What and where to eat in Quang Ninh?

Grilled Chopped Cuttle-Fish (Chả Mực)
As you come to Hạ Long, the first thing you should go searching for is probably Grilled Chopped Cuttle-Fish. As to major opinions, Hạ Long grilled chopped cuttle-fish deserves to be put in the list of the best foods in the world. To confirm this great favour that so many table companions give to the dish, I myself have tried this grilled chopped cuttle-fish twice when I came to Hạ Long and truly, it is right. The dish is delicious and extremely juicy as what people rumor. I must say, there was a time when I was addicted to it and for a whole week, my daily menu was grilled chopped cuttle-fish and cuttle-fish only. The dish is simply made with chopped cuttle fairly and fully seasoned, floured and deep fried. The finishing dish is absolutely tempting and irresistible. You can dip each chopped slice in chili, fish sauce or even ketchup for a whole new taste experience.

Address: Hạ Long 1 Market, Bạch Đằng Ward, Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh
Province

Grilled Chopped Cuttle-Fish Fermented Rice sheets (Bánh Cuốn Chả Mực)
Not sure if you once heard of rice sheets (ravioli in my word) but I must make it clear that whether you are a picker or a glutton, cuttle-fish ravioli is what you should try for once in your lifetime. As you walk by any morning food stall in Vietnam, one of the first choices is probably ravioli. It is like a kind of pancake or crepe made of rice flour. What makes the difference and its unforgettable impression  may be the ingredients. Cat’s ear mushrooms, chopped pork are just the right seasoning and filling. They are then carefully wrapped inside of the ravioli cover and the chopped cuttle-fish with fired onion are added as the final topping that gives the dish the completing perfection and distinguishes it from any other regular kinds of ravioli. The sweet smell and crunch of onion, the tempting juice of cuttle fish and the softness of ravioli are indeed the surprise of flavour in your mouth. Especially, what gives the exciting part is the home-made fish sauce with the taste of hot chili lingering in your mouth. The whole dish is truly the care and each bit of love that the cook wants to bring to their table companions.

Address: Near Bạch Đằng Theater

Mrs.Ngân Grilled Chopped Cuttle-Fish Ravioli
Address: #34 Đoàn Thị Điểm Street, Bạch Đằng Ward, Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province
Opening hours: 7:00am – 14:00pm
Price: 30.000 – 60.000vnd

Mrs.Yến Grilled Chopped Cuttle-Fish
Address: #36 Đoàn Thị Điểm Street, Bạch Đằng Ward, Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province

Quảng Yên Crustacean (Sam Quảng Yên)
Crustacean, I must say, even if you are a big fan of seafood or not-so-much like it, Quảng Yên crustacean will make you fall in love despite you are an extreme food picker. From the main ingredient is the crustacean, the cook can improvise to deliver different kinds of dishes with a variety of flavours that can surprise as well as please any table companion. You can have crustacean rolling, bitter and sour fried crustacean, steam crustacean, crustacean fried with noodle and so on. Quảng Yên Crustacean is definitely a must-eat dish in your vacation to Quảng Ninh.

Address: 25th April Street, Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province

Sipunculus Nudus (Sá Sùng)
Sipunculus nudus, yes, with a strange name, this dish might give you a lot of surprise. Sipunculus nudus, at first sight, it looks nothing different from earth worm and I bet that you will not want to eat this anymore if you see the living creatures with your own eyes. However, believe it or not, this is listed as one of the most expensive dishes of the region and of course, there must be something that gives it that high price. The taste, indeed, is much more delicious than its appearance. The common dish is fresh sipunculus nudus fried with garlic. Garlic is just the right spice that stimulates the sweetness of the meat. In addition, they also dried the sipunculus and roast it until the dish has just the yellow brown color. Roasted sipunculus eaten with chilli and lettuce is just the right dish that you should try once in your life despite the price can be a little bit high compared to your planning budget.

Address: Vân Đồn Suburban District, Quảng Ninh Province

“Nodding” Cake (Bánh Gật Gù)
Just by hearing the name, you know that you can hardly say no to this one special dish of cake. “Nodding” in Vietnamese means “gật gù”. As people usually nod their head when they agree or feel something is good, Vietnamese is also the same and they often “gật gù” when they taste a delicious dish. “Nodding” cake is actually another kind of ravioli but made slightly different. When cooking, the cook will usually add some extra rice to the cake to make it thicker and juicier. When eating, all you have to do is dipping the roll in a small bowl of sauce specially made and eaten with pork cooked with brine. The dish is definitely undeniable.

Address: Hòa Bình Street, Tiên Yên Town, Quảng Ninh Province

Stomatopoda Noodle (Bún Bề Bề)
Directly caught from the sea, the main ingredient, stomatopoda will surely give you a positive impression as one of the best foods that ever exist on Earth. Sweet cabbage, shrimp, catawissa, fried onion, tomato and chilli are also added as sub-ingredients. The dish offers a wonderful taste of stomatopoda boiled with the irresistible taste of chilli. But of course, what makes the dish different is still the fantastic stomatopoda meat with the most wonderful bouillon of all tastes from sweet, spicy to sour.

Address: White Bridge, Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province

Bánh Tài Lồng Ếp
This is a quite strange kind of cake that I have once heard. As I saw it for the first time, I thought this might be some kind of brown jelly with sesame on it. However, it surprises me that how this such ordinary cake can make such a sweet and wonderful flavour. The cake is actually a specialty made by Sán Dìu ethnic in Quảng Ninh province. The main ingredients are mochi, sugar candy and ginger through so many making stages and processes to have this unique appearance and such good taste. The sweet smell of ginger easily attempts you at the first time and the pleasant taste from sugar candy is just the greatest spice.

Address: Cẩm Phả, Vân Đồn Suburban District, Quảng Ninh Province

“Fed Up” Fried Noodle (Bún Xào Ngán)
Do not let its name fool you because once you have tried it, it is hard to deny for a second serving. Actually, “fed up” in Vietnamese is “ngán” and this is in fact a name of a marine animal with the scientific name of Austriella Corrugata. But I have to admit, “fed up” fried noodle sounds way much better than Austriella Corrugata fried noodle, right? About the dish, maybe at first glance, it may not give you much impression of a true specialty in the region. The preparation is actually of the utmost simplicity: the brown color of cat’s ear mushrooms, white of clam meat and a little bit of green from catawissa. But when you try it, I cannot say if you want to stop eating anymore because the sweetness of clams, the tempting smell of fried onions with the juicy flavour of cat’s ear mushrooms and catawissa just make the explosion of flavour in your mouth.

Address: Chanh River bank, Quảng Yên Town, Quảng Ninh Province

Tiên Yên Hill Chicken (Gà Đồi Tiên Yên)
Not just a normal kind of hill chicken, Tiên Yên actually makes its name for this cannot-be-more-popular hill chicken. At first impression, you may think that this is just another dish of regular chicken but no, just have a bite and Tiên Yên hill chicken will change your mind forever. With Tiên Yên hill chicken, many other dishes from chicken meat can be made but in my point of view, the original boiled Tiên Yên chicken is still maybe the best of the best. The finishing dish gives a fine and tempting preparation with a fat layer of juicy yellow skin and a little bit of refreshing green from lime leaves. The taste is no need to discuss, one taste of a time, impression for a life time. The juice of the meat, the cruch of the skin and the sweet smell from lime leaves will definitely not fail you.

Address: Tiên Yên Town, Quảng Ninh Province

Popping Pearl Yogurt (Sữa Chua Trân Châu)
The name of this dish is maybe not so familiar to some foreign visitors who rarely come to Vietnam but believe it or not, it is irresistible to taste at the second time. I got the chance to try this in one of my trip to Hạ Long, the price is considerably cheap with just the price of a street snack but the flavour is indeed undeniably delicious. Popping pearl yogurt is actually just a kind of sweetened porridge with the most simple recipe that you have ever know that I must say a 2-year-old kid can make it himself. I remembered when I bought it from a street stall, they gave me 3 small packages: one for ice, the second going with a plastic cup carrying yogurt and the last one was a cup of popping pearls. All you have to do is mixing them all together and there you have, a delicious cup of popping pearl yogurt. It may sound like nothing special to you but just imagine one day, you walking in the street under 35⁰C sun heat, this little cup of popping pearl yogurt then might save your day.

Address: Văn Lang Street, Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province

Quảng Yên Shipworm Teredo Soup (Canh Hà Quảng Yên)
Shipworm Teredo Soup is actually a kind of clam soup derived from Chanh River. People usually make sweet and sour shipworm teredo soup in the summer as an effective dish for heat cooling and to eat with rice as a main course. The dish is a great combination of flavours that can easily ease every customer from the most fastidious to the most compliant.

Seafood
Mention of any coastal city, seafood is definitely the thing that you cannot miss. Quảng Ninh is famous for a diverse of seafood dishes, just order and you will have what you want in a sec. Believe me, seafood in Quảng Ninh is the best choice that you have ever made. You can choose yourself from a variety of dish from geoduck, oyster to sweet snail and razor shell.

Restaurants in Quảng Ninh
Cua Vàng Restaurant
Address: #32 Phan Chu Trinh Street, Bãi Cháy Ward, Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province

Hạ Long 1
Address: Hạ Long Street, Bãi Cháy Ward, Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province

Hồng Hạnh Restaurant
Address: #442 Nguyễn Văn Cừ Street, Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province

Linh Dan Halong
Address: #104 Bãi Cháy Street, Bãi Cháy Ward, Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province
Tel: (+84) 333 846 025
Website: http://linhdanhalong.com

Cổ Ngư Restaurant
Address: Bãi Cháy, Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province

Phú Lâm Restaurant
Address: #935 Bãi Cháy Street, Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province
Tel: (+84) 978 844 813
Website: http://nhahangphulam.info