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Aug 21, 2017 / 19:58

Explore 10 “local specialties” in Hanoi on Autumn

Com of Vong Village, Cha Ruoi, Guava Dong Du Village… the “local specialties” in Hanoi on Autumn.

Com of Vong village
Com.

Com of Vong village is perhaps the most special snack in Hanoi cuisine. Dishes from “com” are always loved by Vietnamese and foreign diners and contribute to diversifying Vietnamese cuisine.
“Com” is found not only in Vong village (Lang Vong green sticky rice), Hanoi. However, perhaps the elegant taste of this kind of snack can be found nowhere else. “Com” of Vong village is considered a cultural feature of the millennial capital city. And “Com Vong” has become a familiar specialty of Hanoi whenever autumn comes.
Cha Ruoi
Cha Ruoi.
Cha Ruoi.
Those who visit Hanoi during the autumn season should savor 'cha ruoi', a specialty made from sand worm widely available in the sea. Live ruoi which are transported from Hai Phong and Nam Dinh provinces will be cleaned and then boiled in hot water. People mix ruoi with paste pork and egg and lemon leaves and the cover of kumquat and onion and pepper. The best ruoi dish shouldn’t miss the cover of kumquat to have the signature flavor.
After mixing all the ingredients together, people will fry the paste until it's cover turned to yellow brown color. A smoking-hot dish will be served together with vegetables and fish sauce. During cold days of Hanoi, it is such a delight to savor the food with its best taste of sweet, cheesy and aromatic ingredients.
Guava Dong Du Village
Guava Dong Du Village.
Guava Dong Du Village.
Situated on the bank of the Red River and is consolidated by the rich alluvial land, Dong Du Village, Gia Lam District, Hanoi is famous for its delicious guava which is harvested all year round.
The land in the village is good for different kinds of trees, including guava. Although the guava trees have fruits all the year round, they provide the greatest number of fruits in July and August.
Dracontomelon fruits
Dracontomelon fruits.
Dracontomelon fruits.
When the winds of the autumn come is the time dracontomelon fruit is ripening on the streets of Hanoi. Small, round, yellow-ripen fruits are packed with so many memories of those who grew up or lived in the capital.
Seeing ripening dracontomelon fruits, many people immediately think of the fall of Hanoi. The dracontomelon fruits are peeled then sugared or salted are the favorite junk food of many people. In Hanoi, there are many streets with rows of dracontomelon trees, such as Phan Dinh Phung, Tran Phu, Tran Hung Dao... The trees are very high so few people noticed the ripe fruit on the trees.
Sapodilla in Xuan Dinh Village
Sapodilla in Xuan Dinh Village.
Sapodilla in Xuan Dinh Village.
Being imported to Vietnam from Central America a long time ago, sapodilla has become quite popular nowadays in the recent 20 years. This fruit is grown mostly in northern Vietnam, with the shape of an egg and brownish skin. When ripe, the brown and yellow pulp is very juicy and has a molasses-like taste. Sapodilla offers fruit every month of the year, and the place that has the best one is Xuan Dinh, Tu Liem District, Hanoi.
Shrimp Cake
Shrimp Cake.
Shrimp Cake.
From a kind of snacks, shrimp cake now becomes a specialty in Hanoi. There is a road in Hanoi city that called Thanh Nien Road. People when crossing this road want to try some shrimp cakes because this cake became the most famous food in this street.
Moon Cake
Moon Cake.
Moon Cake.
The moon cake isn’t a street cake as it’s expensive and probably not affordable for many people. In the past or even now the moon cake is always a sweet dream for many kids in Vietnam. Today the moon cake is getting much more expensive, becomes a luxury gift item.
Yellow leaves
Yellow leaves.
Yellow leaves.
The fall of yellow leaves is creating a beautiful carpet on many of Hanoi streets like Phan Dinh Phung, Tran Phu and Le Thanh Tong.
Milk flowers blossom
Milk flowers blossom.
Milk flowers blossom.
Milk flowers are a traditional symbol of Hanoi’s autumn. There're many songs and that mention their charming fragrance. Walking along Hanoi’s streets and besides its lakes, your breath in the beautifully sweet fragrance of Hoa Sua, or Milk Flowers. The streets where milk flower abounds such as Phan Dinh Phung and Hoang Hoa Tham, and the National University’s campus don beautiful cloaks of white when the season of milk flowers returns.
Daisy flowers
Daisy flowers.
Daisy flowers.
These days, Hanoi’s streets and flower fields in well-known flower villages are filled with tiny pure-white daisies. In Hanoi, daisy season heralds the arrival of Autumn. On the Autumn, Hanoi’s streets fill with tiny white daisies that quiver in the light breeze, creating quite a beautiful scene. Only blooming for about three weeks in November, this kind of daisy has become precious to many people.