As a land where many ethnic minorities reside such as: Khmer, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc., Dong Thap’s culinary culture is very diverse and rich, each dish has its own flavor and identity. Traveling to Dong Thap, you can not only visit the majestic historical and cultural relics, beautiful scenery of wild and majestic forest, but also enjoy delicious and unique local specialties here.

By Thomas Vietnam at vemekong.com | Official Sa Dec Visitor Guide

1. Sa Dec Noodle Soup – My Ngoc Noodle Soup

Location: 154 Hung Vuong Street, Ward 2, Sa Dec Provincial Town, Dong Thap Province.

Opening hours: 7:00 – 22:00.

Prices: from 60,000 VND.

Coming to Hu Tieu My Ngoc, you can order a portion of Clear rice noodle soup (Hủ tiếu nước) or a portion of Mixed clear rice noodles (Hủ tiếu khô). The Mixed clear rice noodles consist of clear rice noodles, toppings mixed with a special sauce, the broth is served separately in a bowl. The Clear rice noodle soup consists of clear rice noodles, toppings and broth. Both of the Hủ tiếu nước and Hủ tiếu khô are served with vegetables. Diners can add lime juice, chili pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce at their wishes. They usually eat the noodles, toppings and vegetables with chopsticks and eat the broth with spoons. The highlights of Hu Tieu My Ngoc include the delicious broth and secret recipe for the special sauce. Dong Thap is famous for tender, sticky, chewy, and smelling clear rice noodles. Any trip to Dong Thap has not been completed if clear rice noodle dishes are missed.

2. Khói Quán

A small restaurant that is loved for its lively atmosphere, the menu at the Khói Quán features a blend of Vietnamese and European influence. Meals at the restaurant are generous in portions, so travelers can easily place multiple orders to share amongst a group. For convenience, the restaurant does offer takeaway and delivery.

3. Tam Thanh restaurant

For good food with affordable prices, travelers should have a meal at the Nhà Hàng Tám Thành. Ingredients used by the chefs at the restaurant rely on the local fishermen to provide fresh fish to diners. For vegetarians, there are also a few items on the menu that use locally sourced vegetables instead.

Sa Dec Street Foods. If you want to enjoy the bustling riverside street atmosphere when the city lights up, the rows of shops along the embankment of Sa Dec River will be the ideal culinary choice for you. Because there are many restaurants, especially the delicious and cheap ones, especially Dong Thap crab hotpot specialty. If you want to enjoy delicious seafood, Loc Hue restaurant near Sat Sat Bridge (namely Tran Phu, Sa Dec) or a seafood restaurant on the street, restaurant 333, … is a suitable suggestion. For fans of hot pot, you should choose Tan Loc chicken hotpot shop (Zone A, Sa Dec industrial park) or Tu Lam hotpot shop (at the end of Thong Nhat street). Hai Hien beef hotpot and Ngoc Lan hotpot (near the bank of Sa Dec embankment) are also quite delicious.

4. Sadec crab hotpot (Lau Cua Dong Co Ut Sa Dec)

Visiting Sa Dec, you can’t leave its mouth-watering Mekong Delta cuisines behind. The first delicacy you have to try must be crab hotpot with the freshest crab collected only from local rivers and canals, various healthy vegetables, herbs and secret Vietnamese ingredients. Some other specialties you should try are grilled fish, snails.

5. Sa Dec noodle soup – Sadec Street Food

Noodle dishes Sa Dec is definitely not to be missed when traveling Sa Dec. Almost every Mekong Delta province has a noodle dish, but the familiar dish of the Sa Dec people has a very strange taste. This is partly due to the fact that the noodles are chewy and slightly larger.

Here is a list of the famous noodle restaurants in Sa Dec that you can choose to enjoy in your Sa Dec tour:

Ba Sam noodle soup is located at 188 Tran Hung Dao, Ward 1, Sa Dec city.

Phu Thanh noodle soup, 75 Tran Hung Dao, Ward 1, Sa Dec City.

Co Lien noodle soup, 111 Tran Phu, Ward 1, Sa Dec city.

Baby Year vegetarian noodle soup: 27 Au Co, Ward 2, Sa Dec City.

Ms. Dau noodle soup: the shop is located in Hamlet 1, Tran Hung Dao, Ward 1, Sa Dec.

Mr. Tu noodle soup: 246 Tran Phu, An Hoa, Sa Dec.

Rice noodles and wet cakes at 228 Tran Phu, An Hoa, and Sa Dec.

6. Lai Vung spring rolls

Address: Some well-known brands such as Ut Thang spring rolls, Nam Tho  spring rolls, Chien Ngoan spring rolls, Tu Minh spring rolls. . .

Price: 25,000 VND – 150,000 VND (depends on size; type of spring rolls)

Dong Thap is not only famous for being the land of pink lotus, but this is also the birthplace of Lai Vung’s famous spring rolls with unique flavors, full of sweet and sour flavors, once you eat one, you also want to try the second one.

People here say that Lai Vung spring rolls are made by people in Tan Khanh hamlet, Lai Vung, originating from the skillful hands of Mrs. Tu Man. It was she who invented this dish and used it at local wedding parties. Later, the people here learned to eat and then brought it to the market to sell. Thanks to the new, delicious and attractive taste, this dish is loved by many people. Since then, through exchange and trade, Lai Vung Dong Thap spring rolls have been passed from hand to hand and many other lands.

To produce the finished products of spring rolls that are “worth the money”, the processor must have talented hands and require the preliminary and processing stages to be very meticulous, professional, and careful.

The first is the selection of ingredients to make spring rolls:

– Pork must choose the lean meat that is delicious, and tough enough, the tendons and fat are combed clean, washed, and dried.

– Pork skin must also be selected from newly slaughtered pigs, pork skin must be clean, shaved and thinly sliced, washed, boiled, and then soaked in cold water to ensure toughness, and crunchiness.

– In addition, other ingredients such as banana leaves, plantain leaves, intestine leaves, garlic, pepper, and chili, … must also be carefully selected and cleaned.

The next is the process of making finished products:

– Take ground meat that has been marinated with spices and pre-incubated with pork skin in the right proportion. Then put it into the mold or press to make the correct size as required.

– Put a piece of garlic and chopped chili in the middle of the spring roll, and then wrap it with a leaf or a bunch of intestines. Next, people use fresh banana leaves to wrap spring rolls into small squares.

– Wrap it into a lovely square and tie it with a banana string or nylon string. Nem Lai Vung Dong Thap will be left for 3-4 days in a cool place to enjoy.

7. Sa Giang shrimp puff pastry

Address: The head office is located at Lot CII-3, Industrial Park C, Sa Dec City, Dong Thap Province.

Price: 20,000 VND – 180,000 VND (depends on weight)

When it comes to Sa Dec or when we introduce ourselves to Sa Dec, people immediately think of a specialty of Sa Dec, which is shrimp puff pastry. It is known as a cake, but it is also a unique “target” dish in all parties, parties, anniversaries… It is also used as a gift for relatives, friends far away, or during the year-end holiday. arrive. At the top is Sa Giang shrimp puff pastry, but, Sa Dec shrimp puff pastry, regardless of the brand of the oven, is delicious because of its rich flavor.

Sa Giang vannamei shrimp is the quintessence of fresh water in the region, the shrimp just keeps growing thanks to the phytoplankton and algae living in the alluvial mud on the river bottom from the orchards and fragrant flowers and ornamental plants. the best batch of shrimp puff pastry in the world.

The ovens that make shrimp puffs only choose to buy fresh shrimp no larger than two fingers. White-leg shrimp is cut off the head, then soaked in warm ash water until the shrimp shell is pink, peeled, cut the tail, just shake the middle part, cut along to remove all the black marrow on the back, and then “wash” very finely with ingredients and condiments. Accessories include knife powder, cuttlefish, baking powder, gypsum, spices are salt, and diameter, pay attention before putting shrimp in the mortar, need to wash shrimp with clean water, then rinse with alum water well squeezed, and last wash again with well-squeezed alum water, finally curse with well water pounded and squeezed to dry.

The last step is to roll it into a thin sheet of cake, use a pipe mold to cut it into even circles like a cookie, and then dry it. There are also places where it is not rolled, but wrapped in a banana leaf or PE bag, then steamed, taken out to cool, peeled off the leaves, then cut into circles about 8 mm thick, then dried and stored for use. According to the new technology, shrimp puff pastry is cut in an oval shape so that when fried, it bends like a spoon. Ho Chi Minh City has Cau Tre cake which is thinner, smaller in size, more porous, and bigger but not evenly puffed. Only Sa Giang cake still retains its original characteristics. Now Hanoi has also made shrimp puff pastry according to southern production technology, but it cannot be as delicious as Sa Giang cake.

8. Lai Vung Tangerine

Lai Vung is a land famous for spring rolls, but now perhaps Lai Vung is more known as the “Kingdom of pink tangerines”. The garden tangerine here is ripe in the months near Tet. Coming to the persimmon gardens these days is like being lost in a fairy garden with rows of trees laden with golden fruits that are bright and full of sunshine. Juicy, glossy red tangerines and round fruits under luxuriant foliage create a feeling of fullness and fullness.

Lai Vung mandarins have beautiful colors and produce many fruits. Lai Vung district has a few attractions of famous tangerine gardens in Long Hau, Tan Thanh, and Hoa Thanh communes, with a total area of more than 6 hectares. Famous persimmon gardens such as:

Hai Kiet Tangerine Garden

Address: 1068A, Long Khanh A Hamlet, Long Hau Commune, Lai Vung, Dong Thap (near Long Hau Commune Committee)

Phone number: 0942.192910 – 0399.950585

Hours: Dawn – Dust

Ticket: 50,000 VND

Ut Hon Tangerine Garden

Address: 221/4, Long Hung 2 Hamlet, Long Hau Commune, Lai Vung, Dong Thap.

Phone number: 0942.192910 – 0399.950585

Hours: Dawn – Dust

Ticket: 50,000 VND

Ba Chuot Tangerine Garden

Address: Provincial Road 851, Tan Thanh Commune, Lai Vung District, Dong Thap Province

Phone number: 0982522234 – 0913884294 (Ba Chuot)

Hours: Dawn – Dust

Ticket: 50,000 VND

Pro Tips 

Here are our tips for easing your mind (and stomach) around food-handling environments that you may not be used to.

Make sure the food is freshly cooked. If you’re eating hot street food, it’s always safest (not to mention more delicious) to eat food you can see being cooked to order.

Look for lines and busy stalls. Busy street food stalls are an indicator of popularity, and their high turnover rate means the food is never sitting out for hours and developing dreaded bacteria. Yes, long lines can be discouraging when you’re hungry after a full day of exploring, but it’s not worth the risk of grabbing precooked food from the empty spot next door.

Eat when the locals are eating. The last and most important element here is when to eat. You’re likely already on a weird eating schedule while you’re traveling, but it’s important to try and adjust to the eating times of where you are. A bowl of pho might be lunch for Americans, but it’s breakfast for the Vietnamese. This ensures that you’re eating freshly cooked food and that you can find the best and most popular places to eat.

If you can’t drink the water, then you can’t eat the salad. Most people get so hung up on not drinking the water or skipping ice in drinks that they don’t think about all of the other ways in which water is used in food service. Fruits and vegetables tend to be washed with tap water in most places, rather than the filtered water that locals drink—or sometimes it’s not washed at all. If you’re really craving some produce, try fruits you can peel or cooked veggies.

Trust your gut. If you’re unsure about the food or the way that it’s being prepared, then keep moving. Eating street food all over the world doesn’t make you an expert. Every stall and every country are different, and sometimes the rules can be harder to follow. When something doesn’t look, smell, or feel right, don’t eat it! Trust your judgment. Chances are that there’s another spot close by that’s making something more delicious.

You can stay in a homestay which is in the Sa Dec flower village, this will help you have the best experience in Sa Dec, Dong Thap province. There are so many flower gardeners who are watering and gardening the Sadec flower farms in the early morning with the amazing Sa Dec sunrise.

If you plan to extend your travel to Sa Dec homestay, do not forget to bring mosquito repellent cream.

Visit Sa Dec or do any customized tours, please choose reputable providers with boat trips equipped with lifebuoys, jackets, motorcycle and cycling tours with the helmets and. Safety is a priority! Choose Sa Dec responsible tours which help you give back while traveling. It’s a cliché, but it’s true.

Sa Dec food & drink guide ranges from street food, authentic, fancy to fusion foods. As a tropical land of many fresh vegetables and homegrown gardens, which always make Sa Dec cuisines fresh, close to nature and very traditional. If you are a food lover, don’t hesitate to put other bites onto your food lists such as Hu Tieu Sa Dec (Sa Dec noodle soup), Sa Dec crab hotpot, Nem Lai Vung (Vietnamese fermented pork roll in Lai Vung), Sa Giang shrimp chips, Lai Vung tangerine fruit…

Bring your hat, sunglasses, and sunblock, scarf to wear when visiting temples, pagodas, and the cathedral.

Bring the raincoat if you’re planning a trip to Sa Dec in the rainy season, as Sa Dec always looks fantastic in the full rain and full sun.

Sa Dec tourist attractions are magnificent itself, but if you have enough time, don’t forget to put other places onto your bucket lists such as Sa Dec flower village, Huynh Thuy Le ancient house, Tu Ton rose garden, Dong Thap museum, Xeo Quyt forest – Xeo Quyt relic area, Gao Giong ecotourism park (Cao Lanh), Lai Vung tangerine garden, Tram Chim national park (Birding tour), Kim Hue pagoda, Thap Muoi lotus field in Dong Thap, Dinh Yen mat making village, Kien An Cung pagoda, Phuong Nam cultural tourism area, Phuoc Kien pagoda (lotus leaf pagoda), the burial place of Nguyen Sinh Sac, Sa Dec town park, happy land Hung Thy tourist area, date fruit garden…

Hopefully, the above tips will help you to come up with a great plan for your adventure in Sa Dec, Dong Thap province, Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Have a safe trip!

“Sleep less, travel more, respect more” – Thomas Vietnam – Local travel expert.

Thank you