Exploiting human tourism resources to develop tourism in Ho Chi Minh City

Reply:

- Foreign tourists often visit my restaurant when traveling on a budget. Among the restaurant's specialties, Roasted Chicken Noodles and Spicy Noodles are eaten the most by tourists. Partly because of the reasonable price, partly because of the flavor of the dishes, especially the fragrant, slightly sour and spicy sauce that stimulates the taste buds (Mr. Dang Nguyen Nghiem, 34 years old, Owner of Mi Gia 79 Restaurant, HCMC. Southern Cuisine Festival, Dam Sen Cultural Park, May 28, 2016). Address: Mi Gia 79 Restaurant, No. 04 Vinh Khanh, Ward 8, District 4, HCMC.

- Our restaurant specializes in noodle dishes, of which domestic and foreign tourists eat the most are Bun Mam, Bun Rieu, Bun Moc and Bun Cha Gio Nuong. For Bun Mam, we cook to the same taste for domestic and foreign guests (Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Chi, 54 years old, Director of Bun Que Toi Cuisine Company Limited, HCMC. Dat Phuong Nam Cuisine Festival, Dam Sen Cultural Park, May 28, 2016). Address: Bun Que Toi Restaurant, No. 166/190F Doan Van Bo, Ward 14, District 4, HCMC.

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Appendix 14. Opinions of experts, managers and other subjects on exploiting traditional cuisine in tourism

* Mr. Nguyen Quoc Huy (In charge of banquet kitchen, Saigontourist College of Tourism and Hospitality).

Question : What do you think about the food in Ho Chi Minh City?

Answer: In Ho Chi Minh City, there are no unique dishes, only dishes from other places. It is also difficult to determine which regional dishes are the main ones, because the dishes are formed by immigrants. The most well-known dishes are Pho, Cha Gio, Goi Cuon, while Com Tam is less well-known. The reason is probably because the other dishes are widely advertised in the media. In addition, it is partly because the chefs make and promote them at events abroad.

(Nguyen Quoc Huy, Head of Banquet Kitchen, Saigontourist College of Tourism and Hospitality, HCMC. Southern Cuisine Festival, Dam Sen Cultural Park, May 28, 2016).

* Ms. Thien Ly (Research and Development Department, Saigontourist College of Tourism and Hospitality)

Question: What factors need to be considered in terms of cuisine to be able to serve tourists well?

Reply:

- Food safety and hygiene. This is the top priority because it is related to human life. In addition, for group travelers, one person being poisoned will affect the whole group.

- Delicious (in terms of taste). Each region has different tastes (sour - sweet in the South). Depending on the taste of the customer and the characteristics of the dish, there are different taste regulations. For dishes with broth (vermicelli, pho, ...) the most important thing is the broth/stock. Especially for broken rice, fish sauce and the way the ribs are marinated are important.

- Aesthetics. Depending on the level of luxury/politeness, there are different levels of aesthetics. In hotels, the more stars, the higher the level of aesthetics in the dishes.

(Thien Ly, Research and Development Department, Saigontourist College of Tourism and Hospitality, HCMC. Southern Cuisine Festival, Dam Sen Cultural Park, May 28, 2016).

* Ms. Nguyen Thuan Anh (Editor of the cable TV channel Travel and Discovery SCTV12)

Question: According to you, what are the special dishes in Ho Chi Minh City?

Answer: The special dishes in Ho Chi Minh City are broken rice, crab noodle soup, beef noodle soup, etc. Customers often enjoy them at restaurants in inner-city districts because they are convenient for traveling. In addition, when there are many customers, the food tends to be more delicious (Nguyen Thuan Anh, Editor of the SCTV12 Travel and Discovery cable TV channel, Southern Cuisine Festival, Dam Sen Cultural Park, May 28, 2016).

* Ms. Nguyen Thi Dieu Thao (Vietnamese culinary expert)

Question : Could you please tell me some traditional Vietnamese dishes in Ho Chi Minh City?

Answer : Typical dishes are Pho, Spring rolls, Bun bo Hue. However, nowadays, tourists tend to want to enjoy more diverse dishes.

Question : Can you explain why some dishes on the list of "Ho Chi Minh City 100 interesting things" are enjoyed by some tourists but feel normal?

Answer : Maybe it's because the technique is not up to par, or because of the tourists' psychology and the atmosphere while enjoying the food. For example, the place is too noisy, or because the guests have eaten something too energetic before.

Question : What do you think about hygiene in food?

Answer : Hygiene is very important. Sometimes waiters think that hygiene is good. But that is hygiene according to their standards. Tourists may have higher standards.

Question : Some traditional Vietnamese dishes have a very distinctive smell, sometimes making it difficult for tourists to eat. So, according to you, how can we overcome this problem?

Answer : The important thing is how to prepare it. For example, with Bun Mam, I season it to reduce the strong flavor but not lose the flavor.

Question : How to promote culinary culture values to tourists?

Answer : Cuisine that wants to promote needs to understand the characteristics of customers. For example, Western customers do not like food that contains bones, tendons or organs. For example, Bun Mam, snakehead fish meat has bones. Or Bun Bo Hue, meat has tendons. In this case, it is necessary to use fish fillets or meat that has had the tendons removed when cooking. Protecting the domain name of a dish is also necessary to promote Vietnamese dishes and to ensure the quality of the dish. For example, the domain name for Yangzhou Fried Rice in China.

(Nguyen Thi Dieu Thao, Vietnamese culinary expert, Deputy Head of Faculty of Technical Education

- Saigon University. Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, April 26, 2017).

* Mr. La Quoc Khanh (Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism)

- The City's tourism industry is oriented to develop by exploiting its potential and strengths in MICE tourism, cultural and historical tourism, eco-tourism, culinary tourism, etc.

- Ho Chi Minh City has been implementing annual culinary activities to promote the image of Ho Chi Minh City such as the Southern Cuisine Festival, Delicious Dishes of All Countries, Southern Fruit Festival, Golden Spoon, etc.

(La Quoc Khanh, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, April 26, 2017).

* Mr. Paul Le (General Secretary of the French Escoffier Culinary Association)

- Vietnamese cuisine is influenced by invading countries, expressed through: taste, cooking style, enjoyment,...

- Cooking method is important. For example, in Vietnam, free-range chicken is very delicious. If the chef does not know how to cook, the chicken will be soft and not delicious.

- Spices also enhance the dish, for example, pepper in Vietnam is very fragrant, or Ly Son garlic is the same. This will enhance the flavor of the food.

- Organizing a chef competition with the participation of foreign chefs is a great way to promote the image of Vietnamese cuisine to the world.

- Saigon street food is very diverse: sweet soup, cakes, grilled dishes (grilled shrimp), hot pot, etc. Some special dishes: pho, congee, vermicelli with crab soup, etc.

- Saigon is considered a culinary paradise. “Bier garden” is also a style in Saigon. Foreigners coming to Vietnam also want to enjoy a glass of iced milk coffee because Vietnam is a land of coffee.

(Paul Le, General Secretary of the French Escoffier Culinary Association, Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, April 26, 2017).

* Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky (General Director of Vietravel Tourism Company)

In today’s business, value business is shifting to emotional business. Communication is an important factor to promote culinary values. Ho Chi Minh City should have regular culinary fairs as material for tourism companies, lacking international-class Vietnamese culinary restaurants, lacking culinary logos.

(Nguyen Quoc Ky, General Director of Vietravel Tourism Company. Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, April 26, 2017).

* Ms. Nguyen Thu Huong (General Director of Nam Huong Media and Investment Joint Stock Company)

- Our cuisine has not spread because the media is not part of the overall picture in promoting tourism.

- In addition to promoting traditional cuisine, we need to promote high-end cuisine. Our promotional channel on CNN only promotes street food. While 5-star hotel dishes are not given much attention. While this is a dish that brings in high revenue.

- In the media channels, we have not taken advantage of two channels: social networks and hot bloggers.

- The difficulty of cuisine is food hygiene and safety and unstable prices.

- Traditional cuisine is important but biased media will lose high-spending customers.

- Our communication is not good. Instead of saying “say no to dirty food”, we should say “say yes to clean food”.

(Nguyen Thu Huong, General Director of Nam Huong Media and Investment Joint Stock Company. Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, April 26, 2017).

* Mr. Giovanni J. Delrosario (Director/Chef, Culinary and Restaurant Program, Harbor University Los Angeles (USA); Head Chef, Culinary Arts Department, Los Angeles Trade Technical University)

- Promoting street food is not enough, we must promote healthy food, such as organic food.

- For chefs, it is necessary to educate and train them not only with skills but also with knowledge of culinary culture.

- When exploiting cuisine, Ho Chi Minh City not only focuses on international visitors but also domestic tourists.

(Giovanni J. Delrosario, Director/Chef, Culinary and Restaurant Program, Harbor University Los Angeles; Executive Chef, Culinary Arts, Los Angeles Trade Technical University. Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, April 26, 2017).

* Mr. Pham Viet Anh (Executive Chairman of Vietnamese Brand Ideas Company and Left Brain Connectors strategic design).

- Many people nowadays forget the origin of food. For example: the saying “Shrimp beard cooked with squash”. Every country has food, but the difference is in the philosophy of the food. If the people and tour guides do not understand the philosophy of food, we cannot do cultural tourism.

- The pinnacle of branding is telling a story. Our dishes already have a story (like the story of banh chung and banh day), we just need to exploit [tell it].

- At starred restaurants, each restaurant should have a board introducing some of its signature dishes.

(Pham Viet Anh, Executive Chairman of Vietnam Brand Idea Company and Left Brain Connectors strategic design. Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, April 26, 2017).

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