Choi Jong-rak is a Korean YouTuber who has been living in Ho Chi Minh City for more than 5 years. Jong-rak, his brother Sungrak and another friend created a YouTube channel and regularly share about culture, life and culinary experiences in two countries, Vietnam and Korea.

Currently, the YouTube channel of the three Korean guys has received more than 924,000 followers and each video posted often attracts from tens of thousands to millions of views.

Most recently, Jongrak traveled to Hai Phong to meet a fellow countryman named Robin (born in 1993, from Busan). Having a wife from Hai Phong and having lived here for several years, Robin proved to be quite knowledgeable and did not hesitate to introduce and take Jongrak to enjoy delicious dishes and famous local specialties.

Two Korean guys excitedly enjoyed many delicious dishes on the Hai Phong food tour (Screenshot)

The first place Jongrak and Robin chose to stop was a famous restaurant on Cau Dat Street (Ngo Quyen District, Hai Phong City). This is also a familiar dining address for locals and tourists from all over.

The restaurant serves two famous delicacies: crab noodles and crab spring rolls. After just a few minutes of waiting, the two Korean guys were served two full servings of crab noodles and crispy fried crab spring rolls, cut into quarters.

Jongrak said he was very impressed with the crab spring rolls. The spring rolls were crispy, hot, had a fragrant crab flavor, and were quite large compared to other Vietnamese spring rolls he had eaten. In particular, the fish sauce that came with the spring rolls looked similar to the fish sauce served with Hanoi vermicelli with grilled pork, but had a more unique and appealing flavor.

baby crab spring rolls.gif
Jongrak (left) and Robin (right) continuously exclaim how delicious the crab spring rolls are (Photo cut from clip)

The Korean YouTuber also expressed his delight when being instructed on how to eat crab spring rolls in the most delicious way to fully experience the flavor of Hai Phong's specialty. The spring rolls are cut into four parts, dipped in sweet and sour fish sauce with thinly sliced ​​carrots and papaya, and raw vegetables (lettuce, coriander) are added.

After filling his stomach with crab spring rolls, Jongrak continued to enjoy crab rice noodles. After tasting the first spoonful of broth, he exclaimed because it was delicious.

"The broth is very clear, the taste is really familiar to Koreans," Jongrak commented.

crab cake.gif
The Korean YouTuber carried a whole bowl and slurped the broth of the crab noodle dish (Photo cut from clip)

The young customer was also curious because it was the first time he saw the red rice paper typical of Hai Phong people. This type of rice paper has a chewy texture, softness, and a unique taste, completely different from the usual pho noodles and white rice paper.

Besides, the broth has a rich crab flavor, eaten with celery, making the Korean guy even more impressed.

Jongrak and Robin continued to move to a sidewalk restaurant to enjoy some rustic snacks such as chicken stewed with mugwort leaves, duck eggs, etc. Among them, the dish they both enjoyed most was stir-fried bean sprouts.

Sea bean sprouts (also known as sea bean sprouts) are a type of mollusk with a dark green shell, at first glance quite similar to a mussel but only the size of a thumb. They live deep under the sea sand, have legs about 4 - 5 cm long exposed, are slender and have the shape of bean sprouts, so they are called sea bean sprouts.

In Hai Phong, sea urchins are abundant in some places such as Trang Cat (Hai An district), Do Son (Do Son district), Cat Ba (Cat Hai district). Because sea urchins live in the sand, the process of preparing them is quite elaborate. People often clean the outer shell and then soak the sea urchins in water for at least 6 hours to let them release all the dirt inside, then wash them again.

Stir-fried bean sprouts are one of the unique specialties in Hai Phong (Photo: Diem Vu, Ngan Nguyen)

After preliminary processing, the legs of the bean sprouts are separated, while the body is kept intact and then stir-fried with spices such as onions, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, turmeric powder, etc. Hai Phong people also add a mixture of flour or diluted tapioca starch to create a thick, viscous texture for the dish.

Jongrak was surprised to see the stir-fried bean sprouts still in their shells. However, when he tried the first piece, he was surprised because the flavor was better than he had imagined.

“Is this really edible?” “Wow, it's delicious!” Jongrak exclaimed.

Robin commented that the bottom part of the bean sprouts is very crispy, fragrant, and tastes like sunflower seeds.

stir fried baby.gif
Two Korean guests tasted the famous stir-fried bean sprouts dish in Hai Phong for the first time (Photo cut from clip)

Spicy bread and coconut jelly were the last two dishes that the Korean couple enjoyed during their Hai Phong food tour. While Jongrak commented that coconut jelly was “fatty, rich, and attractive”, the baguette also made the YouTuber “wide-eyed” because it was delicious.

“The crispy bread and pate are also delicious. It is important to dip it in chi chuong to get the right taste. Without this, it would be less delicious,” he said.

When asked by Robin about his feelings after the trip, Jongrak shared that Hai Phong food is really delicious and tasty. Among them, crab spring rolls are his favorite dish, "If I go back to Ho Chi Minh City, I will definitely miss this dish a lot."

Phan Dau

5 famous delicious specialties of Hai Phong Hai Phong specialties are famous for many delicious dishes, made from fresh seafood, with attractive flavors such as crab rice noodles, spicy fish noodles, spicy bread, crab spring rolls, khoai porridge,...