The festival, the city’s largest cultural and gastronomic event this year, aims to honour the cuisine of Vietnam, as well as that of the entire world, and also create opportunities for exchange on food and culture among different nations.

The highlight of the event was a street festival where the story of banh chung, banh day (Vietnamese square and round rice cakes) was re-enacted together with music and dance performances by artists from different countries.

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

An international pizza-making contest was held, and the record for Vietnam’s largest deep-fried sticky-rice patty was set. Leading chefs from Vietnam and other countries competed for the “Talent Cook 2009” title.