Thursday, March 28, 2013

Trà Chanh - the lemon tea


‘Trà Chanh’ – the lemon tea

Ho Chi Minh lemon ice-tea


It was a weekday night when more than 200 youths gathered at a riverside area on Ton That Dam
Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 to enjoy lemon tea, the drink which has been called tra chanh chem gio (lemon tea for chit-chat).


Spending VND10,000 (US$0.48) for a cup of lemon tea, taking a canvas or a plastic chair and talking from 7pm to 11pm: that’s what hundreds local youths have done over the last two months in the area.

Hanoi lemon tea and ice-tea


The drinks were first sold at some small street coffee shops and then spread widely in Hanoi in recent years. To many young people, you can’t say that you’ve been to the capital city without having a cup of lemon tea on Nha Tho, Ly Quoc Su or Dao Duy Tu streets.
Lately, Hanoi’s tra chanh chem gio, which is considered a local specialty, has come to the southern city.
There are several areas where many teenagers gather to enjoy lemon tea, including District 1’s Nguyen Trai Street and the area near Coopmart Rach Mieu supermarket in Phu Nhuan District.
Still, the most crowded place is the riverside area at the end of District 1’s Ton That Dam Street.
“I feel a joyful atmosphere since there’s a lot of people here and it’s also cool here,” My Duyen, 18, a freshman at the Industrial University of HCMC, said in explaining why she likes to come to the venue once a week.
“I like such a crowded place,” Thuy Giang, 18, a first year student from the HCMC University of Economics and Law, added.

Street foods in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city.

Besides lemon tea, a group of vendors are always willing to serve customers famous street foods, including banh trang nuong (barbecued rice paper), ho lo nuong (barbecued meat balls) and pho mai que (fried cheese stick). Since they originated in Hanoi, lemon tea shops in HCMC also bring their customers a taste from the northern city through specialties like sua chua nep cam (yogurt mixed with sticky rice), nuoc sau (melon juice), hat huong duong (fried sunflower seeds) and Nem nuong (barbecued fermented pork).


 “I’ve brought all the ingredients from Hanoi, except for the lemons from Da Lat, so the flavor of lemon tea here and Hanoi’s famous lemon tea are not much different,” Minh, a shop owner on Ton That Dam Street, said.
Danh, a teenager who sometimes visits the area seven times a week, preferred the diversity of food and drink as well as the reasonable price.
“I drink Hanoi lemon tea and feel the same flavor here, but the atmosphere here is much joyful than there, I think,” he added.

Sourced: Vietnamtourism.com.vn

4 comments:

  1. I've been to Dalat and Ho Chi Minh and they're very beautiful cities.

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    1. that right , there are bustling and vibrant place https://www.wlinktravel.com/vietnam-holidays/da-lat/33.html
      https://www.wlinktravel.com/vietnam-holidays/ho-chi-minh-city/7.html

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  2. Vietnamese coffee
    Coffee was introduced into Vietnam by French colonists in the late 19th century. Vietnam quickly became a strong exporter of coffee with many plantations in the central highlands. The beverage was adopted with regional variations. Because of limitations on the availability of fresh milk, the French and Vietnamese began to use sweetened condensed milk with a dark roast coffee.
    Vietnamese Coffee is as much fun to make as it is to watch. A real treat, especially for those who enjoy their coffee strong and sweet.

    Vietnamese coffee requires patience, as it can only be made one serving at a time, either in a special filter, as shown, or with a regular drip cone. But whether you drink it hot or iced, this intensely flavored coffee, traditionally cut with sweetened condensed milk, is worth the wait.
    The Hanoians drink a lot of the dark, caffeinated beverage and prefer sipping their stronger blends outside in front of a small shop with some sweet milk and a spoonful of sugar. Soaking up the rhythms of the street and embracing Hanoi from all of its sides, from old to new ones, and from traditional to modern & quirky ones, you will tenderly recognize that, nothing can be better refresh us after hardworking hours than a cup of coffee on a street near Sword Lake (Hoan Kiem Lake). There are so many famous coffee shops in Hanoi, like Nang café (6 Hang Bac), Nhan (39D1 Hang Hanh), Quat (Quan Thanh), Quynh (Bat Dan) to Giang (Hang Gai and Lam (60, 91 Nguyen Huu Huan)… Chairs are small, literally child-sized, and are sometimes made of blue plastic or painted wood. The tables are covered with glasses of ca phe den (black coffee) or ca phe sua da (iced coffee), which come with their own picturesque drip top. Not only just for connoisseurs,  these places are idea for having gossip, meeting old friends, talking to pass  time of day, stealing precious moments for romantics … https://www.wlinktravel.com/destinations/vietnam-holidays-1.html

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