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Youths offer authentic food tours around Ho Chi Minh City

Youths offer authentic food tours around Ho Chi Minh City

Monday, December 21, 2015, 19:02 GMT+7

A travel firm in Ho Chi Minh City has launched youth tour guide services that offer foreigners original tastes of the city’s famous cuisine and culture.

>> An audio version of the story is available here

A group of young people calling themselves Saigon Food Tour have been offering their services for free via their website, www.saigonfoodtour.com, over the past twelve months.

Instead of introducing tourists to luxury restaurants and cafés which serve superb yet similar-tasting food and drinks, the group has gone to great lengths to take their clients to lesser-known eateries and shops throughout the city, including street food.

At 6:45 am one morning not long ago, Tran Thi Thu Hong, a senior at the Ho Chi Minh City Foreign Trade University, rode her bike to a small hotel on Bui Vien Street, located in the “backpacker area” in downtown, to pick up Nina Sandra Clemente, a tourist from the Philippines.

After a casual introduction, Clemente, with her safety helmet on, found herself and Hong snaking their way on the latter’s bike through heavy traffic.

Their first destination was a tiny “banh mi” (Vietnamese sandwich) shop, which is the oldest in the city, located on Cao Thang Street, District 3.

The pair relished their delicious bread on the sidewalk next to the shop while merrily chattering on a wide range of topics.

Hong then took Clemente to Xom Chieu Market in District 4, where the Filipino tourist marveled at local specialty fruits and living aquatic food stored in small tanks.

Following the market tour, the two girls hung out at a café and savored “banh cuon” (steamed rice rolls) and “che” (sweet soup).

“I forgot that I was a tourist. I thought I was going out with a friend I’d known for a long time,” Clemente exclaimed.

The young guide revealed that they mostly include eateries and cafés rich in originality on their tours.

Such places are a 70-year-old “bun cha” (noodle and grilled meat) shop nestled in a small alley, a “banh cuon” store well known among the Chinese-Vietnamese community, a “banh xeo” (Vietnamese pancake) shop on the bank of the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal, or a café housed in an old tenement.

Diners are also welcome to practice making “banh xeo” at the shop.

The selection of the venues is made based on factors ranging from ambiance, popularity, food safety to service.

Emily, a holidaymaker from Europe, has sent the Saigon Food Tour group members a letter to express her appreciation of their helpfulness and friendly, professional service.

She was most impressed with the mouth-watering dishes and the group members’ safe driving skills.

“After a day touring the city, several foreign children burst into tears and held me tight when their parents said it was time to part. I’m delighted that I’ve contributed to a friendly, hospitable image of city dwellers felt among tourists,” Hong said with a smile.

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Diners enjoy delectable street food in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Unique perspectives

Tran Hoang Anh, leader of the Saigon Food Tour group and director of Footsteps Indochina Co., disclosed that he was obsessed with the fact that groups of travelers are normally introduced by professional tour guides to expensive restaurants offering sophisticated yet homogenous menus.

“What I’m doing is creating intimate rapport between our guides and clients, who travel around the city’s streets like family members or best friends,” Anh said.

“Unlike other start-up owners who typically employ experienced staff to minimize risk, I understand that opportunities are priceless to youngsters, and have decided to hire cheery, aspiring students for my project,” he further explained.

The group’s membership has surged from only a few to start with, to the current number of 40, most of whom are from the city’s University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Foreign Trade University and other international colleges.

The students receive proper training regarding the city’s culture, cuisine and history, learn traffic rules and practice safe driving skills.

Thriving on the “one guide per tourist” principle, the group pride themselves on providing guides for large tourist teams, including those with young children.

Some revealed they are quite embarrassed whenever serious congestion occurs while driving their clients throughout heavy traffic in Ho Chi Minh City.

To their surprise, however, tourists are often eager to jump off their bikes and film the traffic jams.

“It dawned on us that holidaymakers want to explore Ho Chi Minh City as it really is. We then began adding small conventional markets across the hub to our itineraries, instead of escorting our customers through the iconic Ben Thanh Market,” Anh added.

One of the group’s youngest members, Bui Tran Binh Minh, a marketing major at ERC Institute, finds his job with the Saigon Food Tour group a golden opportunity to mingle with foreigners and hone his English speaking and soft skills.

“Some of my clients invite me to their country, offering to cover the cost and guiding me around their homes in return,” he added.

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