Top favourite dishes in Cao Lanh

Lotus dishes:

• Sữa hạt sen: Lotus seed milk
• Cơm hấp lá sen: Steamed rice in a lotus leaf
• Cá lóc nướng cuốn lá sen: Grilled fish wrapped in a lotus leaf
• Gỏi ngó sen: Lotus root salad with shrimp and pork
• Chè hạt sen: Lotus seed sweet soup
• Trà sen: Lotus tea
• Hạt sen sấy: Lotus seed chips
• Hạt sen tươi: Fresh lotus seeds

Mice dishes:

Credit to flickr.com@lelamkhanh

Oh my goodness! Eating mice? Seriously? Yes. But these mice are from the rice fields in the Mekong Delta - not the rats from the city that may first come to your mind. The most popular mice dishes include "chuot roti" and "chuot quay". "Chuot" means mouse in Vietnamese. With the Chuot Quay—barbecued mice, you can truly get a sense of the range of flavors mice can achieve. Dressed up in a glossy five-spice sauce with hunks of roasted garlic, the "Chuot Roti" tastes surprisingly good.

Mắm Hot Pot:

This hotpot has a very strong and uniquely sweet smell due to “Mắm” – its key ingredient. In Vietnam, “Mắm” can refer to two types of paste: fermented fish paste or fermented shrimp paste. “Lẩu Mắm” is known as a Southern Vietnamese hotpot, originally from the Mekong Delta. The taste of Lẩu Mắm’s broth is described as “fishy, sweet, vibrant” and completely “unlike” any other kind of noodles. Shrimp, fish cake, roast pork and squid are normally used as a “top-up” for Lẩu Mắm. These noodles are served with a forest of greens: purple stems of water lilies, pieces of morning glory leaves, the yellow-white curls of banana blossoms,etc.

Bánh Xèo:

Vietnamese pancake or Bánh Xèo (pronounced BAN-sew) is a popular street food in Vietnam. You might find Bánh Xèo in the central region of Vietnam, but in the south, Bánh Xèo are larger and made with more vegetables and mung beans. The yellow color from the turmeric, makes them look like omelettes and the rice flour gives the pancakes a slightly chewy texture that balances out the crispness of the cooked side. Banh Xeo are stuffed with tasty ingredients like shrimp, pork and bean sprouts which the locals love to eat with their hands, wrapping a piece of pancake with lettuce leaves and a side of mixed salad greens and herbs and then dipping the wrap into a dish of homemade fish sauce.

Read more:

Top attractions in Dong Thap

Cao Lanh travel information