Pho cuon

The summer in Hanoi is extremly hot and often seems like a chore to face a bowl of steaming hot noodle soup (Pho) or a plate of rice. One cool and refreshing alternative is Pho Cuon, a food similars to fresh spring rolls, but basically different in a number of ways.

Many  people believe that such dishes, by inducing sweat, really help lower ones body temperature and help fight the heat. Not everyone feels that way. One cool and refreshing alternative is Pho Cuon, a food similars to fresh spring rolls, but basically different in a number of ways.

The most famous places to find the dish are located on Truc Bach lake,opposite West Lake, Hanoi's largest lake. There are lots of places that offer Pho Cuon around the lake, but the easiest way to find are on Trúc Bạch road, on the north end of the lake, or Tran Vu on the south end.

Pho Cuon consists of a slightly cooked rice paper shell the same thickness as a Pho noodle. Inside this soft shell is a selection of herbs and greens - mainly cilantro, lettuce and mustard leaf  - and thinly sliced beef that has been cooked with garlic and generous amounts of pepper. It is served cold with a bowl of fish sauce, boiled water, garlic, carrots, raddish, vinegar, chilli and some sugar for dipping.

Once dipped in the sauce the taste of Pho Cuon contains many of the fundamental elements of Vietnamese cuisine: slightly sweet and spicy but light and fresh. The dish is served cold and has the effect of a hearty salad on one's appetite leaving plenty of room for a few cheeky beers or to try some other delights that many of these restaurants offer like Pho Chien.

Pho Chien is similarily light summer fair; it uses the same rice noodle paper as Pho Cuon but is sliced into squares, stacked, and deep fried. It is topped with the same garlicky beef as well as field cabbage and recommended that one dip it in the Phở Cuốn sauce. 

Hours can easily slip by sitting cross legged on bamboo mats as one enjoys the cool breeze of the lake and a few plates of Pho Cuon with friends. Tourists with Vietnam travel guide see a different, more relaxed side of Hanoi, as old men fish and young couples paddle along leisurely in swan boats. It is the ideal place to wile away one's time under the shade of a tree and await the cooling relief of evening.

The Pho Cuon restaurants on Truc Bach are open from morning till about nine or ten at night. The cost for a plate of about ten Phở Cuốn, a plate of Pho Chien, and four beers is just around VND200,000 (US$10). For the relief it offers from the heat, it's a steal.

» Also you like our Travel to Vietnam

Ten most tourist-attractive destinations in Sapa

Sapa, one of the most tourist-attractive destinations in Vietnam tourism, often makes any tourist who has ever come to Vietnam cannot miss the chance to visit. September to November is the best time to visit this marvelous town of the Northern mountainous province.

Followings are ten most attractive destinations in Sapa that you should not forget to fill in your trip:

1. Conquer the top of Fansipan Mountain-“The Roof of Indochina”

Fansipan Mountain- "The Roof of Indochina"

2. Ham Rong Mountain

Ham Rong Mountain

3. Old Cathedral in Sapa

Old Cathedral in Sapa

4. Cat Cat Village

Cat Cat Village

5. Ta Phin Village

Ta Phin Village

6. Lush Green Valley of Muong Hoa- Sapa ancient rockfield

Sapa ancient rockfield

7. Silver Waterfall

Silver Waterfall

8. Heaven’s Gate

Heaven's Gate in Sapa

9.Hang Tien Cave, "a small Halong Bay" in Sapa

Hang Tien Cave in Sapa

10. Coc San Grotto

Sunrise on Coc San Grotto

» Also you like our Travel to Vietnam

TOP 5 FOOD TO EAT IN HOI AN

Many people come to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hoi An for its well-preserved architecture. Walking around Hoi An, it's easy to get lost in time and be shuttled back to an age when the river-front city was the largest harbor in all of Southeast Asia. It's very easy to understand why Hoi An is such a top tourist destination in Vietnam.

I, however, came to Hoi An to eat. It just worked to my benefit that I had such lovely setting to do it! There are a number of local delicacies specific to Hoi An that can draw a traveler to and persuade them to stick around Hoi An for awhile. I know because I fell in love with Hoi An's specialties and ended up eating my way around town for almost two weeks (well, also because I was having clothes custom-made but more on that in a later post)! Although many restaurants serve up all the usual Hoi An dishes for a few dollars a plate, heading to the street stalls is really where you'll get the authentic taste and the local price! Com Ga Com ga is as ubiquitous in Hoi An as pho is in Saigon on so you'll be able to find it on nearly every street corner. It's a straightforward meal of seasoned rice and shredded chicken, served with a side of fresh onions, greens and mint leaves. Nothing about com ga will change your life but it certainly makes for a filling meal when you're in the mood for something simple and fast. The tastiest spot I found was away from the city center, near my hotel on Hai Ba Trung at the family-run Cafe 619. I'll let you in on a secret though, their com ga is good, but not half as good as their savory pork. Same meal, different meat, but trust me on the pork! Cau Lau Cau lau is a bowl of doughy flat noodles served with bean sprouts, green vegetables, slices of juicy pork and croutons. The secret to a good cau lau is said to come from the water from the Ban Le well in town. Whatever the secret ingredient may be, the taste is simply delicious! The best street cau lau can be found along the river, just outside the Citronella Restaurant near the old Japanese Bridge. They add sprigs of fresh mint into their bowl of cau lau, and it makes all the difference! White Rose With such a pretty name as White Rose, you can expect something as delicate and light as these steamed shrimp dumpling-like appetizers. Trust me, they're small and you'll need something more substantial for a full meal. In any case, no meal in Hoi An truly starts without a plate of White Rose on the table. Fried Won Tons Delicate and crispy fried won tons topped with fresh ingredients is another Hoi An specialty to help start a meal right. I'm typically not one to indulge in fried foods, but the fried won tons are light and tasty, not greasy and oily. With a number of toppings to choose from such as beef and duck, as well as vegetarian options, these friend won tons can win over anyone, no matter how picky an eater. Dessert at Cargo Perhaps the best surprise in all of Hoi An is the delightful bakery found at the wildly popular Cargo restaurant. The chocolate cheesecake literally changed my life! It's rich, creamy and the milk chocolate topping is absolutely divine. So good that I had to have a slice three days in a row! In fact, every dessert I tried at Cargo was fabulous, including the cinnamon waffle served hot off the grill with a scoop of ice cream. Magnificent! An evening is not complete in Hoi An without a stop in Cargo for dessert and once you try one, you'll find it hard to not keep going back.

View The Beautiful Coastal City of Danang with Sparkling Night Scene

Danang City is located in the middle of Central Vietnam, between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. If you are in Vietnam travel and joining a north-south journey, you should not miss this beautiful coastal city. Surely, you will feel excited when taking a chance to admire the night Danang scene with sparkling lights.

If tourists in Vietnam travel take a journey from North to South Vietnam, the beautiful coastal city of Danang should not be missed to visit. The city is located in the middle of Central Vietnam, between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Surely, tourists will feel excited when taking a chance to view the city with sparkling lights at night.

Please admire some impressive photos of sparkling Danang night scene followings:

New terminal at Danang International Airport was recently completed

Han River Bridge has just been redecorated new lighting system

Extended Nguyen Van Linh Street is adjacent to the Dragon Bridge (under construction). The lighting system here is sponsored by Heiniken and it will becomeflower street  on the occasion of 2012 Lunar New Year

Bach Dang street of Danang city is sparkling at night

Fields of pristine white flowers in Moc Chau Plateau

Moc Chau Plateau always attracts many tourists in Vietnam tourism by beautiful natural scenery whatever the season of the year is! But it must say that winter and spring are the most beautiful of the year when cherry and plum flowers blossom everywhere. Now, winter comes! And Moc Chau Plateau is covered in vast fields of pristine white flowers.

Located in Son La province, at a distance of 200 kilometers from Hanoi, Moc Chau Plateau is 1,050 meters above the sea level, with an area of about 80 kilometers in length and 25 kilometers in width.

Anyone who has ever come to Moc Chau all knows that  Moc Chau Plateau is famous for a large herd of milk cows, immense tea plantations, big gardens of plum and apricot trees, and large green grass field of about 1,600 hectares.

The winter of this year comes and its sign is vast fields of delicate white flowers covering this dreamlike plateau.The wildflowers are blossoming a lot, but pristine white flowers are still stunning in tourists’ eyes at all.

Please enjoy some nice photos of pristine white flowers taken in Ban Ang pine forest:

A poinsettia is shimmering among pristine white flowers.

Pristine white flowers stretch across dozens of hectares covered fields, hills with a smooth white.

Plateau point trails are surrounded with pristine white flowers.

Bending among pristine white flowers is some yellow mustard plants, these flowers are mixed together like a couple.