The Culture & Cuisine of Vietnam
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Highlights:
Take a gastronomic adventure through Vietnam. Spend ten days immersed in the country’s culinary scene, sampling everything from tasty street food to gourmet fusion dishes.
Learn the secrets behind mouth-watering morsels. Join a local family at their farm, ploughing the fields and picking rice for a better understanding of Vietnamese agriculture. Grab an apron and step into the kitchen, learning to prepare Vietnamese dishes from villagers and famous chefs. Try food from each of Vietnam’s distinctive regions and at popular local stalls for an authentic taste of the country.
Take a gastronomic adventure through Vietnam. Spend ten days immersed in the country’s culinary scene, sampling everything from tasty street food to gourmet fusion dishes.
Learn the secrets behind mouth-watering morsels. Join a local family at their farm, ploughing the fields and picking rice for a better understanding of Vietnamese agriculture. Grab an apron and step into the kitchen, learning to prepare Vietnamese dishes from villagers and famous chefs. Try food from each of Vietnam’s distinctive regions and at popular local stalls for an authentic taste of the country.
SKU:
Explore: the culture & cuisine of vietnam
Customizable Itinerary - 10 Days (from $2,818 / person)
Day 1: Depart USA
Today you depart the USA destined to arrive in Saigon to begin to begin your culinary adventure in Vietnam.
Day 2: Welcome to Vietnam
When you arrive in Saigon you will be met and escorted to the car which will take you to your hotel where you can relax and unwind.
Day 3: Insider’s Saigon
After breakfast your guide will be waiting to see some of the main sights but mostly the places not normally visited. Start by visiting a local food market where you can browse the stalls and watch the vendors peddle their wares while the shoppers bargain. Leave the market and enter the narrow alleyways of the city where family-run businesses line the street. The ground floor is used as a shop or food stall and the family live upstairs. You will see vendors cooking up morning treats and locals lining up to buy their breakfast. Stepping on to the main boulevards you will visit some of the main sights, many left over from the French rule. You return to the hotel for some rest. In the early evening, your guide along with some Vespa drivers will be waiting to take you on a Saigon food crawl starting with a cocktail at a rooftop bar and ending with ice cream and coffee with many locations and varied courses in between.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 4: An Excursion to Ben Tre
In the morning you will be picked up by your guide and head south out of the city to the Mekong Delta, the “rice bowl” of Vietnam. Arriving in Ben Tre province you board a boat for a ride along the Mekong’s waterways. Your destination is Lo Dura a coconut processing workshop. In addition to the milk and the flesh used in cooking the hunk is used to create brooms and fiber mats. You will see how this is done. From there you stroll to the house of Uncle Tam Nhu who owns one of the better fruit orchards in the Delta. You can sample some of the fruit before re-boarding the boat to Mrs. Mai’s house for lunch. After lunch you can try your hand at kayaking followed by a relaxing bike ride. You then drive back to Saigon. We will recommend several restaurants for you to try this evening.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 5: Danang and Hoi An
After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport for a flight to Danang where a driver meets you and takes you to the trading city of Hoi an. Despite wars and weather the town looks very much the same as it did when the Japanese, French, Chinese and Portuguese trade here. A walking tour is the best way to see this unique town. Visit the former merchant’s homes, the 400-year- old Japanese Covered Bridge and the colorful market. Enjoy lunch at Morning Glory Restaurant. The rest of the afternoon is left open for some exploring on your own or a swim in the hotel pool. In the evening return to old town for an eclectic dinner at Mango Rooms which is Vietnamese-Latin American-Japanese Fusion cuisine.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 6: Cooking at the Red Bridge Cooking School
Today you participate in true farm to table cooking. Your day starts with a coffee at Hai Café in Old Hoi An then you leave with your guide to an organic village where you walk through the market gardens using traditional methods. You pick fresh saw-tooth coriander and Vietnamese mint before going to a local market to purchase addional ingredients including star anise, cardamom, sesame rice paper, and water spinach and banana flower. You take all the ingredients to the cooking school and commence work on creating a four course meal including Pho, the national dish, along with Cha Ca, Tom Nuong La Chuol and Goi Hoa Chuoi Ga Nuong. After completion you get to enjoy it as lunch. Return to the hotel by boat and rest by the pool. Enjoy a light dinner at Mai Fish this evening.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 7: Elegant Dining in Hue
Today you head south to Hue the former imperial capital of Vietnam. You will stop in Danang to visit the Cham Museum. You then climb over the Pass of Ocean Clouds so called because of the mist that forms at the peak. This actually marks the split between the colder North and the warmer South. Arrive in Hue for some free time. In the evening you enjoy a private dinner at a Tha Om garden house much as people would have dined in Imperial times. Assuming they were the elites of course.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 8: Hue and Hanoi
You are met by your guide and tour the Imperial citadel where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled between 1802 and 1945. The citadel reflects the scars of many conflicts including those inflicted during the Tet offensive during the Vietnam War. You will then take a bike to explore the old city including Tinh Tam Lake surrounded by coffee shops. After your tour you are taken to the airport for the flight to Hanoi. Upon arrival you are met and taken to your hotel where dinner awaits.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 9: A Food Blogger’s Tour of Hanoi
In the morning you will be met by a well-known food blogger who will take you to the car that will take you to the centre of Hanoi. Here you will stroll through the old quarter past the old east gate to Thanh Ha market. Along the way, delicacies, strange food items and an explanation of food practices will be given. This eclectic market is filled with the sights and sounds of Hanoi and is the essence of Vietnamese culture. Continue to Dong Xuan market to sample local treats such as pho tiu and bun dau. The guide will explain the typical routine during Vietnamese meal times and indigenous ingredients eaten. From here you visit the food sections of Dong Xuan including dried goods and aromatic, the essentials of Vietnamese cuisine. Walk down to Hang Than Street to view ceremonial cake stalls and taste a special desert, French-influenced and your guide will explain the traditions of food gifts at celebrations. Continue back into the old quarter via Hang Cot street where you can try some preserved fruit. Walk along Phung Hung Street where temporary stalls are set up. At the end of the tour, you will stop at one of the Old Quarter’s busiest (yet smallest) coffee shops. Your guide will give you suggestions for dinner this evening as he returns you to the hotel.
Breakfast
Day 10: Return to USA
Today you return home. A private car and guide will be at your disposal for shopping or sightseeing. In the afternoon you will be transferred to Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport for your return flight.
Breakfast
Today you depart the USA destined to arrive in Saigon to begin to begin your culinary adventure in Vietnam.
Day 2: Welcome to Vietnam
When you arrive in Saigon you will be met and escorted to the car which will take you to your hotel where you can relax and unwind.
Day 3: Insider’s Saigon
After breakfast your guide will be waiting to see some of the main sights but mostly the places not normally visited. Start by visiting a local food market where you can browse the stalls and watch the vendors peddle their wares while the shoppers bargain. Leave the market and enter the narrow alleyways of the city where family-run businesses line the street. The ground floor is used as a shop or food stall and the family live upstairs. You will see vendors cooking up morning treats and locals lining up to buy their breakfast. Stepping on to the main boulevards you will visit some of the main sights, many left over from the French rule. You return to the hotel for some rest. In the early evening, your guide along with some Vespa drivers will be waiting to take you on a Saigon food crawl starting with a cocktail at a rooftop bar and ending with ice cream and coffee with many locations and varied courses in between.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 4: An Excursion to Ben Tre
In the morning you will be picked up by your guide and head south out of the city to the Mekong Delta, the “rice bowl” of Vietnam. Arriving in Ben Tre province you board a boat for a ride along the Mekong’s waterways. Your destination is Lo Dura a coconut processing workshop. In addition to the milk and the flesh used in cooking the hunk is used to create brooms and fiber mats. You will see how this is done. From there you stroll to the house of Uncle Tam Nhu who owns one of the better fruit orchards in the Delta. You can sample some of the fruit before re-boarding the boat to Mrs. Mai’s house for lunch. After lunch you can try your hand at kayaking followed by a relaxing bike ride. You then drive back to Saigon. We will recommend several restaurants for you to try this evening.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 5: Danang and Hoi An
After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport for a flight to Danang where a driver meets you and takes you to the trading city of Hoi an. Despite wars and weather the town looks very much the same as it did when the Japanese, French, Chinese and Portuguese trade here. A walking tour is the best way to see this unique town. Visit the former merchant’s homes, the 400-year- old Japanese Covered Bridge and the colorful market. Enjoy lunch at Morning Glory Restaurant. The rest of the afternoon is left open for some exploring on your own or a swim in the hotel pool. In the evening return to old town for an eclectic dinner at Mango Rooms which is Vietnamese-Latin American-Japanese Fusion cuisine.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 6: Cooking at the Red Bridge Cooking School
Today you participate in true farm to table cooking. Your day starts with a coffee at Hai Café in Old Hoi An then you leave with your guide to an organic village where you walk through the market gardens using traditional methods. You pick fresh saw-tooth coriander and Vietnamese mint before going to a local market to purchase addional ingredients including star anise, cardamom, sesame rice paper, and water spinach and banana flower. You take all the ingredients to the cooking school and commence work on creating a four course meal including Pho, the national dish, along with Cha Ca, Tom Nuong La Chuol and Goi Hoa Chuoi Ga Nuong. After completion you get to enjoy it as lunch. Return to the hotel by boat and rest by the pool. Enjoy a light dinner at Mai Fish this evening.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 7: Elegant Dining in Hue
Today you head south to Hue the former imperial capital of Vietnam. You will stop in Danang to visit the Cham Museum. You then climb over the Pass of Ocean Clouds so called because of the mist that forms at the peak. This actually marks the split between the colder North and the warmer South. Arrive in Hue for some free time. In the evening you enjoy a private dinner at a Tha Om garden house much as people would have dined in Imperial times. Assuming they were the elites of course.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 8: Hue and Hanoi
You are met by your guide and tour the Imperial citadel where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled between 1802 and 1945. The citadel reflects the scars of many conflicts including those inflicted during the Tet offensive during the Vietnam War. You will then take a bike to explore the old city including Tinh Tam Lake surrounded by coffee shops. After your tour you are taken to the airport for the flight to Hanoi. Upon arrival you are met and taken to your hotel where dinner awaits.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 9: A Food Blogger’s Tour of Hanoi
In the morning you will be met by a well-known food blogger who will take you to the car that will take you to the centre of Hanoi. Here you will stroll through the old quarter past the old east gate to Thanh Ha market. Along the way, delicacies, strange food items and an explanation of food practices will be given. This eclectic market is filled with the sights and sounds of Hanoi and is the essence of Vietnamese culture. Continue to Dong Xuan market to sample local treats such as pho tiu and bun dau. The guide will explain the typical routine during Vietnamese meal times and indigenous ingredients eaten. From here you visit the food sections of Dong Xuan including dried goods and aromatic, the essentials of Vietnamese cuisine. Walk down to Hang Than Street to view ceremonial cake stalls and taste a special desert, French-influenced and your guide will explain the traditions of food gifts at celebrations. Continue back into the old quarter via Hang Cot street where you can try some preserved fruit. Walk along Phung Hung Street where temporary stalls are set up. At the end of the tour, you will stop at one of the Old Quarter’s busiest (yet smallest) coffee shops. Your guide will give you suggestions for dinner this evening as he returns you to the hotel.
Breakfast
Day 10: Return to USA
Today you return home. A private car and guide will be at your disposal for shopping or sightseeing. In the afternoon you will be transferred to Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport for your return flight.
Breakfast
