Top 6 Special Cakes from Hai Duong

1. Green Bean Cake

Green Bean Cake is available everywhere, but the most famous ones are the sweet, fragrant ones from Hai Duong. Made from ingredients familiar to farmers: green beans, fine sugar, lard, and pomelo essential oil.

The uniqueness and appeal of this cake lie in the meticulous preparation process, requiring skill and finesse. When eaten, it offers a delightful aroma of beans, a savory touch of lard, the crystalline sweetness of sugar, and the refreshing scent of pomelo oil. This distinct flavor is unique to green bean cakes from Hai Duong. They are not only delicious but also affordable, priced at just 25,000 VND per pack. Enjoying a green bean cake with a fragrant cup of tea is something everyone desires.

Similar to mung bean cakes, thorny rice cakes can be found everywhere, but the ones from Ninh Giang boast a unique flavor, typical of the Hai Duong countryside. The cake's exterior is made from sticky rice flour mixed with crushed thorny leaves, showcasing a captivating dark hue.

The filling exudes the distinctive fragrance of peeled mung beans, simultaneously fluffy and smooth. Indulging in thorny rice cakes requires an 'art', nibbling on each small piece to let the sweetness melt on the palate. The faint aroma of thorny leaves, the crunch of pumpkin preserves, and lard create a slow, delightful experience. Once you've savored it, you'll never forget the exquisite taste of this delightful treat. All it takes is 5,000 dong in your pocket to enjoy this fantastic thorny rice cake.

Heading to Hải Dương city alongside National Highway 5, passing through the city center, there are numerous delectable cakes to enjoy. However, make your way to Bắc Sơn Street to relish the renowned “Mrs. Thau’s Rolled Cakes”. Those who've tasted it cannot forget the thin, silky-smooth sheets, refreshing yet rich, characteristic of Hải Dương rolled cakes.

Made from rice, the rolled cakes in Bắc Sơn are all superb. Many distant travelers, having tried Hải Dương rolled cakes even once, always make the effort to indulge whenever they're here. Sold at 20,000 dong per serving, just one serving can fuel you for a day of exploration without feeling hungry.

The smooth, fragrant thick cake has become one of the culinary specialties of Gia Lộc town. Gia Lộc Thick Cakes boast a fragrant chewiness of glutinous rice, blending with the fresh green color of banana leaves, creating a unique flavor profile. Though the process of making thick cakes is simple, it requires skilled craftsmanship.

Indulging in this delicacy, diners will feel refreshed, experiencing the rich taste of glutinous rice flavor in every bite, combined with the aroma of banana leaves. Thick cakes are often enjoyed with Vietnamese pork sausage, compressed sticky rice, and Vietnamese pork loaf, a typical morning gift of the locals. Amidst the myriad of breakfast options such as pho, bun, porridge... traditional thick cakes are still chosen by many travelers as a nostalgic hometown dish.

Travelers passing through Gia Lộc town (Hải Dương) and stopping for a thick cake, a cup of tea, or buying a few packs as gifts for loved ones, will be captivated by the taste and surely remember it for their next visit. These delicious thick cakes are very affordable, priced at only 5,000 dong each. Don't hesitate to buy and enjoy them.

Heart cakes have long been a traditional specialty in the land of Kinh Môn, Hải Dương. However, you won't find this cake in any tea house or market; it's only seen on the ancestral altar during the Lunar New Year. Making heart cakes is extremely difficult and time-consuming.

Different from other rice-based cakes like cylindrical glutinous rice cake or bamboo tube rice cake, heart cakes stand out with their sweet, fragrant, chewy, and slightly spicy flavor, infused with ginger, roasted glutinous rice, yellow calendula flowers, roasted peanuts, and sugar.