Maysaa (full name is Maysaa Bouavone Phanthaboouasy, born in 2001, Lao nationality) is one of the prominent TikTokers in Vietnam with many videos introducing the culture and cuisine between the two countries.

Maysaa received a scholarship in Vietnam and chose to study at Quang Ninh University of Industry (Quang Ninh province). She is currently pursuing a master's degree at the National Economics University.

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Maysaa welcomes her parents to Vietnam to attend her university graduation ceremony in Quang Ninh, August 2024

A few months ago, Maysaa invited her parents from Laos to Quang Ninh to attend her university graduation ceremony.

On this occasion, she took her parents to visit some places and taste many attractive specialties. Among them, there was a dish that Maysaa jokingly called “bim bim”, priced up to 5 million VND/kg. That was dried sea worms.

Maysaa revealed that the owner of an avocado ice cream shop in Ha Long had seen the video and really liked Maysaa, so he invited her and her parents to try the famous dish.

“The owner, Ms. Phuong, really likes me. She saw my videos on TikTok, so she invited my whole family to the shop to eat ice cream and gave us a plate of dried sea worms for everyone to try,” the 10X said.

Lao girl invites parents to enjoy dried sea worms with chili sauce

At first, Maysaa did not reveal the price of dried sea worms to her parents and enthusiastically invited them to try this specialty.

After enjoying the dish, Maysaa's mother, Phone (48 years old), praised the dish as "rich and crispy". Her father was also impressed with the taste of the dish and said he wanted to buy some to bring back to Laos.

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Maysaa's parents were impressed with the taste of Quang Ninh's specialty dish.

However, when Maysaa revealed that this dish was made from a type of seafood similar to earthworms, sold for about 5 million VND/kg, her mother was a bit confused, and her father exclaimed in surprise.

Because the price of dried sea worms is expensive, Maysaa’s parents decided to just try them and not buy them to take home. The Lao girl also said that if she has the opportunity to return to Quang Ninh, she will buy some of this specialty to bring back to her country so that her family and friends can enjoy it.

Sharing with VietNamNet reporter, Maysaa said that she had previously enjoyed dried sea worms at a family's wedding in Ha Long. The first time she tasted it, she felt that the dish had a slightly sweet, delicious taste, quite similar to dried squid.

“I heard people say that dried sea worms are a famous specialty in Quang Ninh. They are delicious when used in hot pot or pho broth, have a natural sweet taste and are very expensive,” Maysaa said.

Out of curiosity, the Lao girl then went to Ha Long market to buy and was surprised to learn that dried sea worms cost up to 4-5 million VND/kg.

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Dried sea worms are considered "the rich man's MSG" because of their natural sweetness and high price. Photo: QN Sea Worms

Maysaa further revealed that because Laos has no sea, during the trip with her parents in Quang Ninh, she also took the opportunity to take her parents to the island to play and experience some delicious and attractive seafood dishes.

“Laos is landlocked so there is no fresh seafood. My parents love seafood so I often buy Quang Ninh specialties such as squid rolls, dried squid, etc. to bring home for my family to enjoy,” the 23-year-old girl shared.

Maysaa also revealed that, in addition to the specialties of the mining land, she has tasted many delicious and strange dishes in Vietnam. Among them, the 10X likes the most is bun dau mam tom because "it is not available in Laos and the smell of shrimp paste is very special".

"I ate it once and have been addicted ever since," the Lao girl humorously said.

Photo: Maysaa Phanthabouasy

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