What to eat in Ben Tre - Top specialty dishes in Ben Tre

Ben Tre is a province in the Mekong Delta and is known as the “Land of Coconut”. Therefore, this place has produced a lot of delicious dishes with ingredients inspired by coconut. In addition to dishes from coconut, Ben Tre also has many specialty dishes that you should not miss. So let’s find out what to eat in Ben Tre and where to eat in Ben Tre with Mekong Smile Tour.

What to eat in Ben Tre?

1. What to eat in Ben Tre – Coconut candy

Coconut candy is one of the famous specialties in Ben Tre. The best coconut candy is produced in Mo Cay District. The main ingredients to make this candy include coconut milk and maltose. It is tasty, greasy smell and slightly sweet in a unique way that you can’t find it anywhere else.

Today, the people of Ben Tre have created many kinds of coconut candy with different flavors such as cocoa coconut candy, durian, jackfruit, or peanut filling to meet all the needs of customers. Each type has its own unique flavor but still retains its traditional character.

What to eat in Ben Tre - Top specialty dishes in Ben Tre — What to eat in Ben Tre – Coconut candy

2. Coconut wine

One of the other specialties of Ben Tre is coconut wine. This wine has a rather complicated recipe. Ben Tre coconut wine with the sweet taste of coconut and the mild spicy taste of the wine. Therefore, it creates a unique flavor of coconut wine that you will never forget when enjoying.

In addition, Ben Tre coconut wine attracts people not only because of its delicious taste but also great effects on health. Especially, coconut wine can conquer women by preserving their beauty, good support for the digestive system.

3. What to eat in Ben Tre – Coconut rice

When traveling to Ben Tre province, you must definitely enjoy coconut rice here. Cooking a delicious coconut rice dish takes a lot of effort and time. The chef needs to wash the rice with coconut water to infuse from the preparation stage, then use coconut water to cook directly in the coconut. This dish is often served with savory dishes such as fried shrimp, braised meat.

Coconut rice is fatty, fragrant. Especially, diners should eat this dish while it is still hot to fully enjoy the delicious taste. The interesting thing about enjoying this dish is eating directly in the coconut.

4. My Long rice paper

My Long rice paper is the pride of Ben Tre people in its great taste. This rice paper is made from rice flour and coconut milk, white sesame, sugar, and some other ingredients. People often enjoy this dish by baking rice paper. When eating My Long rice paper, you will feel the sweetness of coconut, the fat of fragrant sticky rice combined with sesame and milk. This delicious dish will make you remember forever. In addition, to meet the diverse needs of visitors, the people of My Long have produced many different flavors.

5. Coconut tuber salad

In Ben Tre, it seems that in any part of the coconut tree, people can make delicious dishes. Therefore, that creates a richness in the culinary culture here. And dishes made from coconut tubers have become a specialty in Ben Tre. The coconut tuber is the upper part of the coconut stem, located deep in the trunk. When eating dishes made from coconut tuber, the first impression is that it is sweet and crunchy when chewed. This is a nutritious food, very good for health, and good for the digestive system.

Coconut tubers are thinly sliced into long fibers mixed with the above ingredients, adding spices. From there, forming an attractive and flavorful coconut tubers salad, one of the specialties of Ben Tre. This dish has a sweet and sour taste. When eaten, it will feel crispy, fragrant, and frugal. In addition, the ingredients to make the salad include black tiger shrimp, pork belly, thinly sliced pork ears, laksa leaves, onions, and crispy roasted peanuts.

6. What to eat in Ben Tre – Coconut mice

When you hear about mice, you will be very apprehensive about the cleanliness and safety of the dish. However, you can rest assured with Ben Tre specialties made from coconut mice. Coconut mice live on coconut trees and specialize in destroying coconuts. These mice are quite cunning as well as agile. Therefore, catching the mouse is a sweaty process. But thanks to that, the food is more valuable.

Coconut mice often have tough, fatty meat. After cleaning the skin, the mice can be processed into many different delicious dishes such as grilled coconut mice, steamed coconut mice.

7. Field crab porridge

The field crabs are peeled to get bricks to cook the broth, while the crab meat is pureed. Especially, the crab porridge must be cooked in an earthen pot to keep the flavor of the dish. With an extremely attractive and delicious taste, visitors will not be able to resist. When you enjoy this dish, you will remember the taste forever.

8. Ben Tre flattened grilled banana

This is one of the typical and famous dishes in the land of coconut. The main ingredients to make this dish are ripe bananas. Bananas will be peeled and put on a charcoal grill on all sides. After baking for about 5 minutes, each piece of banana will be placed in a plastic bag, pounded with a pestle. This dish will be served with coconut milk. When enjoying this dish, you will feel the delicious taste of banana mixed with the fatty taste of coconut milk. It will create an unforgettable taste.

9. Vietnamese pancake with rice snail

Vietnamese pancake is a familiar dish in every southern countryside, but rice snail pancake is only available in Phu Da Islet, Ben Tre. This place has an abundant source of natural rice snails. The snail meat is milky white, fatty, and fragrant. When processing rice snails with lemongrass chili to make pancakes instead of shrimp meat, it is very delicious. Diners can feel the sweetness of snails, the freshness of vegetables, and the salty taste of the fish sauce on each piece of cake.

10. Ben Tre coconut worm

Coconut worms live in the trunk of coconut trees and they can kill the tree. Therefore, locals often catch them and process them into different dishes. At first, you probably won’t dare to eat this dish, but when you try it, you will find it is not scary but also very delicious. Fried coconut worms will be much easier to eat. But if you want to challenge yourself, you can try raw coconut worms dipped with fish sauce.

Where to eat in Ben Tre

1. Ben Tre floating restaurant

Ben Tre floating restaurant is one of the oldest restaurants, associated with many generations of people here. The restaurant is located right by the river and is designed in the model of a dragon headship with 3 floors, accommodating up to 500 guests.

Ben Tre floating restaurant serves a variety of dishes such as coconut worms, coconut tuber salad, fish hotpot, steamed shrimp with coconut water, etc. In particular, you will enjoy Southern amateur music while enjoying the food here.

Address: Hung Vuong Wharf, Ben Tre Province.

2. Song Nuoc Mien Tay restaurant

Song Nuoc Mien Tay restaurant is one of the famous restaurants in Ben Tre. The restaurant is located next to the river so you can enjoy the peaceful river view. The whole restaurant is made of wood and the roof is covered with leaves in Southern style. The restaurant’s menu has a variety of dishes such as shrimp and meat salad, grilled chicken, fish hot pot, etc. The food is well prepared and the prices are very reasonable.

Address: 52-53/18 Hamlet 3, Tan Thach Commune, Chau Thanh District, Ben Tre Province.

3. Nam Son restaurant

Nam Son restaurant is one of the restaurants that attract a lot of foreign tourists. The food at this restaurant is delicious and suitable for many people. Especially, this restaurant is famous for its sour soup. The soup has a mild sour taste and is very different from other places. Moreover, the staff at the restaurant are very enthusiastic and friendly.

Address: 40 Phan Ngoc Tong Street, Ben Tre Province.

4. Ngoc Hiep seafood restaurant

Ngoc Hiep Seafood Restaurant is a very special restaurant from the menu to the way of food preparation. The restaurant’s menu only has 4 dishes: boiled squid, boiled shrimp rolled with rice paper, boiled octopus, and boiled crab. However, this restaurant is always crowded. That’s because the seafood here is very fresh and delicious.

Address: Le Hoang Chieu Street, Binh Dai District, Ben Tre Province.

5. Ben Dua restaurant

Ben Dua restaurant is designed in an open space with mainly wood material. The menu of the restaurant has a variety of dishes, which mainly the specialties of Ben Tre. The famous dish of Ben Dua restaurant is chicken hot pot. Besides, the prices here are quite reasonable, the staff is enthusiastic.

Address: Highway 60, Son Dong Commune, Ben Tre Province.

6. Dong Khoi 2 restaurant

Dong Khoi 2 Restaurant is designed with private rooms to bring a sense of privacy and noiselessness. The food here is delicious especially the Sichuan tofu. Soft, fragrant tofu served with salty sauce will make diners remember this taste forever.