Banh Trung Banh Day - A Vietnamese New Year Story for Tet

King Hung Vuong VI, after having defeated militarily, in the year of year of Chinese, who had never ceased in the past to annoy and attack, the country enjoyed peace and the king wanted cede the throne because he felt he was too old. He thought that his children were all very intelligent, strong and talented and he could not make a decision in favor of one or the other. After discussions with his advisors and his entourage, he called all his children and said:

    Spring is approaching, I want to make a special presentation to thank the heavens and the earth and the prince who has offered the most delicious dishes, the one who has made those with the most sense in relation to this event will take the throne.

This order is issued, each prince assisted their mother to find the best recipe and choose the best ingredients to make dishes from King to take the throne.Prince Tiêt Lieu had no mother to help him and was very bored. Tiêt Lieu asked God to help him and dreamed that God told him:

    I advise you to take ground glutinous rice to make rice cakes round in shape. There is banh Dâ the symbol of heaven.
    Then take the sticky rice and mix with mung beans and meat and roll the mixture into a square sheet Dong, Banh Chung is the symbol of the Earth and the Parents.

    Rice is daily food and essential, it is very precious and very good. Used in the manufacture of food, it allows to show all the particular virtues.

The king tasted it and found the dishes Tiet place very good, exceptional and easy to do. He found it smart and he attributed the throne Tiet Lieu, who became King Hung Vuong VII. Subsequently, the coming of each Tet, the new king-Lieu Tiêt encouraged the people to make these cakes in recognition of heaven and earth.

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The legend of Lac Long Quan and Au Co

Once upon a time... Thousands of years ago, Kinh-duong-vuong, King of Xich-quy, married Long-nu, a princess from Dong-dinh-ho. Because of Long-nu's origin, their son Sung-Lam, popularly known as Lac-long-quan, was believed to be descended from the line of the Dragons. Lac-long-quan had superhuman strength, and he liked to stay near the water. He succeeded to the throne of his father, and governed the Lac-Viet tribe.

During that time, the Lac-Viet tribe was still isolated. Monsters and demons often appeared to harass people. There was a giant fish called Ngu-tinh, who lived for hundreds of years in the East Sea. Ngu-tinh always swallowed up big fishing boats when they passed by his gulf. Thus, the fishermen were very frightened of him. 

Lac-long-quan heard about Ngu-tinh's evil deeds and decided to exterminate him. He commanded his tribesmen to make a huge boat and went looking for Ngu-tinh. When he saw Ngu-tinh, using all his might, Lac-long thrust a trident into the giant fish's mouth. This action brought great pain to Ngu-tinh and he soon died. Lac-long-quan cut off Ngu-tinh's head with his sword. Thus, he had terminated the oppressing force for all the people in the Coast.

Yet, there was another evil force threatening the citizens of Long-bien Province. The children there were often being taken away by Ho-tinh, a wild old fox with nine tails. Ho-tinh lived in a cave and he came out every night to take children away and ate them. Lac-long-quan weaved five colors of threads into a big lasso and set up a trap at the entrance to the cave. When Ho-tinh came out that night, he was trapped; his neck was stuck in the lasso and he was choked to death.

On the way to the highlands of Phong-chau, Lac-long-quan was told about the evil stories of Moc-tinh. Moc-tinh was a tree demon who lived for centuries. At night, Moc-tinh would take a human form and came to the villager's farms and wrecked havoc. Lac-long-quan asked his men to make a big axe. He cut that tree down and Moc-tinh died within the tree.

After completely destroying the tree demon, Lac-long educated his tribe people about agriculture. He taught them how to sow rice seeds and harvest rice. Rice can be cooked by putting it in a bamboo tube with some water and broil it over the fire. Then you split the bamboo tube to get the cooked rice.

Fishing boats usually had two big eyes painted on both sides of the anterior end. Fishermen had tattoos with designs of ferocious animals. Lac-long-quan believed that it was beneficial to have the tattoo for when the fishermen dive into the water, they would scare off the other marine animals with their mimicking design.

At that time, De-Lai, King of another northern tribe made a trip to the South. He liked Lac-long-quan very much and arranged a marriage between Lac-long-quan and his daughter, Au-co. The groom was a talented man; the bride was a beautiful lady. They were a well-assorted couple. People in the tribe were very happy. They feasted for months.

Au-co got pregnant after one year. The tribes people gathered up to help Au-co prepare for the birth: some boiled water, others sewed clothes or diapers. But Au-co only gave birth to a big membranous sac instead of a baby. 

The sac then became bigger and bigger. On the seventh day, it suddenly burst; inside there were one hundred eggs. Each egg hatched into a little boy. The boys stood up and ran to their mother. 

Au-co and Lac-long-quan spent days and nights taking care of their one hundred children. The tribes people often brought fruits and rice to the boys. The boys ate a lot and grew up very quickly. After a short period of time, they were as tall as their father. Even though Lac-long-quan had a family of his own, he missed the Coast very much. He often went to visit his mother Long-nu. Au-co was sad because she thought her husband was not paying attention to their children. 

Lac-long-quan said: "I am from the Dragon line. I like to dwell in the Coast. You are from the Fairy line; you like to be on highlands. Therefore we cannot live together. It is better that we separate now. You take fifty children to the highlands and I take fifty children to the Coast."

Since then, Lac-long-quan and Au-co separated; one went to the highlands and the other went to the Coast. The children of Lac-long-quan and Au-co were the ancestors of Lac-Viet. That's why Vietnamese call themselves "Dragon and Fairy descendants."

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Young Glutinous Rice

Hanoi autumn is beautiful with sunlight and breeze. The fragrance of spring rice flake is disseminated in small alleys in Vong Village.
If “Com” is considered the most unique speciality of Hanoi, Vong Village can be called the cradle of this food. People who enjoy “Com” are often flooded with a lot of feelings. People commonly welcome a new autumn with falling leaves, sunlight and breeze.
Com Vong wrapped in a green lotus leaf is delicious with the flavor of young glutinous rice.
It is said that “Com” wrapped in lotus leaves contains a pure fragrant flavor. Inside those lotus leaves are young “ray” leaves, which keep up the greenness of Com and make it glutinous and delicious. There are two main kinds of Com: “Com dau nia” (Com la me) and “Com giot”. only in Vong Village can people enjoy “Com la me”, which respectively is as thin and sweet as tamarind leaf and sticky rice. And “Com giot”, a kind of young glutinous rice, is full of milk. Not only is Vong Village famous for being the cradle of Com but Vong villagers also show their respect to this dish.

Com Vong is specially delicious and not mixed no matter how much or less it is sold. Therefore, Com Vong is better than Com Me Tri-a village next door-, which is thick and hard. In the past, there used to be Com Lu- another village in the same region – however, the way of making Com has now fallen in oblivion. Few people mention of it or it is only described in the books.
Com appears in 2 seasons. According to the lunar calendar, the first season falls in April with “Com chien” and the second one is from July to late September with “Com chin”. In the cool weather of autumn, it is pleasant for Hanoians to enjoy Com Vong.
This young sticky rice is tender, sweet and pure. Hanoians often enjoy each grain and eat together with banana covered with black spots. A lot of expatriates who repay a visit to Hanoi really want to make the most of the feelings of returning their motherland.
* Source: en.hanoi.vietnamplus.vn

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Dong Ho Painting Village

Folk painting is o­ne of the special cultural features of Vietnam. Since the ancient time, there have been a lot of painting villages, such as Dong Ho village (Bac Ninh province), Hang Trong village (Hanoi), Kim Hoang village (Ha Tay province), Nam Hoanh village (Nghe An province), Sinh village (Hue city), and other villages in the south and mountainous areas.
Dong Ho is located on the southern side of the Duong river (40km to the east of Hanoi) is one of the villages that preserves ancient cultural relics of Kinh Bac area (Red river delta, north of Vietnam).
Dong Ho painting is printed by hand on the surface of wooden plate. Each printing colour has its own engraved board. The black one is printed last. Thanks to this way, paintings are made in bulk and do not require sophisticated techniques.
Dong Ho paintings mainly reflect the aspiration for a peaceful, happy and prosperous life. Dear animals in people’s life, such as cow, pig, dog, cat and chicken are also depicted in a lot of paintings. Especially, some paintings like “catching coconuts”, “mice wedding” and “jealously” attract the attention of many domestic and foreign visitors.
The painting fair is annually held on Tet holiday in the communal house in Dong Ho village, which draws a large number of tourists. From the afternoon of March 14th (lunar calendar), shoddy goods competition is also held at the same place. Painting fair is a distinctive cultural feature of Dong Ho villagers.
Printing paper and painting colour




The printing paper is made from the bark of a tree called “Dzo”. The background paper is originally white. People use natural materials to change the colours of the paper which are usually orange, pink, yellow, purple, etc. colours of the paintings are refined from various kinds of tree leaves that can be easily found in Vietnam. Particularly, the red colour is taken from earth of hills and mountains; the black colour is from the coal of burned bamboo’s leaves; the glitter white colour is made of sea shells. The original point of Dong Ho folk painting is the durability of colours. The painting is finally covered with a layer of sticky rice paste (called “ho nep”) to protect the paintings and their colours. They are so long lasting that it is very difficult to make them dimmer due to time or light.
Painting content
The most common idea carries congratulation meanings, for instance, “Honour-Prosperity”, “Spring Ritual”, “Chicken Family”. Another plot is daily activities, which include “Jealously”, “Playing flute”, “Farmer and Water Buffalo”. Those paintings with Chinese characters have clearer meanings. For example, the painting “Justice” that portraits a child carrying a frog, which means humanity and justice.
Remember to come to Dong Ho on Tet holiday to mingle yourselves in the atmosphere of a painting fair, which is an opportunity to choose one to your taste.
* Source: en.hanoi.vietnamplus.vn

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Life Heritage Resort Hoi An
This beautiful resort is nestled on the banks of the scenic Thu Bon River and you walk outside the gate straight in to the historic township. 5 km from the Cua Dai Beach. Life Heritage Resort Hoi An has comfortable and well-equipped rooms and suites that can accommodate travelers of all types. Awarded Best Heritage Resort in Vietnam. 

  
Vinh Hung Riverside Resort & Spa
Vinh Hung Riverside Resort is located just a few minutes walk from Hoi An ancient town and set in a superb location of great natural charm with a magnificent view on the sleepy and romantic Thu Bon River. 

Hoi An Pacific Hotel
The elegant and luxurious Hoi An Pacific Hotel is located in culturally and heritage-rich Hoi An, Vietnam, providing comfortable accommodations with modern amenities, such as free Wi-Fi internet access 

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Hoi An ancient houses host art exhibitions

Two exhibitions on souvenirs, paintings and statues are on at two ancient houses in the World Heritage-listed town of Hoi An in Quang Nam Province on the central coast.

The ancient house at 46 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street is showcasing 29 works by 21 artists who entered the final round of a contest to create souvenir products for Hoi An in 2011.

Visitors to the exhibition will vote for their favorite artworks made from environmentally friendly materials including bamboo and wood and some from silver and bronze. A prize presentation ceremony for the contest winners is slated for December 4 to coincide with the 12th anniversary of Hoi An being proclaimed the World Cultural Heritage in 1999.

The second exhibition at the ancient house at 39 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street features over 100 works on contemporary art, pearl statues, carpets and precious stones by artists Le Dinh Quy, Do Quoc Vi and Pham Huynh. The exhibition runs until February 18.

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Special Food in Hoi An

Cau Lau

Cao lau is a dish of rice noodles which are not quite as slippery as pho and a bit closer in texture to pasta. The secret is the water used to make it, and authentic cao lau uses only water from a special well in the city. The noodles are topped with slices of roast pork, dough fritters, and this being Vietnam, lots of fresh herbs and veggies.


Quang Nam Noodle

This is the popular country dish in Hoian and Quang Nam. The noodle is yellow or white in color and made from rice flour. It is mixed with shrimp, pork and vegetables, and topped with grilled rice paper and spices.


White Rose Dumpling

Many people like these cakes not only for their delicious flavor but also for their beautiful appearance. The French gave it the name of white roses. The care is made from white rice flour and stuffed with cooked shrimp meat. The translucence of the flour along with the color of the shrimp meat gives it the apprearance of a white rose petal.


Suse cake

Made from sticky rice, green bean and coconut, the cake is wrapped in babana leaf and then steamed. The original name for this cake is phu the cake, which means husband and wife. The name originates from a story about a young couple that lived together in a small town.


Banh It La Gai

Banh It La Gai This cake made from the black colored and sweet tasting Gai leaf and green bean. This cake is always offered to worship ancestors during the New Year festivals or during anniversaries of departed ancestors. It’s also thought of as a kind of medicine to help revive those suffering from hangovers.


Corn sweet soup

Made from tender corn and sugar. Because of the growing condition around Hoian, che bap can be eaten year round. Local nutritionists say this soup is very beneficial for the elderly.


Luc Tau Xa

A kind of mixed sweet soup, it’s made from green bean, dry tangerine peel and sugar. It’s very sweet and smells delicious. People say that it helps maintain good health.


Dry green bean cake

Green bean flour, sugar, and vegetable oil are blended and pressed into rectangular wood frames and then toasted. Banh dau xanh can be used with many kinds of meat or vegetable fillings. Visitors like to buy this cake as gifls for friends and it keeps for a long

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