Top 10 Exquisite Nha Trang Specialties to Buy as Gifts

Nha Trang Fish Cake is undoubtedly a gift worth considering when traveling to Nha Trang. It is a harmonious blend of fresh boneless or low-bone fish varieties with traditional spices, creating delicious, fragrant, tender, and slightly chewy fish cakes that are unparalleled anywhere else.

Although Nha Trang has numerous fish species, not every type of fish is used for this dish. In fact, mackerel and tuna are the two best types of fish used to make delicious fish cakes. Additionally, fish cakes can also be made from anchovies, catfish, snakehead fish, parrotfish, and more.

If you are far away, it is advisable to buy fried fish cakes to prevent spoilage during transportation. If you prefer steamed fish cakes, store them in a styrofoam box with ice to avoid damage. Particularly, when buying this Nha Trang specialty, ask the locals or the owners of fish cake noodle shops, buy and enjoy to savor its distinctive flavor, unique to Nha Trang.

Nha Trang Fish Cake, when steamed or fried to a golden brown, can be enjoyed immediately with a spicy and salty dipping sauce. However, fish cakes can also be used as a topping for some delicious dishes:

• Nha Trang Fish Cake Vermicelli
• Nha Trang Fish Cake Rice Noodles
• Fish Cake Baguette
• Tomato Sauce Fish Cake

When it comes to local specialties, the spotlight shines on the famous sun-dried squid and the tantalizing grilled ink squid in this region. Nestled in the expansive coastal haven of Nha Trang, these delicacies showcase the richness of the abundant seafood. The sun-dried squid from Nha Trang boasts a distinctive, savory taste, with large, succulent pieces at a reasonable price, catering to the majority of households.

Alongside the sun-dried squid, another delightful dish awaits – the grilled ink squid. With its delightful blend of sourness, spiciness, and the chewy texture of the squid, coupled with a hint of sweetness, it's a perfect treat for various occasions, especially for seasoned palates.

Grilled ink squid is crafted from small squids, carefully selected and processed through grilling and rolling, followed by marination until the spices permeate evenly. However, each person may have their unique preparation method, imparting distinct flavors to this delicacy. Grilled ink squid offers various serving options, such as enjoying it with plain rice, congee, using it as a mango salad topping, or savoring it as a light dish.

Visit the coastal fishing village of Dai Lanh, part of Nha Trang city, to procure these delectable specialties crafted from squid, making them an ideal gift representing the unique flavors of the Nha Trang region.

Visiting Ninh Hoa town, located in Nha Trang City, you'll discover an equally enticing local delicacy known as Ninh Hoa Fermented Pork Rolls. This distinctive specialty boasts a unique flavor that can't be replicated elsewhere. The rolls are crafted from finely sliced and ground lean meat, rice flour, eel skin, salt, garlic, chili, sugar, peppercorns, fish sauce, starch, complemented by various leaves such as basil and young guava. All of this comes at a very affordable price.

Instead of being wrapped in banana leaves, Ninh Hoa Fermented Pork Rolls are encased in pineapple or persimmon leaves. This is done to impart an alluring fragrance to the rolls. After wrapping, the rolls are stored in a cool, dry place. Approximately three days later, they become fermented, acquiring a delightful sourness, ready to be savored.

Due to their extended shelf life and suitability for long-distance transportation, these fermented pork rolls are a preferred choice as souvenirs for many visitors. While you're here, don't forget to indulge in the renowned grilled nem (fermented pork) found throughout the coastal city. The appealing color and distinctive aroma of this dish are sure to leave an unforgettable impression on any traveler.

Nha Trang Grilled Nem – a rustic dish that exudes the countryside charm of the people of Nha Trang. This renowned grilled nem has its roots in the homeland of Ninh Hoa, now a district north of Khanh Hoa province, just about 30km from the bustling coastal city. Along the streets, travelers can easily spot aromatic Nha Trang grilled nem stalls, truly enticing.

The nem here uses thinly sliced pork skin, similar to Thanh Hoa's nem chua (fermented pork rolls), but instead of banana leaves, it is wrapped in pineapple or young persimmon leaves to infuse a fragrant aroma into each nem package. Visitors savoring grilled nem in Nha Trang will experience the aroma of the meat, the mild sourness, sweetness, crispiness, and a subtle spiciness blending harmoniously, creating a delicious and intoxicating taste. Each skewer of golden, fragrant grilled nem, cooked on a glowing red charcoal stove, emits an irresistible fragrance, captivating everyone around.

To enjoy the Nha Trang grilled nem properly, diners will have it accompanied by various ingredients such as grilled meat, rice paper, fresh vegetables, and dipping sauce. The golden skewers of grilled nem, cut in half, rolled with a variety of fresh herbs like basil, lettuce, perilla, cucumber, along with a piece of soft and a bit crispy rice paper and a spring roll... Especially, the grilled nem is served with green papaya salad, bringing a unique flavor for travelers.

Rice Flour Pancakes, also known as grilled rice cakes, originated from the Cham people in Ninh Thuan and later became popular in other provinces and cities such as Quy Nhon, Binh Thuan, Da Nang, Da Lat, etc. However, Nha Trang's version of rice flour pancakes has a unique preparation with distinctive flavors that can only be found in this coastal city.

Rice flour pancakes have a round shape similar to southern-style pancake bites but are baked on a clay mold, resulting in a soft crust that is not greasy. The ingredients include rice flour, fat, green onions, eggs, and a filling of shrimp and squid. It is served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce made from Nha Trang fish sauce. The aroma of the flour, the richness of the eggs, and the sweet and savory taste of the fish sauce, combined with ingredients like onions, chili, garlic, and a bit of pork sausage, create a batch of rice flour pancakes that are fragrant and capture the attention of tourists from the first glance.

You can enjoy rice flour pancakes on Le Thanh Ton or Nguyen Thien Thuat streets, ensuring that tourists visiting Nha Trang and savoring this dish will never forget the unique flavor of this cake at a reasonably low price. Sitting around a warm charcoal stove, watching the skilled pancake maker pour batter into the mold, and then savoring the hot rice flour pancakes on a windy day is a delightful experience for any visitor to Nha Trang.

Mango cake or mango rice paper cake is a famous specialty of Nha Trang, with a refreshing sourness, mild sweetness, and a faint natural aroma of mango, perfect for indulgence. Although the preparation is relatively simple, using ripe mangoes without skin, thoroughly washed, finely grated, and the juice extracted. The mixture is then cooked on the stove while stirring until it thickens, poured onto rice paper, dried, and wrapped in plastic for preservation.

The main ingredient for making mango cake is valuable commercial mangoes considered imperfect, such as those with latex, insufficient size, or deformities – locally known as beer mangoes. In some difficult situations, people even use good-quality mangoes to produce mango rice paper cakes. Although Khanh Hoa is not the province with the most mango cultivation in the country, especially when compared to the western provinces, only the canh nong mango variety in Khanh Hoa is the most suitable for producing fragrant and delicious mango rice paper cakes currently available on the market.

This specialty does not require any preservatives and can last quite a long time under normal conditions. Cam Ranh, with favorable conditions for mango cultivation, has many varieties, especially the delicious ones. If you travel from Nha Trang to Binh Ba, you can visit some points in Cam Ranh to buy the specialty Cam Ranh mango cake at places like Dam Market, Xom Moi Market, 49 Ngo Gia Tu Street, etc.

This is a precious gift that nature has bestowed upon Khanh Hoa. Through many years of development and promotion efforts by the local government and people, Khanh Hoa swallow's nest has been recognized for having the best quality in the world today. During the feudal era, swallow's nest was considered a gift, only used by kings and nobility. Swallow's nests are divided into many types such as: blood swallow's nest, bamboo leaf swallow's nest, white swallow's nest, yellow swallow's nest, etc. According to traditional medicine, swallow's nest has a sweet taste, neutral properties, and is often used as a nutritious food for weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite, weak blood, insomnia, rapid heartbeat, emaciation, yellow skin, etc. In addition, this product also helps boost immunity and the body's immune system.

Currently, there are two types: island swallow's nest and house swallow's nest. Island swallow's nest is more expensive than house swallow's nest, but their nutritional value is equivalent. Swallow's nests are processed into various dishes, including rock sugar swallow's nest dessert, swallow's nest soup, and delicious braised and steamed dishes with swiftlet nests. With this natural ingredient, travelers will have the opportunity to enjoy unforgettable dishes.

Binh Ba has recently become a 'phenomenon' for travel enthusiasts. When asked why they like coming to the island, most answer because of their passion for delicious seafood here. And especially, one cannot ignore the specialty Binh Ba Lobster with its quality at a fairly reasonable price.

The Binh Ba Lobster comes in various types: green lobster, red lobster, and furry lobster with a modest price, around 1 million VND per kilogram. However, if you buy about 3 - 4 pieces per kilogram, the lobster is very firm and sweet. To buy Binh Ba Lobster as a gift, you may need to take a 2-day-1-night trip to Binh Ba. Wake up early in the morning, head to the beach where the boats dock to buy the freshest lobster. Note that you should prepare a styrofoam box in advance, buy some rocks on the island to marinate and keep the lobster fresh for a longer time. You can process them into various dishes such as steaming, salt and chili grilling, and the best is cheese grilling. You will have great experiences and the lobster is so delicious, gaining a 'famous' reputation with Binh Ba travel experience.

Moreover, don't forget to buy yourself some bottles of sugared lime juice to cool off, also a popular specialty in Binh Ba.

As a famous coastal city with abundant seafood, not only are they fresh, but they also carry a unique and distinct flavor. However, there are also many types of dried specialties, depending on each person's preference and choice.

• Spiced Dried Squid: With the chewy texture of squid, the sweet and salty taste of marinated spices makes spiced dried squid incredibly delicious and enticing.
• Various types of dried fish: rice fish, golden anchovy, ponyfish, sea bass, pomfret, guitarfish, stingray, tuna, etc.
• Grilled cuttlefish: The sweet and soft taste of cuttlefish, the fragrant aroma of crushed pepper, salt, can be dipped in sauce or soy sauce.
• Sea Cucumber: Sea cucumber stir-fried with a crispy, salty, and sweet taste, can be enjoyed with cold beer or with hot rice and porridge, both excellent choices.
• Tuna in passion fruit sauce: The tuna meat has a sweet, crispy, and firm taste, without being sticky or fishy, with the passion fruit sauce with rich spices, creating an attractive tuna dish.

However, there are still many issues of fraud and deception here. So, which types of dried seafood should you buy? And where is a reliable place to buy? You can visit the following places to buy dried specialties and seafood: Xom Moi Market Nha Trang (recommended) - Dam Nha Trang Market, Seafood Dry Sea: 15 Hoang Hoa Tham, Nha Trang ....