Must-visit Destinations and Must-Try Food in Sapa 2020 (Updated!)
Three Must-Visit Destinations in Sapa 2020
Swing Sapa
The destination attracts visitors due to two giant statues facing each other and protruding in the middle of a lake. It reminds locals of a famous love story of K’lang and H’Biang. Although the heaven gate is still under construction, numerous travelers have stopped here to capture some beautiful photos. You won’t have to pay any entrance fee to enter the site until it is officially operated, so let’s go to the swing right now!
Address: No. 87, Nguyen Chi Thanh Street (flanked by Hoang Lien National Park), Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Secret Garden Sapa
Secrest Garden is a hot attraction to visit during your trip to Sapa. Situated in the center, the complex of homestays and cafés has plenty of corners to take photos, such as an infinite swing chair and swimming pool. It is said to be a miniature version of Bali in Vietnam.
Bubble House
The first highlight of the Secret Garden is a significant bubble house. Lying on a wide area of green grasses, besides the view of majestic verdant mountains, the spot offers you a background to capture perfect pictures.
Secret Garden Café
The café with the Mediterranean style is an ideal place for taking a rest, sipping a cup of coffee, and save the best moments with your camera. The open space of the coffee shop creates a unique and natural photo setting.
Address: No. 56, Violet Street, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Viettrekking Coffee
Like Secret Garden, Viettrekking is a cluster of homestay and café at the end of Hoang Lien Street. The destination is at the peak of a mountain so that you can witness the spectacular natural landscape. Coming to the coffee house, let’s order a cup of hot coffee, enjoy the dim scene covered by fog in the early morning, and contemplate the sun slowly going up with the cozy sunlight.
Address: No. 03, Hoang Lien Street, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Seven Must-Try Food in Sapa in Cold Winter Days 2020
Roasted Pork
It is one of the delicacies in Sapa that you should try. Local farmers feed pigs with corn, sweet potatoes, and cassavas and let them freely move around, so their meat is tender and savory, while their skin is thick.
In restaurants, the chefs often roast the whole pig on charcoal or chargrill pork in bamboo. Besides, roasted pork is worth trying. After processed and marinated, the meat and other vegetables, including white onion, spring onion, lemongrass, and chili, will be put on a cast iron to be grilled. Therefore, the dish still hot with smoke, which remains the original taste. You should dip a piece of roasted pork in dipping sauce with green chili to enjoy the entire flavor of the meat.
Recommended Restaurant
A Phu Restaurant
Location: No.15, Fansipan, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Opening time: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Prices: 15.000 VND to 800.000 VND
Sturgeon Hotpot
Making advantage of the water from ravines and cool climate, residents have constructed many zones to raise sturgeons to supply local eateries. Unlike imported sturgeons, the ones in Sapa have pink and tough meat.
The spicy and sour broth is made from pineapple, tomato, and shacha sauce (or chili paste). The veggies for the hot pot are chayote, watercress, dill, and Basella alba.
Recommended Restaurants
Hoa Tra Quan
Location: No.17, Cau May Street, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Opening time: 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Prices: 50.000 VND to 200.000 VND
Hotpot Center
Location: No.552, Dien Bien Phu Street, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Opening time: 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Prices: 30.000 VND to 1.200.000 VND
O Quy Ho Restaurant
Location: No.08, Thach Son Street, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Opening time: 7:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Prices: 30.000 VND to 395.000 VND
Chargrilled Skewers
Enjoy grilled skewers on a hot charcoal stove is a good idea in cold winter days. In the street stalls near the market and church, you can pick the food you want, then give them to the chef so that he can grill it for you for five to ten minutes. When the food is ready, dip them in the spicy sauce and try a bite when watching the town at nighttime. Each skewer of vegetable or sausage costs 10.000 VND to 20.000 VND, while a skewer of beef, frog, pork, and chicken drum costs 25.000 VND to 50.000 VND.
Recommended Restaurants
Hoa Tra Quan
Location: No.17, Cau May Street, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Opening time: 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Prices: 50.000 VND to 200.000 VND
Yen Hoa Restaurant
Location: 7C Ward, Ham Rong, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Opening time: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Prices: 10.000 VND to 300.000 VND
Bamboo Cooked Rice
Bamboo cooked rice is a specialty of the Vietnamese Northern mountainous area. Made from local sticky rice grilled on bamboo, the rice is aromatic and clammy. To make the food more eye-catching, local chefs dye the rice with the extract of magenta leaves. The dish is served with sesame and salt (roasted and crushed), crushed peanuts, or roasted pork.
Recommended Restaurants
Red Dao Restaurant
Location: No. 4B, Thac Bac Street, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Opening time: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Prices: 80.000 VND to 220.000 VND
A Quynh Restaurant
Location: No.15, Thach Son Street, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Opening time: 7:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Prices: 100.000 VND to 330.000 VND
Horse Meat Stir-Fried with Garlic and Green Pepper
Horse meat is a unique ingredient of food in Sapa. It is the major element of various recipes, including chargrill, wrap in silver paper to be grilled, and quickly fry. During the chilly weather, you should order a plate of horse meat stir-fried with garlic and green pepper. After being processed, a large piece of horse meat is grilled on hot charcoal until the outer part is crunchy and the inner part is medium-done, just like beef steak. Then, the chef will cut it into thin pieces, marinate with shacha sauce, ground garlic, shallot, and green pepper, then wrapped in silver paper to grill on hot charcoal one more time. The food is soft and juicy. Meanwhile, the savory and spicy sauce will warm up your body on frozen days.
(Source: Foody.vn)
Recommended Restaurant
Hai Lam Restaurant
Location: No.72, Luong Dinh Cua Street, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Opening time: 9:00 a.m. o 11:00 p.m.
Prices: 30.000 VND to 300.000 VND
Chicken Grilled with Green Pepper
Like pigs, chickens in Sapa grow up in nature, so they are not big but the meat is savory and tough. However, what makes the food become a delicacy is the sauce consisting of ground green pepper and shallot. Before wrapped in silver paper and grilled, the chicken is boiled and marinated with the sauce. To enjoy the food, diners have to wear plastic gloves to tear it into pieces.
Recommended Restaurants
Viet Deli Restaurant
Location: No.01, Le Van Tam Street, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Opening time: 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Prices: 50.000 VND to 250.000 VND
Hai Lam Restaurant
Location: No.72, Luong Dinh Cua Street, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province
Opening time: 9:00 a.m. o 11:00 p.m.
Prices: 30.000 VND to 300.000 VND
Roasted Chestnut
As soon as setting foot on Sapa, you will easily encounter street stalls selling roasted chestnuts and almonds. The stalls always have smoke and a subtle hint of buttery smelling. The size of Sapa chestnut is a bit bigger than wild chestnut’s, with dark brown and a thin layer of fuzz. When grilled, roasted, and boiled, the nut has an attractive aroma, sweet and tasty flavor. Vendors sell various types of nut, comprising roasted chestnut with or without peels removed at a price from 50.000 VND.
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