Dalat, the city surrounded by mist and pine trees, is home for immigrants from the Central areas, such as Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam, as well as from the North. Perhaps that's why tourists can see and taste many typical dishes from different regions in this small city.
Early one morning, strolling among the low hills and wandering through sinuous alleys, I found a small restaurant with the simple name: Banh da cua (drypancake with crab). Hot steam vaporized from the crab soup and pieces of tomato and soya-cake were on a plate of banana flower, rau muong (water spinach), chilly, lemon and fish sauce; the hot bowl of bank da cua seemed to dispel the cold weather of the city.
Banh can (also called banh khot) - a southern specialty of small, fried rice flour pancakes is also a favorite in Dalat. Cooked in small clay dishes over a low-heat coal pot, the rice cake is flavorless until it is added to diluted fish sauce, stir-fried with green onions, and tiny pieces of deep-fried pork fat bits. Then it gives your taste buds some excitement. Pick two cakes and dip them into a bowl of sauce, pile some green onions and fried fat atop the cakes and the cold weather of the misty land disappears to make room for tasty favors and new experience.
This dish is popular in South Central coastal provinces such as Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa. Locals often enjoy this dish with fish sauce in mix of garlic and chilies.
When wandering under the shade of pine trees tourists should stop for a hot banh trang nuong mo hanh (grilled girdle cake with onion oil). On the blazing cooking-fire, a thin griddle cake is grilled with onion oil and a layer of eggs or beef. Tourists also called it the "Pizza of Dalat".
Visit Dalat at least once to discover splendid landscapes of waterfalls, hills and rivers; to contemplate the architecture of ancient houses and pagodas; and to experience the typical dishes of different regions.