Top 10 Must-Try Dishes from the "Golden Flowers and Green Grass" Region You Can't Miss

The "Golden Flowers and Green Grass" land is renowned for its enchanting natural beauty and perfect climate, making every visitor envious. It's no surprise that nature's blessings have gifted this region with countless delicious specialties. Among these is the iconic Grilled Ô Fish.

Phu Yen is famous for this dish. The fish used must be fresh, of medium size, and grilled to perfection. It is typically served with aromatic herbs such as Thai basil, pennywort, and mustard greens, along with rice paper. The meat of the Ô fish is firm, lean, and fragrant, especially when paired with a flavorful dipping sauce made with fish sauce and chili, which enhances its appeal.

However, it's important to note that the Ô fish season typically runs from April to June, so you should plan ahead if you're hoping to try this dish. In addition, the fish can also be cooked in other ways, such as stewed or cooked with noodles, which are equally enticing due to the fish's natural flavor.

You can enjoy Dong Sausage anywhere you like, but when you're in Phu Yen, you simply can't miss this local delicacy. Dong Sausage here is more flavorful and irresistible than anywhere else. The natural conditions and endless beaches in this region create the perfect environment for the Dong, the main ingredient in this dish, making it tastier and more succulent.

The Dong is a small creature commonly found along the sandy coastal areas of Phu Yen and other central provinces like Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, and Quang Ngai. It looks like a small iguana but is no bigger than a human thumb. Special care is required during its preparation to ensure that the Dong doesn't come into contact with water, as this would spoil its flavor and the final dish. Making a delicious Dong Sausage isn't easy—besides the right mix of seasonings, skillful handling and preparation of the Dong are crucial.

Once prepared, the Dong is minced and mixed with various spices like pepper, chili, onions, garlic, oil, and softened dried mushrooms. The mixture is then wrapped in rice paper and deep-fried until golden, similar to making fried spring rolls. To enhance its flavor, the Dong Sausage is served with fresh herbs and a sweet and sour dipping sauce, just like spring rolls.

Dong Sausage has long been a well-loved specialty in Phu Yen. As a result, there are many restaurants serving this delightful dish. However, not every place can capture the authentic taste, as it takes real skill to prepare. Mytour will introduce you to the most popular and well-loved spots in Phu Yen, all of which have been thoroughly vetted for their quality, so you can enjoy the best experience.

One of the signature dishes of Central Vietnam is the bánh canh, a noodle soup that comes in various forms, such as crab bánh canh, fish bánh canh, and beef meatball bánh canh. However, when it comes to Tuy Hoa, the Chive Bánh Canh is a must-try, a unique creation crafted by the locals here.

This dish embodies the distinctive flavors of the region, which is why you’ll find it served almost everywhere. First-time visitors to Tuy Hoa are often curious about why this dish appears so frequently, but after tasting it, they always leave with a special fondness for it, often calling it a local specialty of great renown.

So, what makes a good bánh canh? The noodles should be soft yet chewy; the broth, rich and naturally sweet, must be made by simmering bones for hours; the fish cake should be aromatic, tender, and not fishy. And of course, chive leaves must crown the dish. These are the qualities that Mytour uses to evaluate whether a bánh canh truly meets the high standards of this beloved dish. When you try the chive bánh canh in Tuy Hoa, you’ll find that all these criteria are perfectly met, and you’ll see why this simple yet comforting dish has such an irresistible appeal. Come and experience it for yourself!

The "Golden Flowers and Green Grass" region is renowned for its breathtaking landscapes and perfect climate, which make it an enchanting destination for all visitors. The natural beauty here is so special that it seems to have endowed this area with even more exquisite local delicacies. One such treat is the blood cockle, a common seafood found throughout Vietnam, but it's in Phu Yen's Ô Loan Lagoon where they are particularly succulent and sweet.

For a long time, this simple dish has been a famous specialty of Phu Yen. It’s not only adored for its nutritious value but also for its unique, unforgettable flavor that keeps bringing visitors back to this beautiful land. To taste the best of this delicacy, you must go to Ô Loan Lagoon, where the best blood cockles are harvested. Many visitors have shared that there's something special about the lagoon’s waters that makes the cockles there plumper, sweeter, and more flavorful than anywhere else.

If you want to try the best blood cockles, Ô Loan Lagoon is the place to go. Mytour has experienced it firsthand, and it’s true what people say – once you try them, you'll never forget the taste!

One of the most popular snack foods among young people, and a must-try on our list, is Sun-Dried Beef. While you may have heard of or tried smoked buffalo or dried beef before, the name ‘sun-dried beef’ will surely pique your curiosity.

Sun-dried beef is one of the most famous specialties of Phu Yen. It carries the unique flavors of the mountain towns, making it a dish that’s both strange and enticing. According to locals, sun-dried beef evolved from a method of drying venison meat centuries ago. Over time, people started using beef instead of deer meat to preserve food for the long haul.

What makes Phu Yen’s beef so special compared to other places? The beef is thinly sliced and marinated with a blend of spices, including chili, lemongrass, wine, and the area’s signature seasonings. It’s then dried under the sun for one day, hence the name ‘sun-dried beef.’ To serve, the beef is grilled over an open flame and lightly pounded to soften it. The tender pieces are shredded and served with fresh vegetables like cucumber, green bananas, starfruit, and herbs, accompanied by a special dipping sauce.

Additionally, the beef used for this dish is sourced from free-range cattle that roam the hills of Phu Yen, known for their tender and flavorful meat. That’s why sun-dried beef here has such a distinct and delicious taste. With its intricate preparation and unique flavors, this dish is truly a worthy addition to your culinary adventures in Phu Yen. Be sure to give it a try!

Next up, Mytour brings you a seemingly simple dish, but one that’s truly unique in its own right. You may be surprised and wonder why we’re featuring Oyster Porridge – a dish that might seem quite common. At first, we were also hesitant, but after deeper research, we realized it absolutely deserves its place on the list.

The dish was born out of the local people’s love for oysters. Given the area’s rich coastal environment and favorable climate, oysters here thrive, making them particularly rich and flavorful. This naturally raised the quality of the dish, and hence, oyster porridge was born.

With such high-quality ingredients and preparation steeped in local flavors, the oyster porridge of Phu Yen has become a nourishing yet unforgettable treat. Many visitors have marveled at this dish, often calling it “wonderful” despite its simple appearance.

If you’re visiting Phu Yen, make sure to try the local oyster porridge. The taste is something you won’t find anywhere else – rich in oyster flavor with a hint of pepper, it's perfectly balanced and truly captivating. And since the locals love their oysters, the porridge is always generously filled with them. For seafood lovers, this dish will undoubtedly be a delight!

At nearly every snack bar or dessert shop in Phu Yen, you'll easily find jackfruit jelly on the menu. For the locals of Tuy Hoa, this dessert is nothing new, but for visitors like Mytour and you, it’s definitely something worth trying.

While the dish might seem familiar, its flavor is uniquely refreshing and subtly sweet, making it stand out among fruit-based desserts. The jelly combines soft jackfruit seeds with sweetened syrup, offering a delicate balance that makes it different from the overly sweet desserts you may be used to. This is what makes this local delicacy so captivating.

Though the ingredients are simple, the preparation is key to achieving the perfect taste. Not all places manage to make it as delicious as others. If you’re in Tuy Hoa, make sure to stop by the dessert shop at the Nguyen Hue intersection for a taste of this famous treat. The shop is always bustling, not just for jackfruit jelly but also for other desserts like banana or young coconut jelly, which are just as popular among the younger crowd.

After a day of exploring the exciting tourist spots in Tuy Hoa, enjoying a bowl of jackfruit jelly is the perfect way to unwind and recharge. So take some time to experience Tuy Hoa’s local food and discover the unique customs of this charming region.

Have you ever heard of ocean tuna eyes? The name itself sounds quite fancy, doesn’t it? At first, it’s easy to assume that such a dish must be luxurious, served only in high-end 4 or 5-star restaurants. But in reality, it’s a simple yet nutritious dish, and while it’s certainly healthy, it doesn’t come with an outrageous price tag.

When it comes to ocean tuna eyes, there’s no place that does it better than Tuy Hoa – the birthplace of this unique dish. As the name suggests, the key ingredient is, of course, the eyes of the tuna, which are combined with traditional medicinal herbs to enhance the flavor. This harmonious blend of ingredients offers an unforgettable experience that will leave you craving more.

What makes this dish even more special is its creative preparation, with various spices, herbs, and medicinal ingredients added to the mix. Each combination brings a distinct flavor, making every bite an adventure. The presentation is also contemporary and appealing, with the tuna eyes served in small jars, making it more intriguing rather than off-putting.

Pork offal with rice vermicelli – the name alone sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? Just hearing it makes you curious, even if you haven’t yet tasted it. The flavor of this unique dish is just as special as its name. Mytour wants to share it with you, but it’s hard to find the right words to truly capture the essence. This dish is a must-have during festive occasions like holidays, ancestor worship ceremonies, weddings, and rituals at temples in Tuy Hoa, and it represents a key part of the local culinary culture.

The pork offal with rice vermicelli here has a distinct flavor that stands out from what you might find in other regions. The rice vermicelli is soft, smooth, and fragrant with the enticing aroma of onions. The pork offal is prepared with care, ensuring it’s white and clean, with a delightful crispness that isn’t tough. When you dip it in fish sauce and enjoy it with the rice vermicelli, it creates a perfect balance of flavors.

If you travel to other central provinces, you might come across this unique dish, but nowhere will you find it as delicious as in the place where it was born. Only here will you experience the authentic taste, with a flavor that represents the culture of an entire region.

The lives of people in Central Vietnam are closely tied to the sea, which has deeply influenced their culinary traditions. Seafood, especially fish dishes, are prominent and widely loved. One standout dish from Phu Yen is the Mai fish salad.

For those who have traveled across Central Vietnam, this dish may already be familiar. However, no matter where you’ve tried it, once you’re in Phu Yen, you’ll be blown away. The local version of Mai fish salad stands out because of its unique dipping sauce – a closely guarded secret not everyone in Phu Yen knows how to prepare.

While many Vietnamese dishes use fish sauce as a base for their dipping sauces, Phu Yen’s Mai fish salad sauce is crafted in a very unusual and intricate way. The fish fillet is first separated from the bones, which are then boiled to extract a sweet broth that is simmered until thickened, and mixed with minced meat, lime, sugar, and vinegar. The secret to this sauce lies in the exact proportions of the ingredients, which is why learning how to make it is no easy feat. Make sure to try this delicious dish whenever you visit Phu Yen!