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The Vung Nao Thuc Nay (Local Delicacies) exhibition has opened in the heart of Hanoi for international tourists to enjoy Hanoi and Vietnamese cuisine through paintings. It features colorful paintings of Hanoi delicacies such as pho (noodle soup), banh cuon (steamed rolled pancakes), bun cha (vermicelli with grilled pork and fresh herbs), bun oc (rice noodle soup with freshwater snails) and bun thang (vermicelli noodles with assorted toppings). A painting of delicacies of Hanoi at the exhibition. Photo: Khanh Huy/The Hanoi Times Specialties of other localities include Hai Duong’s banh dau xanh (mung bean cake), Haiphong’s banh da cua (rice vermicelli with crab), Quang Ngai’s xu xoa (jelly made from seaweed) and Saigon roasted pork baguette. Countless other unique and delicious dishes are waiting for visitors to enjoy visually. Vietnamese cuisine combines a wide range of flavors and colors and geographical, climatic, and regional tastes. Each meal, each cuisine...

The lumpy legs of the Dong Tao chicken — named after the commune where it is bred in northern Vietnam — are considered a delicacy, and are particularly popular among the wealthy during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, known as Tet. Hien’s prized four-kilogramme bird, whose enormous legs make up around a fifth of its body weight, was sold for about $150 — but especially large pedigree chickens have been valued at more than 10 times that. Some are even entered into beauty contests. The key to the bird’s taste is its diet of corn and rice and the freedom it has to roam, Hien told AFP. Although the laying hens are kept in battery cages, which have been banned in some countries across the world, the chickens bred for meat are let loose in a small garden. “The more the chicken walks, the stronger and bigger their muscles are,” said Hien, who has been breeding chickens for more than 15 years. The meat of the Dong Tao chicken — which can reach up to 10 kg — is prized for its tough and chew...