It has now become common knowledge that the best one-day getaway from Hà Nội is Ninh Bình Province.
About
100km from the capital city, the place has numerous historical sites and scenic
places, like the ancient capital of Hoa Lư, Bích Động Tam Cốc, the Tràng An tourism
complex, and the Bái Đính Pagoda.
A plate of roast goat that will more than whet your appetit.
From
a culinary standpoint, mountain goat specialties and cơm cháy (fried rice crisp
with various toppings) are the attractions that stand out.
It
was a very nice Sunday when we set out for the province. After enjoying a
two-hour sightseeing tour on boat on the
Sào Khê River we made our way to the Thăng Long Restaurant, which is
about 3.5km from the Bái Đính Pagoda and 4km from the Tràng An Complex.
When
we arrived at the restaurant on the banks of the Hoàng Long River with its
imposingly high limestone mountains and immense green fields, it was already
full of travellers.
However,
several waiters enthusiastically welcomed us and led us to a table that already
had various goat dishes and cơm cháy.
Tái dê.
A
beautiful waitress named Mẫn told us there were almost 20 different goat dishes
that the restaurant serves, but recommended that we try the tái dê (VNĐ 150,000), half-done goat
meat (briefly dipped in boiling water) and seasoned with lime fruit juice,
ginger, garlic, chillies, peppers and julienned lime leaves.
I’d
heard of the dish, but was trying it for the first time. Mẫn showed me how to
wrap the soft meat with raw banana slices and quả sung (figs - Ficus racemosa) in rice paper and dip it in
soyabean sauce.
The
dish’s mixed flavours won the approval of all our palettes. It was followed by dê nướng ngũ vị ( goat meat marinated
with garlic, condiments and sugar, and roasted on wood charcoal); and dê xào lăn (stir-fried goat meat
marinated with pineapple juice, curry powder and several other ingredients and
served with fried, dry shallots and peanuts).
Boiled goat meat slices mixed with herbs.
The
dê nướng ngũ vị (VNĐ 200,000) smelt
good and was delicious, having just right amount of smoky flavour, but the
piece was rather big and a bit tough. My friend Lệ Hằng also found it tough and
said she preferred the other dish.
“I
like the dê xào lăn (VNĐ 150,000). It
is soft and peppery and goes well with the peanuts,” she said.
Restaurant
manager Nguyễn Thị Nguyệt said the most popular dish among her customers was nầm dê nướng (goat breast cut into thin
pieces and marinated with pepper, oyster sauce, chili sauce, minced citronella,
garlic, salt, and sugar for about 30 minutes before being roasted.)
I
liked the goat meat pieces (VNĐ 180,000) steamed with perilla and citronella
and dipped in Bần soyabean sauce mixed with sugar and eaten with raw plantain
slices, pineapple and other herbs.
“This
dish is very nutritious. It cools down the human body during summer,” Nguyệt
said.
Nguyệt
said she ordered goats from a man named Trương Văn Vĩnh in the mountainous Gia
Hòa Commune in Hoa Lư District.
Cơm cháy Ninh Bình.
“Vĩnh’s
goat herd is left to graze on their own in the mountains, but he still takes
very good care of them to prevent them from falling ill.”
Nguyệt
said she typically bought a goat weighing between 15-20kg to make her dishes.
If it was too small or too big, the meat would not be as tasty, she explained.
I
also enjoyed the popular dish, cơm cháy
(VNĐ60,000/three pieces).
Cơm
cháy, or rice crisp, is typically fried in oil until golden brown, then topped
with pork floss or dried shrimp and chopped scallions, cooked by pouring
boiling oil over them. Cơm cháy chà bông
or cơm cháy tôm khô are popular
versions of this dish.
Goat meat fried with mushrooms.
But
Nguyệt said she cooks her handmade cơm
cháy with the most fragrant rice.
I
liked her cơm cháy so much that I
ordered more despite my friends’ advice that I will suffer indigestion from
overeating.
Nguyệt
said: “ I protect my cơm cháy
’copyright’ by selling it at my restaurant only, not in the market.”
“If
you want my cơm cháy, you should call
me. I’ll send it to you.”
* Thăng Long Mountain
Goat Restaurant
Add: Trường Yên
Village, Trường Yên Commune, Hoa Lư District.
Tel: 0303620186
Hotline: 0975155458 -
01238880606
Open: 9am - 9pm every
day
Comment: Goat
specialties and cơm cháy (literally called scorched rice) are very enjoyable
with affordable prices.
By VNS