Coming to the Mekong Delta, after cruising along canals, shopping on the floating market and cycling around orchards, tourists should enjoy many rustic specialties, of which cong cake is suggested as a must-try dish.

Cong is made of rice planted in the delta. The rice flour after being stirred with warm water for around 20 minutes will be added to green beans, potatoes and pork together with spices and fried onion. Then you put shrimp in the mix with flour soaked in oil and fried until it turns golden brown.

The cake is especially tasty when fragrant and crispy. Diners will have a mouthwatering dish when the cake is served with brassica juncea together with many kinds of aromatic vegetables. Fish sauce mixed with sugar, chili, garlic and lemon will complete the delectability of the dish.

Crisp of flour, fragrance of rice and vegetables, light bitter of brassica juncea, sweetness of shrimp, fat of bean and moreish sauce will bring revelers a gastronomic experience and a half.

In Can Tho, tourists can find the dish along De Tham, Nguyen Trai or Ly Tu Trong streets.

Banh Khot (mounded rice cakes) is the specialty of the southern city of Vung Tau. It is a popular dish easily done and serving as breakfast.

The mounded rice cake is made of rice flour milled and seasoned with salt, sugar. Then coconut milk is added to make the mixture a bit greasy and saffron flour is also used for coloring. After being stuffed with ground shrimps, it was fried in the mould to have the small round shape. The dish is best served when it is still hot and eaten with raw vegetables, fresh chilies and shrimp paste.

The cake is the perfect combination of sweet, greasy and savory tastes that make it a great favorite for locals and tourists alike. Banh Khot can be found in food stalls scattered in some streets in Vung Tau city but the best place might be located on 14 Nguyen Truong To street. You can also taste banh khot in many restaurants in HCMC.