Vi峄噒 Nam B谩nh M矛 Festival provides local brands and eateries with an opportunity to promote their products to wider audiences.
Ho Chi Minh City 鈥� Ho Chi Minh City launched its first ever Vi峄噒 Nam B谩nh M矛 (Vietnamese Sandwich) Festival yesterday at District 1鈥檚 Youth Cultural House, in order to promote the traditional dish to locals and tourists.
The first of its kind in Vi峄噒 Nam, the event features 120 stalls from leading bakeries, restaurants and food suppliers from around the country, as well as foreign businesses.
It is expected to attract around 50,000 people to enjoy the famous dish and learn about its history.
Visitors can browse and enjoy a wide variety of Vietnamese b谩nh m矛 with many types of fillings, including vegetarian, as well as other baked goods and sweets.
膼峄ヽ Anh, 21, arrived early and told Vi峄噒 Nam 黑料社 that he really enjoyed the atmosphere of the festival.
He said: 鈥�B谩nh m矛 has been an essential part of my life, along with 辫丑峄� (beef noodle soup) and b煤n b貌 Hu岷� (Hu岷� beef noodle soup). 笔丑峄� usually takes the spotlight while b谩nh m矛 seems to be 鈥渢oo humble鈥�. The festival provides great opportunities for b谩nh m矛 to shine through.鈥�
B谩nh m矛, together with 辫丑峄�, are among some signature dishes of Vi峄噒 Nam. VNS Photo An Ph瓢啤ng
Visitor Thu Th岷, 27, added that she initially knew of the festival via a Facebook post.
鈥淭he scale of the event amazes me! I will definitely bring some of my foreign friends to enjoy the Vietnamese signature dish later,鈥� she said.
German national Lothar Schreiner added: 鈥淲e love bread, so we love sandwiches. In Vi峄噒 Nam, b谩nh m矛 is very delicious and everybody loves it, me too.鈥�
In addition to food-related activities, there are also musical performances, a conference on the history and development of b谩nh m矛 and an award ceremony to honour top, long-standing bakery brands which have been established for more than 50 years in Vi峄噒 Nam as well as other exhibition events.
The festival is being organised by the HCM City Tourism Association and the city鈥檚 Department of Tourism, and runs until the end of April 2.
Tr岷 Thanh Huy, a member of the organizing board, said: 鈥淭hrough this festival, the organizers want to expand the value of b谩nh m矛 to spread to international friends. From there, they know more about Vi峄噒 Nam and facilitate tourism to thrive after a long time of being restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
鈥淭hrough this program, young people can start a business to make new and more diverse types of bread.鈥�
Over the years, Vietnamese b谩nh m矛 has been gaining popularity among international visitors as one of Vi峄噒 Nam鈥檚 signature dishes and was even recognised in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011. VNS