Dustin Cheverier (from Southern California, USA) is one of the most well-known foreign travel bloggers with a personal YouTube channel with more than 790,000 followers. He has been living in Vietnam for 9 years and regularly shares videos of his experiences about life, travel and cuisine from the South to the North.
The American guy commented that Vietnam is a destination with many advantages to attract tourists, from cuisine, human culture to natural landscapes. Therefore, he always wants to be able to "contribute to promoting the image of the S-shaped strip of land" through the videos he posts on his personal page.
Not only does Dustin spend time learning and exploring traditional dishes, he is also interested and knowledgeable when it comes to "catching trends" and experiencing new food and drink trends among Vietnamese youth.
Most recently, Dustin and his Vietnamese friend went to a tea shop on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street (Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) to enjoy a drink that has been "making waves" on social media recently. That is hand-pounded lemon tea.
Unlike traditional lemon tea, hand-pounded lemon tea is made from lemons from Guangdong (China). This type of lemon has a rough, rather hard skin but is more fragrant than other types of lemons. The lemon has a pleasant aroma, like lemongrass, so it is very suitable for making drinks. When pounded hard, the essential oil from the lemon gives off a pleasant aroma.
This drink has the mild sourness of lemon, the aroma of jasmine tea or oolong tea, and a little sweetness from sugar water. Not only does it have a unique flavor, hand-pounded lemon tea also attracts customers with its unique mixing method.
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Hand-pounded lemon tea is a hot-trend drink that is causing a "fever" on social networks, with many customers lining up to buy it (Photo: Kim Ngan)
Dustin said the hand-pounded lemon tea shop opens from 4pm to 11-12am, with the busiest time being between 7-8pm. He and his Vietnamese friend arrived at the shop early but the line was already very long.
“The shop opens at 4pm, it’s 5pm now and we’re number 80. The line was already pretty long,” Dustin’s friend said.
Although he arrived at the shop quite early, Dustin saw a long line of customers waiting to buy hand-pounded lemon tea.
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A Western customer took the opportunity to chat with some other customers while waiting in line to buy hand-pounded lemon tea (Screenshot)
The two quickly lined up and waited their turn to buy drinks. This Western customer humorously revealed that he would normally return home and rest at 7pm. However, because he was excited and wanted to enjoy this "feverish" drink, he accepted to travel far to get here and wait for many hours without feeling uncomfortable or tired.
Dustin’s friend was also lucky enough to experience pounding lemons by hand and she kept exclaiming when she saw how laborious this drink-making process was. The couple also couldn’t stop admiring when they learned that the staff at this lemon tea shop had to pound lemons continuously for about 8 hours to serve hundreds of customers who bought drinks here.
After buying the cup of hand-pounded lemon tea that he had spent so much time waiting for, Dustin excitedly tried it. He said he chose the original flavor so he could clearly feel the aroma of lemon.
"The lemon scent lingers in the mouth longer than the usual preparation. The taste is also stronger. It really has a different flavor and I understand why this drink is so popular," commented the American YouTuber.
The Western guest also said that he thought the restaurant used 4 slices of lemon for a cup of tea and crushed them, which was the reason why the lemon flavor was so strong.
“For those who like to drink lemonade, this new drink will be a good choice. It is quite refreshing to drink. Although it is not outstanding, I still find it quite delicious and worth enjoying,” Dustin expressed.
In addition to hand-pounded lemon tea, Dustin and his friend also took the opportunity to experience the flavors of two other “hot-trend” drinks: salted coffee and soursop tea. He commented that each drink was delicious, with its own attractive flavor.
The image of diners lining up to eat pho at some famous restaurants in Hanoi recently received mixed opinions. Many netizens said that it was "suffering and humiliating to eat", "it's not the subsidy period anymore, why do we have to wait for food". Besides, many opinions on the contrary said that, not only in Vietnam but also in developed countries around the world, tourists also have to line up to enjoy delicious dishes. Many restaurants and shops have become destinations that attract international visitors thanks to the image of queuing.
VietNamNet Travel section invites readers to share stories and opinions on the topic of Queuing for food: Civilization or 'humiliation'? to email [email protected]. Appropriate articles will be published according to editorial regulations.
Thanks a lot.
Phan Dau
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