​FOOD AND DRINK

  Sour Pho is a specialty dish that is elaborately prepared with many ingredients. Cao Bang pho noodles are fragrant and chewy, combined with pork belly, fried pork liver, roasted duck, crispy fried taro, and mac mat leaves, creating a unique flavor. If you can enjoy it, you will surely remember the sweet and sour taste of the sauce and the chewy texture of the pho noodles.

Roasted suckling pig is the next delicious dish you must enjoy on the Cao Bang culinary tour. The pig chosen to be roasted must be locally raised, weighing 4 to 6 kg. When roasting, people will use bamboo to pierce from the snout to the tail of the pig, stuff the belly with mac mat leaves, and spread honey and spices on the outside. The pig is roasted on a charcoal stove, so the skin is golden brown and crispy, and the fragrant aroma of mac mat leaves stimulates the taste buds.

​Xoi Tram is a specialty dish of Cao Bang, often appearing in the meals of the Tay and Nung people. Upland sticky rice combined with wild canarium fruit helps the sticky rice grains have a beautiful purple-pink color; when you eat it, you will feel the characteristic-rich and sticky taste.

Banh Ap Chao is a famous cake in Cao Bang; the outside looks like a fried cake, and the inside is made from duck meat. The cake shell is made from sticky rice flour and rice flour, which is very sticky and fragrant. After stuffing the filling into the shell, the cake is fried in a pan of boiling oil, stirring back and forth until both sides are golden brown.

​If asked, "What kind of cake is famous in Cao Bang?" then rice rolls are the answer. Cao Bang rice rolls are more memorable than those in other regions, often eaten with bone broth. The bone broth also has minced meat and scallions, served with hot or egg rice rolls.

​Ant Egg Cake is also known as Peng Ray, a specialty of the Tay people. The main ingredient to create this unique dish is ant eggs combined with minced pork, pickled shallots, and roasted peanuts. The cake crust is made from sticky rice flour, kneaded, rolled into a square shape, and placed on fig leaves. After adding the cake filling, people will place another layer of leaves and steam it. Visitors must visit Cao Bang around April - May every year to enjoy this dish.