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Crispy mullet salad, grilled sea urchin with scallion oil, or honey bamboo leaf cake... These are the specialties that travelers must not miss when visiting Phu Quoc.
9 Delicious Delights of Phu Quoc Island That Will Captivate Travelers
Crispy Mullet Salad
Crispy mullet salad is a specialty of Phu Quoc's sea that diners cannot miss when they come here. This dish can be found in any eatery on the island. A plate of salad is reasonably priced, ranging from 60,000 VND to 150,000 VND. The salad is made from the freshest and finest fish, accompanied by various raw vegetables and a dipping sauce with a unique flavor, topped with some peanuts.
Fish Cake Noodle Soup with Tuna
Indulge in Phu Quoc with the delectable fish cake noodle soup and fish paste, priced from 25,000 to 35,000 VND. The highlight of the dish is the flavorful pieces of specialty tuna, combined with the hearty and flavorful fish cake noodle soup broth made from beef bones and minced pork.
Bun Ken
This peculiarly named dish is quite familiar in Phu Quoc. Bun offers a perfect crunch of papaya, sweetness of fish, and fragrant broth. The sea fish in the bowl isn't left in whole pieces as usual but is minced, then seasoned with various ingredients like lemongrass, chili, and a bit of coconut milk. Bun Ken is priced at 20,000 VND. In Phu Quoc, there are only 2 places selling this dish: one is a street food stall at Dinh Cau Night Market, and the other is a sidewalk stall run by Mrs. Ut Luom.
Bien Mai, a large triangular-shaped sea clam, deeply rooted in the sea. Bien Mai is made into various dishes, but locals mainly use the meat from its lower shell to cook, as its meat is quite tough. The lower shell of Bien Mai is cooked into porridge, grilled with scallion oil, or best of all, grilled with peanuts. Grilled Bien Mai is sold in many places. If you're a tourist visiting Phu Quoc, you can take a trip to the island to dive and catch this unique seafood by yourself.
Grilled Nhum with Scallion Oil
Nhum - a Phu Quoc specialty - has a golden yellow color, extracted from the essence of the sea, bringing a distinctive flavor compared to all other commonly seen seafood. The fatty, fragrant nhum melts in the mouth, leaving diners craving for more. If you're traveling in a group, you can register to go nhum hunting and enjoy their flavor right after catching them, which would be much more satisfying.
Bánh Tet Wrapped in Mật Cật Leaves
Bánh Tet in Phu Quoc differs from other regions as it is wrapped in mật cật leaves (a type of leaf used to make traditional hats). Another unique feature is that the cake is not wrapped into a round shape but rather a triangular one. Glutinous rice used to make the cake is mixed with ngót and pandan leaf water, giving it a green color and a distinct flavor of Phu Quoc's bánh tét.
Clever Cakes
Clever cakes are made from wheat flour with various fillings such as coconut, mung bean, taro... They have a mild sweetness, low fat content, and don't feel heavy. The cakes come in various shapes, sometimes round like mini buns, sometimes hedgehog-shaped with spiky edges, sometimes rectangular, spiral, in all sorts of eye-catching shapes.
Hạt É Thốt Nốt Mủ Trôm
This is the name of a refreshing, hydrating drink. Trôm sap is a type of sap extracted from trees, very good for the liver, mixed with the sweetness of thốt nốt and a few scattered hạt é, creating a perfect blend. This drink is very popular and you can easily find it everywhere in Phu Quoc.
Mushrooms Tràm appear after the rains in the mangrove forests of Phu Quoc. However, this type of mushroom spoils quickly, so people have to quickly harvest them within a week after the rain. Tràm mushrooms harmonize perfectly with Phu Quoc's fresh seafood such as squid, shrimp, and clams, creating a perfect Tràm mushroom soup, with a delicious and enticing aroma. Restaurants in Phu Quoc often store mushrooms in the freezer year-round to make this unique local dish.
According to Ngoisao
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Reference: Travel guide Mytour
MytourJuly 29, 2016
