17 Must-Try Dishes in Sapa: A Food Lover’s Guide

Apart from stunning surroundings, Sapa presents must-try cuisine including fresh salmon, grilled bamboo sticky rice, and thang co—that is, fresh fish. Let us so investigate the real tastes of Northwest Vietnam with MOTOGO Tours!

TOP 17 must-try dishes in Sapa

Sapa is renowned for its distinctive cuisine as much as for its breathtaking scenery. From delicious delights to filling soups, the area provides a rich gastronomic experience that guest should sample.

1. Roasted chestnuts in Sapa

The roasted chestnuts in Sapa are a great snack for when it’s cold outside in the mountains. Usually roasted over an open flame, locally grown these chestnuts have a sweet, rich taste and are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Popular among both residents and tourists, these are often savored on Sapa’s streets.

2. Grilled stream fish – Must-Try Dishes in Sapa

Grilled stream fish in Sapa is a treat that shows off how fresh fish caught in the area’s cold mountain streams are. The fish has a smokey, delicate taste since it is seasoned with local herbs and spices then grilled to excellence. Usually presented with rice and dipping sauce, this meal provides a wonderful taste of Sapa’s natural abundance.

3. Must-Try Dishes in Sapa – Black chicken

Sapa specializes in black chicken because of its rich, dark meat and unique taste. To accentuate its natural taste, the meat is commonly grilled or boiled in herbal soups or gently chewed. It is also somewhat soft. People love it because it has a deep, savory taste, and they think it can help with health problems, especially by making circulation better and boosting energy. People love to put this dish in hot pots because it makes the broth taste better.

4. Wild Shiitake Mushroom

Unique sweet and aromatic taste of wild shiitake mushrooms from Sapa is well-known. Stir-fried, steamed, dipped in sauce, or grilled are just a few of the several ways they can be made; each cuisine has a different and delicious taste. Capturing the spirit of Sapa’s rugged environment, these mushrooms are not only a great present but also a wonderful delight with their natural aroma.

5. Pho Sapa (Con sui)

Pho Sapa, sometimes called “Con Sui,” deviates from classic pho by using locally distinctive highland region ingredients. Made from free-range beef or chicken most typically, the broth is thicker and tastes more earthy and aromatic since it is flavored with wild herbs endemic to Sapa. Usually presented with fresh veggies and herbs, the noodles have a clearly fresh and herbal edge that distinguishes them from the traditional pho discovered elsewhere in Vietnam.

6. Must-Try Dishes in Sapa – Salmon hotpot in Sapa

The salmon in Sapa’s Salmon Hotpot is very good because they are raised in the cool, mountainous temperature of the area. Sapa salmon is renowned for its slimmer profile, stronger taste, and hard texture unlike farmed salmon from other areas. With less of the oily, greasy texture sometimes found in other kinds of salmon, the cold, fresh mountain streams in Sapa give the fish a natural and clean habitat where they can develop a more delicate taste.

7. Sapa Cat Apple Wine

Sapa Cat Apple Wine is a traditional drink made in the area. It has a sweet and slightly sour taste and is made from Cat apples that are grown at high elevations in Sapa. People often drink this wine as an aperitif or with grilled meats from the area because it balances out the rich tastes of the food. A liter of Cat Apple Wine will cost typically between 60,000 and 90,000 VND.

8. Sapa Pink Apple

Everybody from residents to tourists adore Sapa’s Pink Apples, or “hong tao,” because they’re so special. Though usually produced in the Mediterranean, this cultivar thrives in Sapa’s temperature and has a clean, sweet, and aromatic taste ideal for nibbling. The apples feature juiced, white flesh and a thin, reddish-brown peel. A Sapa Pink Apple usually runs from 20,000 to 40,000 VND per kilogram.

9. Sapa Seven Color Sticky Rice

Sapa Seven Color Sticky Rice, also known as “com nep bay mau,” is an important part of the culture in the area and is often served at fairs and other important events. Every hue stands for a different facet of life and the surroundings; the dish stands for peace, wealth, and reverence of the abundance of nature. Made historically by the Sapa ethnic groups utilizing natural plant extracts, this visually arresting meal also honors regional history.

10. Must-Try Dishes in Sapa – Khau nhuc Sapa

Khau Nhuc is a famous dish in Sapa that comes from China. It is made of tender pork that is slow-cooked with a mix of spices, including chili, five-spice powder, and star anise. Absuming all the aromatic spices, the pork turns into melt-in-your-mouth tender. For guests to Sapa, a serving of Khau Nhuc usually runs between 50,000 VND and 100,000 VND, making it a reasonably priced but excellent meal.

11. Pau Plau Sapa – Must-Try Dishes in Sapa

Pau Plau is a traditional sweet treat from Sapa that is ideal for individuals who appreciate desserts. Made from well chosen, plump glutinous rice, the rice is hand-ground and sun-dried to get the ideal texture. Usually loaded with a creamy, savory mung bean filling, the cake has a rich, somewhat sweet taste. Both steaming and baking pau plau highlight different textures depending on the technique used.

12. Pau Po Cu Sapa – Sapa Specialty Corn Cake

Sapa locals love its Pau Po Cu, a snack comprised of maize kernels that have been crushed and coated in crunchy fried batter. Best tasted in April or May, when the corn is freshest and tastes simply but delicately with a trace of salt. Generally speaking, Pau Po Cu (Sapa Specialty Corn Cake) costs 15,000 to 30,000 VND per dish.

13. Men Men Sapa

Made from steamed maize flour cooked to a thick, sticky consistency, Men Men is a classic meal of the ethnic minority in Sapa. Often presented with a range of accompaniments including grilled meats, veggies, or a flavorful broth, this basic yet substantial meal is Being a staple food in the mountain areas, it offers warmth and vitality for those living in Sapa’s chilly temperature. Its flavor is somewhat sweet, earthy.

14. Ginger meat – Must-Try Dishes in Sapa

The Nung Din people have a traditional food called Ginger Meat. It is made from pork ribs, spine, and trotters that have been finely chopped and mixed with salt, wine, and fresh ginger. After that, the mixture is kept in a jar filled with water, sealed, and let to ferment till almost ready for cooking. Prepared steamed or braised ginger pork, the resultant meal has a rich, aromatic flavour and a supple, juicy texture.

15. Sour salted pork (Thit Lon Muoi Chua)

Sapa is famous for its Sour Salted Pork, which is made by boiling fresh pork and then letting it sit in wine, salt, and cinnamon leaves for two to three weeks to give it a unique taste. The end effect is an aromatic, wonderfully sour, salted, and rather chewy pork. Both residents and guests love this meal since it is usually eaten with rice or as an appetiser alongside beverages.

16. Sapa Stone Sprout Vegetable

The Sapa Stone Sprout Vegetable looks like mustard greens, but its roots are bigger and it has fewer leaves, making it look like a stone sprout. Growing on high mountain tops, it is suited for the cold Sapa temperature. Only found between November and March, this unusual vegetable is a seasonal delicacy of scarce availability.

17. Thang Co