8 Famous Dishes You Must Try When Traveling to Ha Long

Ha Long is not only home to a beautiful bay; it also attracts visitors with its diverse cuisine featuring 8 famous dishes that are a must-try.

1. Hand-pounded squid cake

Squid cake is considered the “soul” of Ha Long cuisine. Although many places also make squid cake, the flavor in Ha Long is always distinct.

The special feature of this dish lies in its traditional method of being pounded by hand. After being cleaned, the squid is pounded by hand until it reaches the desired chewiness, then seasoned and fried until golden. Squid cake is often served with hot steamed rice rolls or fragrant, soft white sticky rice. Don’t forget to enjoy squid cake for an energizing breakfast when traveling to Ha Long!

2. Sá sùng

Sá sùng is one of the most expensive and rarest types of seafood in Ha Long. This seafood mainly inhabits sandy coastal areas and is highly nutritious, making it sought after by many diners.

Fresh sá sùng is often prepared in dishes such as stir-fried with celery and garlic, cooked into porridge, or steamed. When eaten, diners can taste its natural sweetness along with its distinctive chewy, rich texture.

In addition, dried sá sùng is also a famous specialty that many people buy as a gift. After being roasted until golden, sá sùng releases an enticing aroma and becomes an appealing snack to enjoy with drinks.

3. Cù kỳ crab noodle soup

Cù kỳ crab noodle soup is a famous breakfast dish loved by many visitors when traveling to Ha Long. Cù kỳ is a type of sea crab with large claws, firm flesh, and a naturally delicate sweetness.

To prepare this noodle dish, the cook separates the body of the cù kỳ to simmer and make the broth. As a result, the broth has a distinctive delicate sweetness and a rich seafood aroma.

A fully loaded bowl of cù kỳ crab noodle soup usually includes rich, creamy roe, firm and sweet meat, and thick, meaty cù kỳ claws.

4. Horseshoe crab

From a single horseshoe crab, people in Ha Long can prepare dishes such as steamed horseshoe crab, horseshoe crab salad, lemongrass and chili stir-fried horseshoe crab, sweet-and-sour stir-fried horseshoe crab legs, stir-fried glass noodles with horseshoe crab, or crispy fried horseshoe crab eggs. Each dish has its own flavor while retaining the distinctive sweetness of horseshoe crab meat. The price for each horseshoe crab usually ranges from 50,000 – 70,000 VND depending on its size.

5. Ngán clam

Although it has a rather unusual name, ngán clam is a specialty loved by many visitors when traveling to Ha Long. This species resembles a clam but is much larger and has considerably thicker meat.

Ngán clam has a distinctive sweetness and aroma and can be prepared in many different delicious dishes. The most popular are scallions-and-oil grilled ngán clam, lemongrass-steamed ngán clam, ngán clam soup, and stir-fried noodles with ngán clam.

6. Ruốc lỗ

Ruốc lỗ, also known as long-legged ruốc, is a rather distinctive type of seafood from the coastal area of Quang Ninh. It is related to octopuses but is much smaller.

The most interesting feature of ruốc lỗ is its characteristic long legs. The meat has a naturally crisp texture, is sweet, and is not tough.

7. Bánh gật gù

Bánh gật gù is a famous rustic dish from Quang Ninh. The cake is made from finely ground rice flour, spread thinly, and then rolled into long, soft rolls.

Bánh gật gù is often served with steamed fish sauce, fried shallots, or richly flavored braised pork.

8. Ha Long pearl yogurt

Pearl yogurt is the ideal dessert to round off a Ha Long culinary journey. This dish is delicious thanks to the combination of smooth, chewy yogurt with a refreshing flavor and chewy pearls immersed in rich coconut milk. It also comes with various other toppings such as dried coconut, aloe vera, or fruit jelly.