What To Eat In Sapa? Top 5 Must-Try Dishes For Tourists

Are you traveling to one of the most beautiful kingdoms of fog in Vietnam but do not know what to eat in Sapa? Let’s take a look at our article to get to know more about the values of Sapa delicacies as well as discover our top 5 must-try dishes here!

Sapa Introduction and Location

Sapa is located in the mountains of northern Vietnam’s Lào Cai Province. About 25,000 people from different ethnic communities such as Yao people, Hmong people, and Tay people are settling down in Sapa. They live in the Sapa village Vietnam situated at an elevation of 1,600 meters in the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range.

Moreover, Sapa also has a reputation for its masterpiece and breathtaking natural views as well as the abundance of multi-culture there. These are the reasons why it has soon become a top tourist attraction in Vietnam.

How to get to Sapa?

It is not difficult for tourists to get to Sapa. However, if you would like to visit this town, you have to reach Hanoi first then take a train/taxi, book a private car, or rent a motorbike to get to Sapa. When reaching Sapa, we highly recommend you rent a motorbike for the most authentic experience. Moreover, you will be more flexible in your itinerary and be free to wander around Sapa corners.

Find more information: How to Get to Sapa Vietnam? Best Travel Guide and Tips for Tourists

Best Time to Visit

Spring and Autumn will be the best time for tourists to visit Sapa. Hence, it should be from January to April or May, and between September and November. The weather is mild, with less rain and cool air in these seasons, which allows people to discover Sapa’s beauty and join outdoor activities such as climbing mountains and trekking. Besides, this is also the most beautiful time of the year when flowers bloom vibrantly and every terraced rice field turns into golden silks.

• Contact us via hotline at +84 974.381.597 to get the best schedule for your Sapa tour. Or follow our Sun Getaways Travel Facebook or read these posts to get the details if you want to:

Find more information: Sapa Vietnam in March, Sapa Vietnam in November, and Sapa Vietnam in September

What to Eat in Sapa Vietnam?

Thus, what to eat in Sapa town? Sapa is famous for various delicacies that travelers would like to taste a thousand times. Here are the top 5 must-try dishes that Sun Getaways Travel prepared for you. Let’s find out!

Thang Co

The first dish we should mention is Thang Co – A very famous food in the highland of Sapa. We believe that no one does not know about Thang Co because this dish has a big long-standing reputation here. Known as a traditional specialty of the Hmong people, Thang Co has been discovered for the first time since more than 200 years ago.

This dish is a kind of soup cooked with different meat types depending on the chef’s taste. Locals often use horse meat, buffalo meat, and pork to cook Thang Co. Moreover,  more than 20 botanical herbs will be mixed with the soup to create special flavors that you cannot taste or find anywhere, except in Sapa.

Com Lam

The second must-try food on our list is Com Lam – another well-known dish in the Sapa highland. Com Lam is also another delicacy of the Hmong people there. It is a kind of rice served in a bamboo basket or bowl. People often eat Com Lam with barbecue pork slices, fresh herbs like coriander, sawtooth coriander, mint leaves, and cabbage leaves.

It is quite interesting when eating Com Lam because people have to use their hands to take warm rice and top it with herbs, vegetables, and slices of barbecued pork. Then, they will wrap it all up in fresh cabbage or lettuce leaves and eat it by hand. This dish shows a lot of cultural and traditional values of the Hmong people.

Salmon and Sturgeon Hotpot

An indispensable dish to eat when traveling to Sapa is salmon and sturgeon hotpot makes your body warmer in the cool weather of the highland. Like its name, this dish has the main ingredients including salmon and sturgeon.

However, the special thing is that the salmons are caught in the nearby wild stream inside the forests and mountains. If not, the locals will be the ones who raise salmon for cooking. Furthermore, this hotpot type will be also cooked mushrooms, cabbage, potatoes, and noodles. Every ingredient creates a perfect flavor for salmon and sturgeon hotpot on cold days in Sapa.

Grilled Food

Another plate for tourists to try when planning a trip to Sapa is grilled food. The highlands are always famous for grilled dishes, and Sapa is not an exception. There are diverse grilled foods for you to try. For example, we have grilled fish, grilled pork, grilled skewers, and grilled beef.

Moreover, if you do not like meat or tend to prefer vegetarian food, you can try grilled vegetables like mushrooms, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Besides, there are also grilled banana blossom or grilled corn. These plants and fruits are normally harvested from the local farm.

Thit Trau Gac Bep (Dried Buffalo Meat)

The last delicacy listed in our top 5 best must-try food in Sapa is Thit Trau Gac Bep – or known as dried buffalo meat. This is a traditional food of locals living in the highland Sapa. The buffalos will be raised in the mountainous areas around Sapa and locals will get their meat sliced in thin layers.

Then, this meat will be salted and air-dried outdoors for several weeks until it is tough but tenderizes with a black color when cooked. The dried meat lasts a long time without spoiling and Thit Trau Gac Bep also reflects a part of the local way of life and methods of preserving foods.

Travel Tips to Sapa

Here are some tips that we would like to share with you when traveling to Sapa:

• You should bring warm layer clothes to keep warm because the weather will be cooler at night and in the early morning in Sapa;
• You should know how to respect the cultural values and customs of ethnic communities here;
• If you would like to take a photo of locals wearing traditional costumes, let’s ask for permission first!
• Keeping more cash will be smarter because there are not many ATMs in Sapa.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Sun Getaways Travel has just shown you all about what to eat in Sapa and the top 5 must-try dishes for tourists. We hope that our article can release your curiosity about what to eat in Sapa. We wish you the best Sapa trip.