Can Tho's Specialties - Vietnam

Can Tho is not only famous for vast paddy fields and huge expanses of water, but also for its delicious food which attracts a great number of tourists to this area.

Can Tho is the centre of southwest Vietnam’s fertile delta land, producing an amazing variety of fruits, vegetables, meat and fish which are the basis of the many regional specialties. Most ingredients used in Can Tho’s specialty dishes are produced locally, such as the sticky rice, and many dishes are typically followed up with fresh, local vegetables. The “cakes” in this area are truly a treat. Although they are more of a snack than a full meal, anyone visiting Can Tho should not miss the chance to try them. Cong cake (Tet cake) Cong cake is popular, cheap and delicious. Once you try it, you won’t forget its taste and flavour. Local people consider it an extra meal, to enjoy in the late afternoon or late evening. The form used to make cong cake is a small, deep tool shaped much like a coffee filter, but with a long handle like a big soup spoon. Biting into this purple cake, you can feel the heavy sticky rice, taste the nutritious sweetness of meat, and get the flavour of salted egg on the tip of your tongue. There is another type of Tet cake made with white and black bean with fatty banana filling, one more of the panoply of traditional Vietnamese cakes. Well known local producers of Tet cake include Chinh Cam and Tu Dep, companies whose products are sold daily in the local markets like Xuan Khanh, An Thoi and Mit Nai. Many tourists come to know and recognize the brands of the original manufacturers to buy for gifts. Baked cassava and coconut cake This popular cake is found throughout the rural hamlets of Can Tho Province. Whether you are strolling leisurely along Ninh Kieu Pier to catch the fresh breeze off the water, or walking in front of a school while visiting a small hamlet, you will quite easily find this type of countryside cake. The process to make the cake is simple. Cassava is boiled until soft, then put in a mortar, kneaded and mixed with fresh coconut. When the mixture becomes firm and smooth enough it is spread on a tray, then after the surface is dry it is cut into pieces. Small pieces of cake are baked on a coal cooking fire until the two sides are yellow; the cake now emits the most mouth-watering aroma. The taste combination between fresh coconut and cassava is really unforgettable. Although it is just to hold you over between meals, this popular cake with a deceptively simple taste becomes unexpectedly delicious and is positively irresistible on rainy days when you are travelling far from home.