Delicious int’l dishes showcased in HCM City; Photographic exhibition “Mekong – river linking cultures” opens in Can Tho; Largest-ever embroidery painting to be finished on time

The festival, the city’s largest cultural and gastronomic event this year, is to draw attention to Vietnamese cuisine, enable visitors to experience other cultures and cookings.

The highlight of the event is a street festival where the story of “banh chung, banh day” (Vietnamese square and round rice cakes) is re-enacted accompanied by musicians and dancers from different countries.

From December 3-6, a number of renowned chefs from 17 participating countries, including the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Italy, France, Germany, India, Mexico and Lebanon, will introduce their delicious specialities to visitors.

An international pizza-making contest will also held, and an attention the record for Vietnam’s largest deep-fried sticky-rice patty will be made. Several leading chefs from Vietnam and other countries will compete for the Most Talented Chef 2009 title.

Photographic exhibition “Mekong – river linking cultures” opens in Can Tho

120 works of photographers from 6 countries are being showcased at the Mekong-Japan Culture and Tourism Photographic Exhibition in Ninh Kieu, Can Tho from December 3-5.

The exhibition entitled “Mekong- river linking cultures” is part of Mekong-Japan Culture and Tourism Days.

During the event, photographers from Japan, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam will visit some beautiful scenery in the Mekong Delta region.

The event aims to introduce tourism potential in Mekong sub-region countries with unique cultures developing from the same mighty river.

Largest-ever embroidery painting to be finished on time

Work on the largest-ever embroidery painting is scheduled for completing by October next year, in time for the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The painting, titled “Wish of 1,000-year-old Thang Long” features sweet pink lotus flowers looming above the roofs of ancient-street houses and the curling Red river at dawn.

The masterpiece has been embroidered by Vietnamese artisan Hoang Le Xuan who is well-known for her “golden hands” and eight other artisans in the Da Lat-based XQ Historical Village since October 2006.

The painting, three metres in width and four metres in height, will break the record achieved by the painting of spring in Hanoi entitled “An original song,” also made by the company in 2005.

Vo Van Quan, XQ company Director, said that a mass with traditional rites will be organised to carry the painting through the central cities of Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hue city and Vinh to the northern city of Ninh Binh before arriving in Hanoi for the anniversary.

PV