Hanoi food fest tempts taste buds

Vietnamese food-lovers will be able to tuck into quintessential Hanoian fare during a six-day festival that started on Oct. 6 at Ho Tay Park on Lac Long Quan Street to mark the capital's millennium.
About 500 dishes – three-fifths of which will be Hanoian, will be available at 130 stalls.
Pho (rice noodle soup), banh cuon (rice pancakes wrapped with meat), bun thang (rice vermicelli served with shredded chicken, pork pies and fried egg) and bun cha (rice vermicelli served with grilled pork) will be among Hanoi's signature dishes available at the festival.
Replica of gates at Hanoi's Dong Xuan Market, Hue's Dong Ba Market and HCM City's Ben Thanh Market have been erected to represent the three regions of the country.
Hanoi Food festival will also have a cultural space featuring re-created scenes of Confucian calligraphers, a traditional Hanoian wedding, an exhibition of Dong Ho folk paintings and a photo exhibition on Hanoi.
There will also be folk games such as swing and walking cau khi (trunk bridge) and cock fighting.
Entrance to the festival is free. Guides will also be on hand.
Hanoi's cuisine has been influenced by successive dynasties, which give visitors a perfect insight into the local culture, organisers said.
"It's a chance for Hanoi to advertise its cultural values and delicacies to international visitors," said Truong Minh Tien, deputy director of the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which organised the event.