Preserving the old flavor of Nha Trang bread

The fragrant aroma, crispy crust, and soft inside have become the very special appeal of the old Nha Trang bread. This unique feature makes anyone who eats it addicted to this coastal city bread...

Hard work to keep the job

At 4 o'clock, when the streets were still quiet, the bakers of Phuc Loc bakery (Phuoc Hai ward, Nha Trang city) were already rushing to put bread into the oven. Some were cutting the bread, some were spraying mist, some were putting the bread blanks on the baking trays quickly. Working hard in the hot oven, sweat pouring out, Mr. Tran Van Phuc told the story: "My family has been making bread for nearly 50 years. I grew up seeing my father working hard all day in the red-hot oven. Although there have been many improvements in making bread, the workers have not been much less tired. From kneading the dough, dividing and making round bread, rolling long bread, waiting for the bread to rise and putting it in the oven, every step requires diligence."

Preparing to put the bread dough into the wood-fired oven.

Prepare to put the bread dough into the wood-fired oven.

Helping his son put the bread into the oven, the steaming heat seemed to dry out the wrinkled skin of Mr. Tran Van Loc (70 years old). The old craftsman no longer works directly, but still supervises the family's baking techniques every day. In his memory, when he started his business (in 1977), Nha Trang only had a few bakeries, such as: Vinh Thanh, Vinh Quang, Thien Phuoc, Thien Hoa, Phuc Loc. The ovens were all handmade with dome-shaped ovens. Before baking, people used firewood to burn directly on the baking floor, when it was hot enough, they removed the firewood, swept away the ash and put the bread in. Later, it was improved to a square oven using indirect firewood. The heat from the charcoal was directed both above and below the baking floor so the bread was evenly cooked. As soon as the bread was made, it was sold out. “Back then, every night, I had to go to the station to catch trains from the North to buy handfuls of wheat flour from the Soviet Union. If I could buy a lot, I would make a lot, if I could buy a little, I would make a little. In addition, it was not easy to find bakers, all the bakers at Phuc Loc were hired by me all the way from Hue ,” Mr. Loc confided.

15 minutes later, the first batch of bread was taken out of the oven. The fragrant aroma of the bread spread out, hundreds of crispy and curved breads were poured into a large wooden barrel. Quickly breaking the bread in half to check the crispiness, Mr. Truong Dinh Chien (42 years old but has 30 years of experience in the profession) shared: “The old Nha Trang bread has a crispy crust, golden brown, attractive aroma, dense inside, and the crust does not crumble when eaten. Even after 3-4 hours of being out of the oven, it is not dry and hard, still retains its crispiness. This is the difference between Nha Trang bread and other regions”.

Delicious food of the coastal city

Many people say that if you come to Nha Trang and don’t eat a loaf of bread here, you can’t say you’ve enjoyed all the delicious food in this coastal city. Indeed, bread in Nha Trang has its own unique and attractive flavor. In early 2023, Free Malaysia Today introduced 5 specialties in Nha Trang to local and international visitors, including bread.

Mr. Tran Van Phuc unloads a batch of new cakes from the oven.

Mr. Tran Van Phuc pours out a batch of new cakes from the oven.

Indeed, holding a hot, crispy loaf of bread, filled with cold cuts, crispy roast pork, fish cakes, pork rolls, delicious, fatty fried eggs... along with the strong aroma of herbs, pickles, onions... the diner can fully experience the typical flavor of bread from the coastal city. Ms. Gai Tu, a bread seller (at the beginning of alley 157 Nguyen Thien Thuat, Nha Trang City) said: " Tourists when coming to Nha Trang, especially foreign tourists, love to eat bread; I sell hundreds of loaves every day."

As Sister Tu said, within about 15 minutes at the end of the afternoon, I saw dozens of foreign customers stopping by the rustic bread cabinet to enjoy the taste of this dish. Seeing us taking pictures, Shumilov Ivan, who was buying bread, immediately raised his thumb to show his satisfaction with Nha Trang bread. For the past 3 years, this Russian guy has been doing business in Vietnam and has lived in the coastal city, becoming a regular customer of Sister Tu. With a broken Vietnamese accent, Shumilov said with a smile: “Nha Trang bread is delicious. The crust is crispy, the filling is fatty, and there are many types of sweet and sour sauces. This is probably the best and most wonderful bread I have had the chance to enjoy in Vietnam.”

Like other cities, when coming to Nha Trang, visitors can find bread stalls on all major roads as well as in small alleys. In the memories of many people, famous bread brands in Nha Trang, such as: Nguyen Huong on Thong Nhat Street; Vinh Thanh on Le Thanh Ton Street; Ba Le on Le Thanh Phuong Street; Ngan Huong on Hong Bang Street; Tuyet Huong, Dong Man on Ngo Gia Tu Street... have long been too familiar.

Desire to improve

It was a pleasure that during the recent Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa Sea Festival 2023, the image of Nha Trang bread was promoted through the "Bread Tower" model with 1,000 loaves of local bread. The bread tower is 3m high and 6m long, and was conceived by culinary artist Hoang Thi Anh Tuyet from HTCHEF Vocational Training School and artist Phuong Dai - a member of Khanh Hoa Culinary Culture Association . 15 years ago, Ms. Tuyet was deeply thinking about preserving the soul of the old Nha Trang bread. Having traveled to many places and been exposed to many European and Asian foods, the uniqueness and simplicity of this dish has truly made her cherish it and want to preserve it. “There are more and more bakeries in the city, but it is not easy to find a traditional bakery with a charcoal oven like the old days. The nostalgia of the bakery that always had a red fire, producing dense bread with golden turtle skin has been in my mind for many years. The bread is still full now, but the inside is hollow due to too much yeast. 15 years ago, I researched the traditional bread of my hometown,” said Ms. Tuyet. Currently, it is very difficult to find bakers who make bread in the old style. Skilled bakers have left for other jobs or switched to making bread with an electric oven for ease. To preserve the flavor of old Nha Trang bread, 10 years ago, HTCHEF Vocational Training School founded by Ms. Tuyet introduced the traditional way of making bread . According to her, only teaching can keep Nha Trang's unique way of making bread from fading away. Nha Trang currently has more than 200 bakeries, but there are less than 10 earthen ovens that use firewood. “I wish that in a few years, traditional bread will not only be a street food chosen by tourists but also become a typical dish of Nha Trang in 5-star hotels.”

Nha Trang bread is a favorite dish of foreign tourists.

Sharing the same wish to preserve the flavors of old Nha Trang, Ms. Le Thi Hong Minh - General Director of Cam Ranh International Terminal Joint Stock Company, President of Khanh Hoa Culinary Culture Association said: “We need to preserve the culinary culture of Nha Trang in general, including bread in particular. In the near future, the association will cooperate with artisans to build some traditional bread making spots so that tourists can visit, experience and enjoy. In the long term, we will raise the level, bringing bread closer to foreign visitors. Using bread as a bridge to express the traditional cultural features of the friendly and hospitable homeland of Khanh Hoa”.

When the Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa Sea Festival 2023 ended, it was also the time when the "Bread Tower" received the record for the largest bread tower display model in Vietnam. Mixed with the small joys, the cries of bread sellers on the street still echoed somewhere. But to preserve the flavor of old Nha Trang, perhaps more efforts are needed .

DINH LAM - CONG DINH

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