Many traditional dishes are rated 'worst in Vietnam' by international visitors

Many traditional dishes were ranked in the list of 45 "worst Vietnamese dishes" voted by Taste Atlas readers, causing controversy among Vietnamese diners.

In March, the famous culinary site Taste Atlas published a ranking of the 45 most criticized Vietnamese dishes, based on votes from readers around the world. Green bean cake was ranked "worst" with only 2.8/5 points.

The cake is a combination of mung beans, vegetable oil or lard, sugar and flavoring. The finished product is a square cake, with a dense texture from fine flour. According to Taste Atlas, many documents record that the dish was born in the 1920s in Hai Duong and gradually became a popular snack throughout Vietnam. Traditionally, mung bean cake is often eaten with a cup of green tea or lotus tea to help the flour melt in the mouth, reduce the sweetness and avoid choking.

Green bean cake is often served with green tea. Photo: checheh — Green bean cake is often served with green tea. Photo: *checheh*

The second dish on the list is blood pudding, tied with green bean cake. The dish is described as bright red, made from fresh animal blood, mixed with fish sauce, topped with minced meat, peanuts, and herbs. The dish is served when the blood has solidified, with a jelly-like texture. This popular traditional Vietnamese dish has caused controversy due to the risk of contamination with tapeworms and some harmful bacteria.

The third dish mentioned is banh troi. This dish is made from rice flour and glutinous rice flour, popular in Northern Vietnam. The cake has a chewy texture, is filled with sugar, and is topped with fresh grated coconut and roasted sesame. The top 10 list also includes many famous dishes such as meat jelly, vermicelli with fermented shrimp paste, vermicelli with fish sauce from the West, congee, banana sweet soup, sticky rice with gac fruit, and banh nuong (moon cake).

The Taste Atlas ranking has caused controversy among many Vietnamese readers. Ms. Ha Nguyen, an office worker in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, said she was surprised that some famous and popular dishes such as bun dau mam tom or bun mam were on the list. Ms. Ha said that this was just the subjective opinion of some diners, they could not accurately assess the taste of Vietnamese dishes.

"This list can easily cause many foreign diners to have a negative and incorrect view of traditional Vietnamese dishes," said Ms. Ha.

Ms. Ngoc Linh, 28 years old, living in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, the dishes on the list are not unfamiliar to Vietnamese people, but for some foreign diners, if they are not used to eating them or do not know how to enjoy them, they will not feel the deliciousness. Ms. Linh said that some foreign friends once commented that they "could not eat" the green bean cake because the dough stuck in their mouth, like eating boiled egg yolk and easily choking.

"These friends don't know how to eat mung bean cake so they have to drink it with tea," said Linh.

In announcing the rankings, Taste Atlas also noted that the list should not be considered the final word on the food, as it is based on readers’ votes and not on expert judgment. The purpose of these rankings is to promote local delicacies and to instill pride in traditional dishes.

In February 2023, this culinary site also had a ranking of the world's most terrifying dishes, including balut. In addition, Taste Atlas has also published many rankings praising Vietnamese dishes. In March, this site ranked Vietnamese bread at the top of the list of 100 best sandwiches in the world (Top 100 sandwiches in the world).

Bich Phuong

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