people
living in Ho Chi Minh, he said, adding that it is necessary to introduce more professional and
comprehensive medical tour products to serve this group of tourists.

At a tourism promotion event held by Tay Ninh in mid-2022, businesses of the two countries had pledged to join
hands to boost tourism promotion activities and build new routes and tours to stimulate tourism demand./.

Source: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-becomes-favourite-destination-for-cambodian-tourists/250323.vnp

Travel

Ha Giang effectively develops community-based tourism

Published

23 hours ago

March 30, 2023

TienphongNews

With its advantages in terms of natural landscapes, rich cultural identities, customs and preserved traditional festivals, the northernmost province of Ha Giang has attracted attention from a large number of travel companies and tourists, and several potential community-based tourist sites have been formed.

Ha Giang effectively develops community-based tourism hinh anh 1

A community-based tourism and cultural village in Ha Giang’s Meo Vac district. (Photo: VNA)

Ha Giang – With its advantages in terms of natural landscapes, rich cultural
identities, customs and preserved traditional festivals, the northernmost province
of Ha Giang has attracted attention from a large number of travel companies and
tourists, and several potential community-based tourist sites have been formed.

Ha Giang province is home to 19 ethnic groups which have their own
cultural traditions and identities.

The effective preservation and promotion of cultural values
has helped the province in general and the ethnic groups in particular have a special
attraction for travelers and those who want to learn about traditional ethnic
culture.

According to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of
Culture, Sports and Tourism Trieu Thi Tinh, over the past years, the province
has selected outstanding cultural products to develop to create more highlights
for tourism development. It has also paid attention to community cultural and tourism activities,
and carried out projects on improving the quality
of services and activities of community-based tourism and cultural villages.

Currently, the province has 40 identified community-based tourism
and cultural villages, and 16 cultural villages recognised by the provincial
People’s Committee as meeting standards to serve tourists.

The provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism
assessed that these villages have operated well and attracted a large number of
tourists, contributing to increasing locals’ income and promoting the value of tourism
resources and cultural identities.

In addition to the achieved results, the community-based tourism
in Ha Giang is facing many difficulties and challenges in terms of transport
infrastructure and product quality that hinder it from developing sustainably
and gaining high economic efficiency.

Therefore, in the coming time, the province will continue
paying attention to improving the quality of services, training human
resources for community-based tourism sites, and stepping up the communication work to
raise locals’ awareness of maintaining and developing their cultural
identities, said Tinh./.

Source: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/ha-giang-effectively-develops-communitybased-tourism/250321.vnp