Looking for ‘old dishes’ in Bien Hoa

With a thickness of more than 320 years of establishment and development, Bien Hoa is a land that still retains its ancient features from the time of reclaiming and opening the land. The old houses, communal houses and pagodas still regularly organize annual traditional festivals. And a quite special thing that makes visitors from all over the world interesting when coming to Bien Hoa is to enjoy the dishes from the ancient times that have been handed down through generations.

Tao Thanh Pho restaurant has passed 3 generations of development in Binh Da Ward. Photo: Thuy Moc Bien Hoa is famous for its traditional craft villages such as tet cake making (Hiep Hoa Ward), gai cake making (Tan Mai Ward, Ho Nai Ward), Ben Go Wine (An Hoa Ward)… and shops. Long-term food with bold Southern flavor. * Nostalgic for old dishes Pho is one of the dishes present in most places in Vietnam. For Vietnamese people, pho is considered a national dish, a culinary specialty of Vietnam in the world. Pho in any region will have its own flavor of that region. And few people know that, in Bien Hoa City, there is a shop that has become nostalgic for many generations with the name Tao Thanh Pho restaurant. Tao Thanh Pho restaurant is located on Tran Quoc Toan Street (Binh Da Ward) since the 1960s, built by Mr. Hoang Dinh Tao. Ms. Hoang Thi Nuong, the daughter of Mr. Hoang Dinh Tao, who succeeded the current Tao Thanh Pho restaurant, said that since 1955, her father had returned from Saigon to Bien Hoa to work as a street vendor selling pho. After a few years, her father saved up capital and opened a pho restaurant named Tao Thanh with the meaning that the shop was created by Mr. Tao himself. Before 1975, Tao Thanh Pho restaurant was located right at the Xe Lam station at Tam Hiep junction, so today the shop is not only a perennial restaurant in Bien Hoa, but it is also a memory of the youth and childhood of many people. many people, especially the expatriates. Ms. Nuong shared that in previous years, the pho shop sometimes welcomed elderly diners from abroad to visit the restaurant for breakfast and tell stories about the old times when they used to eat Pho Tao Thanh. Now, the old generation is older, sometimes Tao Thanh restaurant welcomes a few young people, who are descendants every time they have the opportunity to visit their hometown, they come to the shop to enjoy the countryside and take pictures to send to their grandparents. , elderly parents are living abroad. Ms. Nuong shared: “I am 70 years old this year, this pho shop will continue to be maintained by my nephew. My grandson used to be a teacher, but because he wanted to keep the job left by his grandparents, he decided to continue the pho restaurant left by his grandparents, because the shop has attached too many memories not only of the family but also of many generations. for decades now”. Banh tet Cu Lao Pho with the typical flavor of Southern sticky rice. Photo: Thuy Moc Coming to Bien Hoa, many people heard and looked to buy banh tet, banh ú made by the hands of bakers in Hiep Hoa Ward (also known as Cu Lao Pho). Pho islet is known by many people for its rustic dishes like the people who were born and raised on this land. Currently, the area of ​​Hiep Hoa has about 10 baking households with decades of seniority. Every Tet holiday comes, bakeries are busy with packers and customers coming in and ordering cakes. Ms. Tran Cuc Lang has more than 30 years in the baking profession, which has been passed down from her parents’ generation. Ms. Lang said that her bakery now needs about 50kg of sticky rice every day to pack all kinds of banh tet and banh ú, both retail and deliver to wholesalers. Every afternoon, Mrs. Lang’s small cake stall located right on Ha Huy Giap Street (Quyet Thang Ward) for nearly 20 years has become a destination for city people after work. Most people who buy cakes are familiar with the taste, so there is no need to ask for each item or the price. * Unforgettable delicacies Talking about the delicious dishes of Bien Hoa, many people also know famous dishes such as: Tan Mai fish salad, Nam Ri shrimp hot pot, popular restaurants crept in residential areas with a thickness of decades. . With the advantage of having the Dong Nai river in the heart of the city, the people of Bien Hoa take advantage of the natural environment to form an area for raising rafts on the river. With abundant raw materials available, people in the fishing village area have created a special dish from fish, in which Tan Mai fish salad is known to many people for its very own delicious taste. Tan Mai fish salad is made from red snapper, carp or giant fish. Ingredients from red snapper are most commonly used by chefs for fish salad because this is a meaty species. Fresh fish after cleaning, the chefs take the bones and cut them into thin pieces, just eat and mix with spices. Tan Mai fish salad, when eaten, cannot be without a dipping sauce made from the meat, liver and fat of the fish boiled with onions, lemongrass, galangal, and roasted sesame seeds. The taste of the sauce is the factor that determines whether the fish salad is delicious or not. Along with sauce, wild vegetables to serve fish salad with many kinds such as cloves, guise leaves, apricot leaves, fig leaves, basil, coriander, perilla, lettuce … Nam Ri shrimp hotpot is famous for many years in Bien Hoa city. Photo: Thuy Moc As a newcomer living in Tan Mai Ward for more than 10 years, Mr. Tran Hoang said that before, he was afraid to eat raw fish. However, after eating it for the first time, Mr. Hoang was no longer afraid to use raw fish. Whenever friends and relatives come to visit, Mr. Hoang often treats guests with this unique raw fish dish, which everyone compliments on its rich and unique taste. Coming to Bien Hoa, if you have a little time to wander in the alleys in the residential areas of local people in wards such as: Hiep Hoa, Tan Van, Buu Hoa, Tan Mai… visitors from afar will come across these A small old restaurant with the taste of the Southern region. Today, in the face of the need for integration and development, Bien Hoa City not only retains traditional popular dishes but also is a place where many culinary styles from countries around the world converge such as: culinary Japan, Korea, China, European countries… Therefore, preserving local culinary values ​​is a matter of great interest to many people, especially in the field of tourism. Because in the process of integration, exchange opportunities between countries are promoted, tourism has development conditions, cuisine will be a potential that needs to be invested and promoted in the most effective way. the promotion of the image, richness and distinctiveness of the cuisine and culture of the local people.