5 Vietnamese Foods to Try In Time for Tet

It's Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration this week, completely with explosions, tradition and food. Want to be an intermediate-level Tet-food-eater? Here are five foods full of glutinous rice, mung beans, and banana leaves for you to try out.

Is it a little work to eat? Yeah, and it might not be the healthiest thing either, but hey, you probably gave up on being leaner already, and you might as well get some good luck (and red envelops) for your hard work.

1. Bánh chưng (Sticky rice cake with pork and beans, pronounced "banh chuung")



Bánh chưng, the ultimate Tết dish, is a square-shaped rice cake made out of glutinous rice, mung beans, and pork wrapped in banana leaves. The ingredients are soaked and wrapped carefully before being boiled for hours on end, resulting in a rice cake that's soft, moist, stick and wonderful. The preparation's a lot of work, but it's New Years.

To eat bánh chưng, you unwrap the banana leaves the way you would a gift (please, please, please remember to unwrap the banana leaves). From there on out, you can go to town, making your way through all three layers: the rice, the mung beans, and finally, the pork.

2. Xôi gấc (Sticky rice with baby jackfruit, pronounced "soy gahc")



Xôi gấc is bright red, so obvious you should eat it for good luck. Want a good year? Eat xôi gấc. Want to fall in love with a hottie that's sweet and smart? Eat xôi gấc. Want all forms of good fortune? You should probably eat xôi gấc.

Xôi gấc is a sweet glutinous rice dish made with a fruit similar to jackfruit and appears at every joyful Vietnamese celebration. Tết (only the biggest Vietnamese celebration of them all) is, well, no exception. If sweet, chewy xôi is on the dinner table, you know something good is going on, which is all the more reason to celebrate by stuffing your face.

3. Chả lụa (Vietnamese sausage, pronounced "chah luew")



Chả lụa is a Vietnamese sausage with a cold-cut feel and sausage-like texture. Like banh chung, gio is wrapped in banana leaves and needs to be unwrapped before consumption (please unwrap it). Chả lụa is slightly salty, which makes it a perfect partner for banh chung and xoi gac, two lighter dishes.

4. Mứt Me (Vietnamese tamarind-flavored Gushers, pronounced "muht muh-ey-uh")



If you want to try anything remotely close to Vietnamese Gushers, try mut me. There are multiple candies to try from the Mứt Tray (a circular tray filled with Vietnamese Tet candies), but mut me is a unique, gushy candy, which is neither a seed or candied fruit, unlike the rest of the tray. The taste of the mut me is slightly sour and, when consumed, the tamarind flavor gushes out of the candy wrapper like, well, gushers.

5. Bánh tet chuối (Cylindrical banana rice cake, pronounced "banh theht chuwuhoowee")



Bánh tet chuối is a cylindrical-shaped banh chung filled with bananas instead of pork. Think of it like a sweet, chewy Vietnamese burrito with rice instead tortilla. Or maybe a chewy dessert egg roll. Like most forms of Tet food, you will have to, once again, unwrap the banana leaves to get to the content of your bánh Tết chuối. But hey, by now, you might just be getting the hang of it.

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Mekong Delta Travel Guide - Expert Picks for your Vacation

The Mekong Delta (Cuu Long) is a destination like no other. Innumerable rivers, canals, tributaries, and rivulets overflow with fish, and the rich alluvial soil helps produce an abundance of rice, fruit, and vegetables. Lush tropical orchards, floating markets, quaint towns, delicious food, emerald-green rice paddies, and lazy brown rivers and canals add to the photogenic wonder of the place. It's a land touched by ancient and modern cultures, from the Funanese to the Khmer, Cham, and Vietnamese.


Slicing through the heart of the delta is the Mekong River, also known as Song Cuu Long, or River of the Nine Dragons. Descending from the Tibetan plateau, the river runs through China, separates Myanmar (Burma) from Laos, skirts Thailand, passes through Cambodia, and flows through Vietnam into the South China Sea. The river carries fertile soil deposits at a rate of 2,500 to 50,000 cubic meters per second, which created the delta and continues its expansion. As it enters Vietnam, the river divides into two arteries: the Tien Giang (Upper River), which splinters at My Tho and Vinh Long into several seaward tributaries, and the Hau Giang (Lower River or Bassac River), which passes through Chau Doc, Long Xuyen, and Can Tho en route to the sea. The river's many islands are famous for their beautiful fruit gardens and orchards, and the year-round hot and humid climate is ideal for tropical fruits, such as pomelo, coconut, jackfruit, pineapple, and papaya.

Dotting the endless fields of rice paddies, farmers in conical hats evoke the classic image of Vietnam. These days enough rice is produced to feed the country and to export abroad. Vietnam is now the world's third largest exporter of rice—a remarkable feat considering that as recently as the early 1990s the country was importing this food staple.

The northern delta, with its fruit farms and rice fields, is the most accessible from Ho Chi Minh City, with day trips possible to My Tho and Vinh Long. The south-central delta encompasses the Ca Mau Peninsula, which juts into the sea from Soc Trang. Can Tho is the major center, a pleasant town with just enough tourist infrastructure for a comfortable stay. In the Mekong's southern section, steamy mangrove swamps and thick palm forests thrive on the flat, flooded delta, creating a haven for water birds, including some rare species.


To make the most of a visit to the Mekong Delta, a homestay is recommended, for the access they give to local communities and river life. A number of quite comfortable options are available. Most of the delta is pancake-flat, making it ideal for exploration by bicycle, and the services of a good guide will get you into a network of lanes that don't appear on maps—intricate tracks that are the heart of Mekong Delta life.
(Fodor's Travel) Sponsored Links:

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Miami Travel Guide - Expert Picks for your Miami Vacation

Three quarters of a century after the art deco movement, Miami remains one of the world's trendiest and flashiest hot spots. Luckily for visitors, South Beach is no longer the only place to stand and pose in Miami.

North of downtown, the growing Wynwood and Design districts—along with nearby Midtown—are home to Miami's hipster and fashionista movements, and the South Beach "scene" continues to extend both north and west, with the addition of new venues north of 20th Street, south of 5th Street, and along the bay on West Avenue. The reopening of the mammoth Fontainebleau and its enclave of nightclubs and restaurants along Mid-Beach paved the way for a mid-beach renaissance, luring other globally renowned resorts, lounges, and restaurants into the neighborhood, such as the Soho Beach House and the Faena District Miami Beach, a multiblock project in mid-Beach by Argentinian icon and developer Alan Faena, scheduled for a 2017 completion.
Visit Miami today and it's hard to believe that 100 years ago it was a mosquito-infested swampland, with an Indian trading post on the Miami River. Then hotel builder Henry Flagler brought his railroad to the outpost known as Fort Dallas. Other visionaries—Carl Fisher, Julia Tuttle, William Brickell, and John Sewell, among others—set out to tame the unruly wilderness. Hotels were erected, bridges were built, the port was dredged, and electricity arrived. The narrow strip of mangrove coast was transformed into Miami Beach—and the tourists started to come. They haven't stopped since!

Greater Miami is many destinations in one. At its best it offers an unparalleled multicultural experience: melodic Latin and Caribbean tongues, international cuisines and cultural events, and an unmistakable joie de vivre—all against a beautiful beach backdrop. In Little Havana the air is tantalizing with the perfume of strong Cuban coffee. In Coconut Grove, Caribbean steel drums ring out during the Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival. Anytime in colorful Miami Beach, restless crowds wait for entry to the hottest new clubs.

Many visitors don't know that Miami and Miami Beach are really separate cities. Miami, on the mainland, is South Florida's commercial hub. Miami Beach, on 17 islands in Biscayne Bay, is sometimes considered America's Riviera, luring refugees from winter with its warm sunshine; sandy beaches; graceful, shady palms; and tireless nightlife. The natives know well that there's more to Greater Miami than the bustle of South Beach and its Art Deco District. In addition to well-known places such as Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road, the less reported spots—like the burgeoning Design District in Miami, the historic buildings of Coral Gables, and the secluded beaches of Key Biscayne—are great insider destinations.
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(fodors)

Tet Festival in Vietnam 2016

Tet is the most important festival of the Vietnamese calendar. It marks the beginning of the lunar new year, which is celebrated in China as well. Festivities occur throughout the country, but this is a family holiday and many of the traditions of observance occur in the home. The official holiday lasts three days, but celebrations continue for at least the first week of the new year.

Before The New Year

Preparations begin about a week before the new year. Homes are cleaned out in the hopes of getting rid of the past year's bad luck, and some families go so far as to repaint their house's exterior. It also is believed to be lucky to buy new clothes and get a fresh haircut. At midnight on New Year's Eve, Vietnamese families conduct the ritual Le Tru Tich, which involves gongs, firecrackers and other noisy items to chase out the old year and ring in the new.

New Year's Day Traditions

On New Year's Day, most families meet to exchange gifts and have a traditional meal, and also perform a ceremony to appease the kitchen god. Homes are decorated with the hoa mai flower and all thoughts of sadness are supposed to be avoided. Children are encouraged not to fight or cry and anyone in mourning is shunned because it is bad luck to be associated with death on New Year's Day. Many families plant a new year's tree in front of the house and wrap it with lucky red paper. The tree is removed at the end of the first week of the new year. After the family meal, many Vietnamese attend the local pagoda to worship ancestors.

In The Cities

In major cities, such as Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, Tet celebrations are more similar to new year celebrations in western countries. People attend events in dance clubs and bars. This is a time of enjoyment and there is a lot of eating and drinking involved in the celebrations. Fireworks are set off to scare away the evil spirit Na A. Stores and neighborhoods decorate with colored lights and red banners.

Food

Food is an important part of the Tet celebrations. The Vietnamese believe that what a person does on New Year's Day dictates the course of the rest of the year, and eating a lot represents the hope that no one will go hungry in the coming year. In the days leading up to the holiday, the Vietnamese traditionally give gifts of food to family members and friends. The traditional meal includes foods such as bang, a bamboo and pork soup; bang chung, a sticky rice cake filled with pork and beans; and orange sticky rice. Even the ancestors are given food gifts. Families leave a five fruit tray at the altar.

Things To Know

With the exception of the hospitality industry, most businesses close down for the entire week of Tet celebrations. Because the holiday is an important time for Vietnamese families to spend time together, travel in Vietnam is as hectic as Christmas travel is in many other parts of the world. Any travel plans within the country must be arranged well in advance. Since most of the celebration takes place in the homes of friends and family, visitors might feel left out for most of the week unless they have close friends or family in Vietnam.

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Mekong Delta Destination | Mekong Delta Tour

The next place from many Vietnam Popular Destinations that we would like introduce here is Mekong Delta. The Mekong Delta is the region in southern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea. It is a very rich and lush area, covered with rice fields, that produces about half of the total of Vietnam’s agricultural output. Subsequently, life in the Mekong Delta revolves much around the river, and all the villages are often accessible by river rather than by road.

The Mekong Delta is usually called as Vietnam’s ‘rice basket’. It is a watery landscape of green fields and sleepy villages, everywhere crisscrossed by the brown canals and rivulets fed by the mighty Mekong River. Its inhabitants – stereotyped as friendly and easygoing – have long toiled on the life-sustaining river, with their labors marked by the same cycles governing the waterways. The delta, which yields enough rice to feed the country with a sizable surplus, was formed by sediment deposited by the Mekong.

The process continues today, with silt deposits extending the shoreline by as much as 80m per year. The river is so large that it has two daily tides. Lush with rice paddies and fish farms, this delta plain also nourishes the cultivation of sugarcane, fruit, coconut and shrimp. Although the area is primarily rural, it is one of the most Vietnam Popular Destinations nearly every hectare is intensively farm

The uniquely southern charm with its welcoming introduction to life along the river is the real draw, and visitors can explore quaint riverside towns, sample fruits bartered in the colorful floating markets or dine on home-cooked delicacies before overnighting as a homestay guest. Other highlights include visits to local orchards, flower markets and fish farms. There are also bird sanctuaries, rustic beach getaways like Hon Chong and impressive Khmer pagodas in the regions around Soc-Trang and Tra-Vinh. These are the reason why it becomes one of Vietnam Popular Destinations.


Come and visit many Vietnam Popular Destinations in my beautiful country. You will explore not only the natural view of landscape but also the real traditional Vietnamese family.

See also: 

Mekong delta tour 2 days 1 night from Ho Chi Minh City

Mekong Delta to Cambodia 3 Days 2 Nights from Ho Chi Minh City

Rio de Janeiro Host of the 2016 Olympic Games - HOLIDAYS TO BRAZIL 2016

Rio de Janeiro
Host of the 2016 Olympic Games

If you thought you’d seen all there was to see of the “Marvellous City” during the 2014 Brazil World Cup, think again. Rio’s stunning natural landscape should make this the most photogenic Olympics ever. The rowing will be held on the Lagoa, a natural lake ringed by imposing black mountains; the road cycling will speed through the city’s rainforested hills; and the beach volleyball will be on Copacabana beach – also the site of the Olympic fanzone. Away from sport, the new Museum of Tomorrow in the old port district, designed by Santiago Calatrava and opened last month, looks at the need for change if mankind is to avoid climate disaster. The elegant, futuristic building is already being described as one of the city’s must-see sights. Visiting Rio during the Olympics will be expensive, but at any other time your money will go a long way as the value of the real, Brazil’s currency, has fallen sharply over the past year.

(theguardian)

See also:
=> Australia’s reefs - Holidays to Australia 2016 
=> Mekong Delta tour My Tho – Ben Tre – Can Tho – Chau Doc/PhnomPenh 3 days 2 nights

Australia’s reefs - Holidays to Australia 2016

Australia’s reefs
To the Barrier … and beyond
With Sir David Attenborough espousing its delights in his latest BBC documentary series, the Great Barrier Reef – made up of the 1,400-mile string of islands, coral reefs and sand cays off the Queensland coast – is ready for the rush. One of Attenborough’s programmes features the giant manta rays of Lady Elliot Island, 50 miles from Bundaberg (a four-hour drive from Brisbane), and visitors can check them out on a stay at the island’s eco-resort (twins from £83pppn).

'It is fantastic, better than travelling to the moon' – David Attenborough returns to the Great Barrier Reef
 Read more
Another option is to nip over to Lady Musgrave Island on a new catamaran from Bundaberg (day tour £100) or pack a tent to make like a castaway on Lady Musgrave, the Whitsunday or Lizard islands (permit £3pp). Or try glam hostel Rambutan, which opened recently adjacent to the reef in Townsville (dorm beds from £14, rooms from £60).

Alternatively, head for Ningaloo Reef on Australia’s north-west coast, which attracts far fewer tourists than the Great Barrier and has plenty to offer. At its southern end is the superbly remote Gnaraloo Sheep Station, where you can volunteer on operations such as protecting turtle nests, or use it as a base for fishing, surfing (some of the best breaks in the world are here) and snorkelling (camping £9, cabins from £17). Further north, in Exmouth, a number of operators offer swimming with whale sharks, but now licences have been issued for swimming with humpback whales too: around 30,000 of them annually migrate along the coast. Charter1 offers whale swim trips from £190. Tours will run from June to October. Another newcomer is a kayak trail with moorings and free campsites along the coast, with the best snorkelling sites pin-pointed. Capricorn Sea Kayaking has a three-day trip from £487.

Australia’s reefs - Holidays to Australia 2016

(theguardian)