Hoi An festival puts new banh mi recipes to a public vote
The event at Bel Marina Hoi An Resort featured regional sandwich variations, including shrimp-patty and braised pork leg fillings.
A banh mi festival in Vietnam’s Hoi An invited the public to judge new sandwich recipes through tastings and voting. Organising board representative Nguyen Thanh Lam said hundreds of visitors evaluated the products, providing feedback to guide further recipe development.
Bel Marina Hoi An Resort hosted the event, with a Heritage Banh Mi competition giving participants a chance to sample different versions of the Vietnamese baguette sandwich and cast their votes.
Among the offerings was a shrimp-patty sandwich drawing inspiration from Tra Que vegetable village. Other options used braised pork leg, smoked-style fillings and pâté.
Lam said organisers wanted consumers to assess products during testing, so that direct reactions could supplement their internal evaluations. The visitors’ assessments would help organisers decide which recipes to develop further.
The programme combined food activities with music, cultural entertainment, lucky draws and games themed around banh mi. A representative of the Bel Marina Hoi An Resort and Emerald Hoi An Riverside Resort complex said the choice of Hoi An was intended to give both residents and tourists an opportunity to try new variations.