Posted by admin on May 31, 2011 under Halong Culinary, Tips for Halong tours | 
If you have a chance to see the living Tu Hài (Snout Otter Clams) with your own eyes, you won’t be surprised by its strange name. An Snout Otter Clam looks like an oyster when its two shells are closed, but its shells rarely close because its long snout is always waggling between them.
Snout Otter Clam
Snout Otter Clam are a special marine species found on Van Don island in Bai Tu Long Bay, Quang Ninh. It takes two to three hours to reach the clam growing area by boat from Bai Chay beach. Bai Tu Long bay has pure and clean water so the habitat is suitable for this special species. Otter snout clam meat is fragrant, delicious and rich in protein. Its price ranges from VND 200,000 – VND 500,000/kg.
Before cooking, snout otter clam shells should be removed and washed before the meat can be made into tasty dishes as follows:
Grilled Snout Otter Clams
Fry some dried onion with chicken oil until it releases a scent. Cover the otter snout clams with this oil and then grill. You can also add peanuts, coriander, pepper and chilli oil to enhance the flavour.
Raw Snout Otter Clams
After cleaning, the snout otter clam meat is kept in its shell. Before serving, squeeze on some lemon juice and add some chilli sauce or wasabi. This dish can be eaten with red caviar.
Snout otter clams can also be fried, steamed, or roasted with cheese and fresh milk. Its unique fragrance enchants both tourists and the locals in Quang Ninh, and it has become the signature dish to be served at Quang Ninh parties in recent years.
Source: Halongbay Vietnambeauty
Posted by admin on March 17, 2011 under Halong Culinary |
This alcohol is processed from special kind of glutinous rice, a specialty of Hoanh Bo.
It is not pounded, but boiled and then fermented. After achieving a degree of ripeness, it is soaked with certain forest leaves, becoming alcohol. It has both a sweet and sour taste, excites the appetite and is a good refreshing drink, especially during the summer.
Another strong point is that, according to locals, if you get drunk off of it you’ll wake up the next morning without a hangover and want to drink more.
Posted by admin on January 29, 2011 under Halong Culinary, Halong Festivals, News |
The opening ceremony of the Halong Spring trade fair 2011 was held by the Department of Industry and Trade on 25 January.
Accordingly, the Spring Trade fair in this year has about 80 local enterprises to participate with 120 stalls. There is a wide range of products such as food and drink, garment, household appliances, etc.
Particularly, the fair showcases lots of specialties of different districts and cities across the province namely Binh Lieu vermicelli, Dong Trieu rice, etc.
The annual Halong Spring trade fair aims to satisfy the locals and tourists’ demand for trading beside Tet holiday as well as create a good chance for local enterprises to seek for business partners.
The Hạ Long Spring trade fair 2011 will last until Jannuary 30.
In addition, the Halong Spring Flower Fair has also been held from Jannuary 25-30 at Hong Gai ward, Halong city with many foreign and domestic bonsais, flowers, plants, stones and birds.
Source: TW
Posted by admin on January 26, 2011 under Halong Culinary |
Like other coastal areas of North Vietnam, Halong has a wide variety of seafood specialties. The most popular are:
- Arca: Lives under mud and has two shells, it is as big as a cup and it can be steamed, grilled or made into soup. “Ruou ngan” (arca wine) is a specialty of Halong, which is highly nutritious and simple to process.
Steamed arca
- Sopuncuchlac (sai sung): are varieties of sea worm that live in the sand and are about 4 cm in long, with tiny veins running lengthwise. This species is peculiar to Halong. After processing the fresh sopuncuchlac it should be stir-fried with celery and leeks or grilled. It goes well with beer drinking, especially as a noodle consommé.
Roasted Sai Sung
- Holothuriodea (hai sam): is referred to as sea ginseng. There are two kinds, black and white. It looks like a cucumber with a soft body. It is prepared with pork, chicken, and bamboo shoots and dried pigskin as a dinner dish.
White holothuroidea
- Sepia esculenta (squid): is a kind of large cuttlefish weighing up to 2kg, which can be prepared with leeks, garlic leaves or boiled. The fresh Sepia esculenta can be dried, grilled or fried with sweet and sour source. It goes well with beer and is makes a good present for friends after a trip.
Fried squid
- “Blood” shellfish: has been a famous seafood specialty in Indochina for some years. It can be steamed with beer, fried or boiled and eaten with pepper-salt.
Fried blood sheelfish
- Teredo: lives in the aegiceras and mangroves, mostly at the foot of the mountains. Opening two hard and sharp shells reveals the teredo’s meat. It is prepared with egg and flour or used for soup and is a popular dish.
Besides these sea products, there are the usual seafood specialties such as: shrimp, crab, garruppa fish, pomfret fish, threadfin fish etc.
Posted by admin on January 21, 2011 under Halong Attractions, Halong Bay Cruises, Halong Bay Overview, Halong Culinary, Tips for Halong tours |
Almost every traveler who visits Southeast Asia makes it a point to visit Halong Bay: a picturesque bay set amidst emerald waters and craggy limestone cliffs. Next to Ho Chi Minh City, Halong Bay is right up the list of must-see destinations for travelers in the region.
Flickr photo by qureyoon
So what can one do around Halong Bay besides taking that once-in-a-lifetime cruise into the UNESCO World Heritage site here? Fear no more as I had one extra day around Halong City when I visited Halong Bay, Vietnam recently. So here are 5 things you can do around Halong Bay if you have time to kill waiting for your junk boat cruise.
Bai Chay Tourist Wharf and Jetty
Bai Chay Tourist Wharf. It is here that most of the travelers will arrive at before heading out on the Halong Bay Overnight Cruise. Depending on your departure time, you may or may not have time to explore the area.
Vietnamese Coffee
Try some Vietnamese Coffee the Cafe 555 opposite the Bai Chay Tourist Wharf. Well, you need to walk about 100 meters to your right if you exit Bai Chay. The cafe is located in between a row of shops by the main road. They serve some potent coffee here so if you are a coffee lover, you hit jackpot here. If you don’t drink coffee, they have other drinks there too.
Karaoke anytime of the day
Try the Cafe Kinh Moi Karaoke just further down the road from Cafe 555. Start your karaoke sessions early if you must here. Singing is inside but if you so desire to do it outside, by all means.
Halong Market
Take a taxi to Halong City and visit the Halong Market. This market is right in the heart of Halong City and you cannot walk there unless you have a few hours to spare. Best would be to take a taxi there. Once here, explore the dry and wet market. A number of interesting items can be seen here while it would be wise to stock up on snacks and drinks for your Halong Bay Cruise.
Vietnamese Snacks and Herbal Drinks
Indulge in the local Vietnamese food and drinks at Halong City. In and around the Halong Market, there are quite a number of exotic foods available if you are up to it. One of the must-try items are the Squid Cakes which are similar to Thai Fish Cakes, these are sold in the open area behind Halong Market.
A number of stalls sell them and they are reasonably cheap and quite tasty. If you walk around the wet market area, you will come across various local foods and delicacies. One of them, the deep fried mini crabs sold cooked or raw. Also, if you have an iron stomach, try some of the local mixed rice dishes and finally wash it down with some local Vietnamese Herbal Drinks. Don’t forget to buy some local fruits for your Halong Bay Overnight Cruise trip.
Halong Bay Casino
Take a walk to the Halong Bay Casino (Royal International Casino). This super small and only casino in Halong Bay can be seen just located by the main road to Bai Chay. Walking here can take you about 10-15 minutes from the wharf. Foreigners need to show your passport to enter and there is no deposit required.
A coffee lounge with slot machines on the ground floor is open to all while there are two gambling halls, one on the ground floor which is closed on weekdays while the main hall is up on the first floor. So small that I walked round it in less than two minutes. So if you’re feeling lucky, head on to the Halong Bay Casino.
Author: 
David Jr
Posted by admin on January 12, 2011 under Halong Culinary |
In the Quang Ninh sea many varieties of shrimp can be found, from the smallest morsel to the largest prawn, or even lobster. The most precious are these lobsters.
Their shells are often used are decorative objects in Halong hotels, restaurants or in fishermen’s homes in the sea region of Ha Long. As for prawns, their shells are softer and they are often chosen as specialties at banquets.
There are two ways prawns are cooked in the region; either steamed or battered and then fried. Steamed prawns are preferred by locals as they retain the flavour of the sea. They are often eaten with flattened onions, lemon with a mixture of salt and pepper, or dipped into a Ðại Yên or Cái Rồng fish sauce mixed with red chilly.
When eating steamed prawns, the Vietnamese first eat the layer of liver and pancreas located under the head.
The viscous yellow liquid, that looks horrible to westerners, is believed to cloy one’s appetite. After removing the shell, the pure white flesh of Quang Ninh’s prawns appears.
Posted by admin on January 10, 2011 under Halong Culinary |
Halong Bay is rich in seafood and offers tons of fish, shrimps and oysters. The catch served in most restaurants usually comes right out of fishing boats in the early hours of the morning.
There are many good restaurants located in Bai Chay Town (Halong Bay Town) and most are the beachfront type. These eateries offer mainly Vietnamese and Chinese dishes with a good selection of seafood, however lately there are more international options to be had.
Floating Restaurant
Several floating restaurants adjacent to Cat Ba Island serve fresh seafood of all kinds. The cooks pick live seafood out of cages and plastic containers floating in the sea inside or next to the restaurants. They will then cook whatever you order on the spot. You simply can’t get fresher seafood than this. Ask the locals or your guide where to get a boat to the restaurants. You’ll love it.
Location: near Cat Ba Island
Green Mango
Green Mango Restaurant is one of the top choices on Cat Ba Island when looking for a restaurant with both good food and service. Customers can sit outdoors enjoying the harbour view or relax in a trendy and hip indoor setting. The menu features fusion food along with tapas, mouth-watering main meals and delectable deserts. Prices are above average. Open seven days a week, from 06:30 till the last customer leaves.
Location: The heart of Cat Ba Island
Noble House Bar & Restaurant
Noble House Restaurant offers delicious Vietnamese/Western food in a lovely and cosy place owned by an Australian. Open from 06:00 to late. Credit cards not accepted.
Location: Centre of Cat Ba Island, next to the post office, across from the pier.
Huu Dung Restaurant
This restaurant is famous for awesome seafood and a great view of the bay. The menu includes spring rolls, fried cuttlefish, battered shrimp and the house special is whole steamed fish with lashings of garlic and soy sauce.
Location: opposite Lan Song Xanh Disco on Nui Ngoc St., Cat Ba Island
Posted by admin on January 8, 2011 under Halong Culinary |
Boiled or steamed squid is not the specialty of the northern coast city of Halong, but the unique flavor of cha muc (fried squid paste) arouses the desire of travelers from near and far.
Usually, diners ask for a second serving of cha muc, even when tasting this food for the first time, and they want to eat it many times once they happen it during their trip to Halong, a renowned tourism city in Quang Ninh Province that is home to Halong bay.
We had cha muc several times during our visit to Halong, whose sea provides a plentiful source of fresh squid for local cooks to make the fried squid paste which appeals to so many visitors.
Locals net fresh squid and then pound it by hand in a mortar until it becomes an elastic paste. Then they mix it with broken pepper and fish sauce before shaping it into cakes for deep frying in a pan until the paste cakes turn brown and smell good.
People eat cha muc when it is hot and with steamed rice rolls or steamed glutinous rice as the oily broth from the paste cakes mixes with the steamed rice rolls or rice to turn it into a delicious dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
In Halong, a dish of cha muc and steamed rice rolls or steamed glutinous rice is served with pepper fish sauce and bamboo slices pickled with slices of red chili. Such a dish helps stimulate blood circulation and keeps people warm on chilly winter nights in the north.
Visitors can eat cha muc with steamed glutinous rice at street eateries on Ha Long Street, near Cong Doan Hotel or near the Bai Chay Bridge for VND20,000 a portion.
The flavor and reputation of Halong cha muc has gone beyond the tourist city to Hanoi, HCMC and other cities of Vietnam. However, it is in Halong where you can enjoy the authentic taste and flavor of fried squid paste.
Source: SGT
Posted by admin on December 31, 2010 under Halong Culinary |
When visiting Halong Bay, Sai Sung is a delicious speciality that you should not miss.
The Sai Sung, or sandworm, also goes under the other local name of Con Mồi. Its original residence is the island district of Van Hai, chiefly in the villages of Minh Chau and Quan Lan.
Alive Sai Sung
The animals live in beaches, and the local population digs them out as the tide ebbs. Sai Sung digging requires experience and technique. The dug-out Sai Sung will be browned in fat and then eaten with fresh onions.
Dried Sai Sung, when roasted, has a yellow color and a salty sea odour. When dipped into chilli and mixed with leaves of diep ca (a strong-tasting vegetable), not to mention with a good beer, it is a local favourite.
Dried Sai Sung
Roasted Sai Sung
