Local residents and tourists experience cultural activities at the festival. (Photo: VNA) Dien Bien (VNA) - A culinary contest themed “Huong sac Dien Bien" kicked off in the northwest province of Dien Bien on March 12 as part of the Hoa Ban (Ban Flower) Festival 2023 and the 7th Culture, Sports and Tourism Festival in the locality.
The competition attracted 18 teams, including those from six restaurants and 12 community cultural tourism villages in the province.
A bamboo dancing performance of the Kho Mu people in Dien Bien province at the festival. (Photo: VNA) Doan Van Chi, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said with 19 ethnic communities living in the area, Dien Bien is working well on preserving and promoting cultural values of ethnic communities in the province.
The contest aims to contribute to honouring, preserving, and promoting the traditional, unique and attractive culinary culture of local ethnic minorities, and developing unique and unique dishes to serve tourists, he affirmed.
In 2020-2021, the Vietnam Records Organisation (VietKings) listed four delicious dishes of Dien Bien in the Top 100 unique dishes across the country, including boiled bitter bamboo shoots, fragrant sticky rice, dried buffalo meat, and “sau Chit” wine. In 2022, VietKings honoured two more delicacies of Dien Bien, namely grilled stream fish (Pa Pinh top) and grilled chicken with Mac khen in the Top 100 Vietnamese specialties.
Earlier, a street parade festival took place at Him Lam square in Dien Bien Phu city on March 11 night.
The festival aimed to honour cultural heritage values, contributing to promoting socio-economic development of Dien Bien in particular, and the northwest region in general.
In his speech at the opening ceremony, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Dien Bien Phu city Nguyen Quang Hung highlighted the significance of the event, saying that the festival offered a good chance for visitors to enjoy unique and interesting experiences, thus awakening the potential as well as contributing to preserving cultural values of the border locality./.
