>> The sweet bean drink- friendly street food in Hanoi

Hanoi is a beautiful place where keeps many interesting things. It makes sure that a lot of attractive things are waiting for you to discover.

Hanoi is not only famous with beauty spots such as sword lake, one pillar pagoda, museum, etc but also but also foods. It can not say exactly why the dishes of hanoian is extremely different from other regions. Maybe Hanoi people are skillful especially they have own secrets to make typical foods and sweet bean drink is one of delicious and common foods in Hanoi.






Sweet bean drink in Hanoi has own flavors so alamost visitors or anyone eats this dish, they will be satisfied. Although the sweet bean drink is not colorful to attract guest, it is the most prominent with its flavor. Its flavor is made by the own secrets of Hanoian. This dish does not require complex ingredients but the ways of selecting ingredients is very important. Hanoian is quite strict in enjoying foods and may be it is also a reason foods in Hanoi have typical features. For example, with sweet green bean drink, Hanoian must choose fine and green bean which will spread during cooking process.

Visiting Hanoi, you will have many chances to enjoy many other kinds of sweet bean drink such as sweet black bean drink, three color sweet bean drink, sticky rice sweet bean drinks, and so on. Each kind of sweet bean drink has typical taste and may be red sweet bean drink is the most famous. If you have eaten it in the first time, you will want to enjoy it again. When eating the sweet bean drink you will feel cool flavor from it which is very impressive and unforgettable.

At present, Hanoi has many kinds of special sweet bean drinks of different regions and some common kinds are Saigon, Thailan, Hue, etc. However, kinds of sweet bean drinks in old days which are normal and simple are still liked by many people.
Now, you can easily find out delicious restaurants of sweet bean drinks on streets in Hanoi such as Hanoi’s old quarter street, Dong Xuan market,etc.

In addition, this dish is changed to suit for four seasons in northern Vietnam so even you eat the sweet bean drink without ice, you still feel its cold flavor because this flavor is created from cassava flour, jasmine, coconut milk.

Therefore, if you have chance to go to Hanoi, you should remember to enjoy one kind of sweet bean drink of Hanoian. Some famous places of sweet bean drink you can go to eat this food such as Tran Hung Dao, Dao Duy Tu, Nguyen Binh Khiem, Ho Dac Di, Muoi Sau....I hope that if you have opportunity to Vietnam, the sweet bean drink will bring strange and special flavor to you.

(Source:: http://getvietnamvisa.org )

>> "Tao meo" wine in Sapa

Visiting to Sapa, everyone not only sees natural scenes of mountain and forest but also goes into ecstasy with special foods of the land of fog and especially you can enjoy the aromatic flavor of apple cat wine.

>> Sapa - city in the mist

Lao Cai is a famous region with many kinds of delicious wines which bring the flavor of mountain and forest such as San Lung specialties (Bat Xat), corn wine (Bac Ha), and nearly, Sapa is well- known with apple cat wine which is popular but special.

Apple cat trees rise commonly on Hoang Lien Son Mountain.



Apple cat trees rise commonly on Hoang Lien Son Mountain.

Apple cat is a fruit which keeps the flavor of forest, sunshine, and wind in high area so it has enough four main flavors such as sour, sweet, acrid, and bitter. Apple cat is soaked carefully to create wine- apple cat wine. Apple cat is the same as a worthy present which nature gives to Mong people.

Apple cat has other names like sour and acrid fruit, or loving fruit because of its typical flavors. With the name ‘loving fruit’, people said that boys or girls who are single will love each other when drink a bow of apple cat wine together and then they will become a couple and live each other forever. They will share the bitterness, acridness, sourness, sweetness in apple cat wine as well as in life.

Apple cat usually bloom flower in final spring (March – April) and rise fruit in autumn. Therefore, visitors can buy apple cat within August and October. At this time, apple cat is sold the most common in all market of Sapa people. This time is also the most convenient for you to buy apple cat and make wine and then some instructions will help you make wine easier and more delicious as follows:

Firstly, you should wash apple cat with water and put dry. Then you cut two heads of an apple cat without throw its seed, cut apple into equivalent two parts, soaked in fresh water about one hour and next soaked in salt water about a half of one hour and wash it again with fresh water.

Secondly, you soak apple cat with sugar. Specifically, two kilograms needs 1 kilogram of sugar. After two weeks, apple cat come to the surface and a lay of sugar is in the bottom.

Finally, you take water from soaking apple cat with sugar and then soak it with wine. Noticeably, an amount of wine is a half of volume and after two weeks, you can drink this wine.

Apple cat wine is a nourish beverage which can treat many diseases such as tranquillizer, platelet, blood pressure. Besides, you can get out of sleeplessness when drinking a little apple cat wine. Furthermore, except for making apple cat wine, you can cut apple cat into thin pieces and dry. It also has the same effect as apple cat wine.

In summary, if you have chance, welcome you go to Sapa. Let‘s make the most of the wonderful and amazing flavor of apple cat wine !

(Source :: http://getvietnamvisa.org )