First-ever baguette festival honours national delicacy

HCM City (VNA) – The first Vietnamese “banh mi” (baguette) festival opened in Ho Chi Minh City on March 30 night, bringing together 120 pavilions from domestic and foreign restaurants, hotels, bakeries and businesses.

The festival, to last until April 2, aims to recognise the value of bread for Vietnamese cuisine and honour the skill and creativity of bakers. It is expected to attract 50,000 visitors.

A ceremony to honour top long-standing and famous bread brands in Vietnam, and a workshop on the development of  bread in Vietnam will be organised in the framework of the event.

"Banh mi" is ranked 7th among the best street foods in the world by TasteAtlas, a website dedicated to discovering fresh ingredients, traditional dishes, and authentic restaurants around the world. It was also named among the 50 best street foods in Asia by CNN.

“Banh mi” (pronounced 'bun mee') is a popular Vietnamese variety of sandwich that shares the same core ingredient - a baguette.

The baguette was brought over to Vietnam during the colonial period, and nowadays it is one of the few remaining legacies from the time. In the beginning, most "banh mi" sandwiches consisted of bread, meat, and seasonings, with no added vegetables./.