Vietnamese bread 'upgraded' with side vegetables costing more than half a million VND/kg

Locals and tourists try "sea dragon pearl" used as a vegetable to eat with bread at the 3rd Vietnam Bread Festival, 2025 - Photo: THAO THUONG

Tuoi Tre Online recorded the increasing "heat" of the 3rd Vietnam Bread Festival on the 3rd day, March 23. People, tourists, especially international tourists, still flocked to the festival to enjoy bread.

At the Grandma Lu brand bread stall, many customers were curious about the vegetables when Mr. Nick Shell (31 years old, American) introduced the vegetable as sea dragon pearl.

Ms. Luu Thi Thu Huong (35 years old, owner of the Grandma Lu brand) said that she built a bread brand from her family's traditional bread cart, but she wanted the bread to not only retain its traditional flavor but also improve its quality.

"Basically, I keep the traditional flavor, and find more ingredients to go with the bread to upgrade and improve the quality. I found that sea pearls were suitable, so I went to find a supplier. Sea pearls are rich in fiber, vitamins, and bring health benefits.

Each loaf of bread here costs 50,000 VND, and this new type of vegetable alone has about 20g in each loaf of bread," said Ms. Huong.

The Grandma Lu bread brand "mixes" traditional flavors with creative additions of vegetables used in high-end restaurants, to increase the value of Vietnamese bread - Photo: THAO THUONG

Meanwhile, Mr. Nick Shell, a grower of sea arowana (a plant with high salt tolerance in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa) said that this is the first time he has distributed sea arowana to a Vietnamese bakery business.

"For any dish or bread in particular, businesses will be at risk if they change the menu or recipe frequently. But Vietnamese bread brand Grandma Lu is willing to use a new recipe.

"Vietnamese bread is a creative combination of traditional and modern flavors, very attractive, upgrading popular dishes, international guests really like it," said Mr. Nick Shell.

Currently, at a high-end food store chain in Ho Chi Minh City, sea dragon pearl is sold at 650,000 VND/kg.

Harvesting sea dragon fruit - a vegetable that is often chosen by foreign customers in high-end restaurants - Photo: NICK SHELL

In the world, this vegetable is popular in Europe, Australia and America. In particular, in the Japanese market, the current price is 160 USD/kg (more than 4 million VND/kg).

Has many health benefits

A chain of high-end food stores in Ho Chi Minh City is selling the side dish vegetables found in the Grandma Lu bread brand for 650,000 VND/kg - Photo: THAO THUONG

Sea dragon pearl (English name is Samphire) is a salt-tolerant plant that often grows naturally on the coast, bringing high health and economic value, appearing in high-class restaurants.

According to many scientific studies, the new vegetable eaten with Vietnamese bread at festivals is rich in vitamin C and has anti-inflammatory compounds, which are beneficial for regulating blood pressure.

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