Dion and Kim (from Australia) started their journey to explore Southeast Asia at the end of 2022, after they decided to quit their jobs and sell all their assets to pursue their passion for traveling around the world.

The couple is currently based in Vietnam with many culinary trips from the South to the North.

In a recent video posted on YouTube, Dion and Kim revealed that they had come to Thanh Hoa City and stopped by a famous local restaurant to enjoy the delicious food there.

The restaurant is located on Le Huu Lap Street, specializing in serving typical Thanh dishes such as sour spring rolls, grilled spring rolls, spring rolls, mountain spring rolls, etc. This is also a familiar dining address for many people in the area and visitors from all over.

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Dion (left) and Kim (right) had a culinary experience in Thanh Hoa City recently.

Kim said the restaurant's menu is very diverse, including many different dishes and serving quantities according to customers' needs.

After consulting a young customer sitting across from them, they decided to order 5 dishes, including fermented pork roll, spring rolls (also known as spring rolls with skin, spring rolls), grilled spring rolls, fried shrimp rolls and room rolls (called spring rolls or fried spring rolls in the North).

Of which, nem chua costs 5,000 VND/piece, nem cuon costs 7,000 VND/piece, nem nuong costs 20,000 VND/bunch, fried shrimp rolls cost 15,000 VND/skewer and cha phong costs 10,000 VND/piece.

“We ordered a few dishes and it felt like a feast with a lot of delicious food,” Kim described.

Two Australian guests were surprised by the cheap food.

To experience like a local, the couple tried dishes from nem chua, nem cuon to nem nuong, cha phong and cha tom chien.

They commented that each dish has its own flavor. Among them, nem chua has a mild sour taste from fermented pork, nem cuon is fresh with attractive crispy skin.

“Cha phong and cha tom chien look quite similar, both have a rich flavor from meat and shrimp, but the shrimp cake skin is softer,” Kim shared her feelings.

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The couple commented that the grilled spring rolls were not visually appealing but the flavor was surprising.

Among the dishes they enjoyed, the two Australian guests admitted that grilled spring rolls were their favorite, more impressive than spring rolls and sour spring rolls because of their unique and attractive flavor.

“Honestly, at first glance, the grilled spring rolls look a bit strange, but when I tasted them, I felt the salty, fatty taste was very delicious,” Kim said.

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Dion and Kim enjoy Thanh Hoa grilled spring rolls, admitting they like them better than spring rolls and sour spring rolls.

Chung commented, Dion said that at first he did not expect grilled spring rolls but was quite surprised when he tasted this specialty.

“Yesterday we spent quite a bit of time researching what to eat when we arrived in Thanh Hoa. And we saw grilled spring rolls being introduced as a must-try local specialty.

I was surprised because I didn't think the pork and skin after being marinated and grilled would have such an unexpected flavor," Dion said.

Sharing with VietNamNet reporter, Mr. Hoang Dinh De (living in Tho Dien commune, Tho Xuan district) said that his family has been making grilled spring rolls for many years in the locality.

Grilled spring rolls are made from main ingredients such as pork, rice flour, spices (broth powder, pepper, garlic), guava leaves or polyscias fruticosa leaves,...

Grilled spring rolls are a rustic specialty of Tho Xuan, Thanh Hoa. Photo: Hoang Dinh De

According to Mr. De, to make delicious grilled spring rolls, many factors are needed. Among them, choosing the meat is considered the most important step.

The best pork is freshly butchered, still slightly warm, and is the lean loin or shoulder. If you want the spring rolls to be crispier or easier to eat, you can add a little fat or pork skin.

In particular, the meat must not be washed, it must be drained and marinated with seasoning powder instead of fish sauce, to prevent the spring rolls from being watery. If the meat is wet, the spring rolls will spoil, have a sour smell, and quickly go rancid.

Nem is most delicious and flavorful when grilled in charcoal ash. The grilling process also requires attention to time, so that the banana leaf wrapping on the outside is charred but the inside is not burnt.

“A standard grilled spring roll should be dry, not watery, have a mild sour taste, a bit spicy from chili and pepper, and the aroma of garlic, rice powder, Polyscias fruticosa leaves, and the smell of burnt banana leaves.

Grilled spring rolls over just the right amount of heat will retain moisture, making the meat soft and not dry," Mr. De shared.

Photo: Dion & Kim

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