What and where to eat in Ninh Binh?

Speaking of cuisine, it must be an extreme tempting field that one must experience when setting foot on another destination. Although specialties are offered from all over the country, I must say Ninh Binh has some unique kinds of specialties that you cannot miss when visiting this intriguing land.

SPECIALTIES
Rice Crust (Cơm Cháy)
Although rice crust has long been a familiar dish to many people both foreign visitors and Vietnamese, that offered by Ninh Binh will certainly astonish you from the very first bite. Rice crust has made its own brand in Ninh Bình and is regarded as one of the most impressive specialties in the area. Despite being a common dish and the presentation is not like that of a masterpiece, the taste is absolutely tempting and irresistible. The crispiness of the deep-fried rice and a little bit of spiciness from chilli in combination with the salted shredded meat as the topping are a perfect experience of taste that a dish of common food can create. In addition, the great advance of being used as both snack and the main course has made Ninh Binh rice crust more popular and of course, more worthwhile.

Kim Sơn Swarm Eel Spring Roll (Gỏi Cá Nhệch Kim Sơn)
In Ninh Binh, there is a province called Kim Sơn which is famous for a really special spring roll dish made of swarm eel. It may sound creepy because of the swarm eel which is quite like a kind of snake but to make a delicious swarm eel spring roll dish, it takes extreme practice and the knowledge of the chief for eel, which not all the chief except for Kim Son’s can do. The tempting sweetness of roasted rice, the light sourness of vinegar in association with the spiciness of chilli, ginger, garlic, pepper are just right to add up with the perfect sauce. All parts of the eel are thoroughly processed: the skin is deep-roasted to create the crispiness as an ingredient to eat with the roll, the bones are carefully smashed to mix with vinegar and the most important ingredient, the meat is very sophisticatedly cooked and mix with roasted rice to perfect the dish.

Undercooked Goat Meat With Lime (Dê Tái Chanh)
For its specialty, it is not coincident when goat meat is chosen as one special dish of so many places in the country and there is no exception when it becomes the main ingredient in the widely-known undercooked goat meat with lime of Ninh Binh province. Right after setting foot to Ninh Binh, brave yourself and be prepared because you will be astonished and surprised of how many goat meat restaurants there are in Ninh Binh. This only is enough to explain the excessive popularity of goat meat here. Making a dish of goat meat is not extremely hard but how to cook it well is a different story. The meat must be rightly stewed with citronella until it is fairly undercooked. The meat will then be sliced and citronella after being stewed will be cut to pieces with ginger, chilli, sesame and lime leaves to make spices for the meat. Only by hearing is it tempting enough; trying it therefore, must be a great experience.

Sweet and Sour Anabas Soup (Canh Chua Cá Rô)
Despite being a quite common dish, sweet and sour anabas soup or broth is still a special dish that you may try when going to Ninh Binh. Fish is carefully stewed in the broth made of sour tomatoes and dracontomelum.

Eel Rice Vermicelli (Miến Lươn)
It may sound funny but I guess Ninh Binh makes quite a reputation for eel. Eel rice vermicelli is rumored as an unforgettable dish of Ninh Binh. Although there are various kinds of eel dishes around the country, eel rice vermicelli of Ninh Binh is particularly savory for the broth is specially made of stewed bones. The sweetness of the broth delivered from the bones in mixture with simmered eel meat made from the own area’s recipe is the greatest flavour that one can add to the dish. The price for a dish of eel vermicelli can vary from regions but it usually takes from 30.000vnd to 35.000vnd for a common dish.

Roasted Field Crab With Wild Betal Leaves (Cua Đồng Rang Lá Lốt)
In spite of trying once or trying none, roasted field crab with wild betal leaf is a must-eat dish when we travel to Ninh Binh. It will definitely be a great waste if you skip out this absolutely mouth-watering dish. The crispiness of field crabs melting in mouth after bites in the combination with the special sweetness of betal leaves is just right to melt even the coldest hearts. The dish is especially suitable to enjoy with rice but in general, you can try it with anything that you like because I can ensure it will not disappoint you in any case.

Nauclea Orientalis cooked with Sauce and Fish (Gáo Kho Cá)
Here comes another strange dish from Ninh Binh that you will hardly refrain from trying, nauclea orientalis cooked with sauce and fish. May the name nauclea orientalis sound a little bit sophisticated, it actually in relation with mistletoe and can be easily found near the foot of the hills or streamlets. For its unique combination of flavour between light sour and sweetness, nauclea is widely used as an ingredient in sweet and sour broth like tamarind and dracontomelum. However, its flavour is still considered as best fit to cook with sauce and fish. In the making process and preparation, nauclea will be put at the bottom of the pot to completely add up its sweet smelling flavour to the fish meat. The finishing dish will be presented with slices of delicious fish meat with some green vegetables as the topping to stimulate appetite.

Nho Quan Ant Egg Sticky Rice (Xôi trứng kiến Nho Quan)
Ant egg, though sound not so tasty but it has distributed greatly to the well-known Nho Quan ant egg sticky rice. If Kim Sơn is famous for eel spring roll and Hoa Lư is famous for goat meat then Nho Quan has made its own name for the illustrious ant egg sticky rice. Sticky rice may be a common dish in Vietnam that you can easily find in every street and the ingredients can vary from green beans, black beans to durian but there has never been any kind made of ant eggs so far, expect for that of Nho Quan. Strange yet absolutely delicious, ant egg sticky rice is definitely an unforgettable dish of Ninh Binh and is also very nutritious. This is also a rare dish because ant eggs only hatch in a specific season (usually in February according to the Lunar Calendar). Besides, processing and finding a strange ingredient like ant eggs are not easy. This explains why ant egg sticky rice is so unique and is “hunted” by many visitors both foreign and local in Ninh Binh.

RESTAURANTS
Đức Dê Restaurant (Specializes in goat dishes)
Address: #446 Nguyễn Huệ Street, Ninh Phong Ward, Ninh Binh Province
Tel: (+84) 303 874 858
Opening hours: 8:30 – 22:30

Trâu Vàng Restaurant
Address: #283 Trần Hưng Đạo Street, Tân Thành Ward, Ninh Bình Province
Tel: (+84) 303 884 598
Opening hours: 8:00 – 22:00

Thanh Lợi Restaurant
Address: #12 Lê Hồng Phong Street, Ninh Binh Province
Tel: (+84) 303 874 386

Chim Trời Bình Dũng Restaurant
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Address 1: Phố Mới, Me Town, Ninh Binh Province
Tel: (+84) 983 868 161
Address 2: Ngô Gia Tự Street, Ninh Bình Province
Tel: (+84) 982 800 621
Website: http://www.nhahangchimtroi.com

Vạn Hoa Restaurant (a part of Vạn Hoa Hotel)
Address: #171 Trần Phú Street, Nam Thành Ward, Ninh Bình Province
Tel: (+84) 948 359 635
Website: http://khachsanninhbinh.com.vn/am-thuc-ninh-binh

Thăng Long Ninh Bình Restaurant
Address: Bái Đính, Tràng An, Hoa Lư, Ninh Binh Province
Tel: (+84) 975 155 458
Website: http://nhahangthanglong.ninhbinh.vn