Things to buy in the Mekong Delta

Candy

You have already booked a Mekong delta tours, haven’t you? Now, if you are preparing for the trip tomorrow, here may be what you concern: what to buy in the Mekong Delta for yourself or for your family and friends.

1/Coconut fudge

Travelling to the Mekong Delta enables you to explore lots of things even you have never seen before, one which is to visit a family business specializing in making coconut fudge. And here is exactly where you can buy it as gifts for your friends and family.

It is tasty, sweet and carries the flavor of coconut milk, enough to attract anyone setting foot in the factory. To make the fudge’s aroma more outstanding, the locals often add durians, peanuts, cashew, and the extract of pandan leaves to the mixture before shaping it. Ben Tre Province, supposed to be the kingdom of coconut, it is home to plenty of fudge factories, and you can make a day trip here to perceive the rural beauty and bring back that coconut specialty.

2/Banana candy

Banana candy from the Mekong Delta will melt the heart of anyone who try it. It is chewy, slightly sweet with the tastes of banana, ginger, and peanuts, all ingredients are collected right in the countryside. The best way to enjoy this is while sipping green tea; the balance of those flavors will get you more and more excited. That is the reason why the candy is normally found during Tet holiday – the first days of the new year in the Mekong Delta.

3/Pia cake

As the most renowned delicacy in Soc Trang Province, it needed to be on the list of Things to buy in the Mekong Delta. It is hard to resist this cake because of it tenderness and tastiness that stimulate your tongue. The cake is made by using mixture of flour and egg while the filling varies in each type of flavor, it varies from coconut cream, mung bean paste, taro, durian, or others. Like banana candy, it should be savored with green tea in meetings with your friends.

Typical product

4/Fruits 

Endowed with silty soils from the Mekong Delta River, the Mekong region is rich in tropical fruits and vegetables. After harvesting, the fruits are loaded into small and large boats and transferred to other surrounding areas. If you have the chance to visit one of the floating market, e.g. Cai Rang or Cai Be, you can buy them freshly cut from the plantation and enjoy right on the spot.

5/Serpent alcohol

Serpent alcohol is referred to as a valuable type of medicinal liquor with the greatest benefit of curing osteoarthritis or arthritis. To make it more luscious and easier to savor, you can mix it with your favorite fruit syrups. Hence, do not hesitate to put it in your list of things to buy in the Mekong Delta.

6/Honey

The Mekong Delta is a fertile region built up by the Mekong River, which becomes a favorable condition for growing lots of fruit plantations. Hence, beekeeping is also quite common here. Going on a Mekong Delta trip allows you to explore some bee farms and even taste honey tea. Also, you can get some honey and pollens as the mixture of those two things and water is great to enjoy.

Souvenirs & Handicrafts

7/Coconut handicrafts

As said above, there is a place called the kingdom of coconut in the Mekong Delta, so undoubtedly handicrafts made of coconut are also deserved to be on the list of things to buy. In fact, under the clever hands of hard-working local artists, those are indeed exquisite crafts with eye-catching patterns which will be ideal gifts for your family and friends.

8/Vietnamese checkered scarf

Vietnamese people call this type of scarf “khan ran” – “khan” means scarf and “ran” means being checkered. The scarf is considered as a part of traditional costume of the people in the south and especially in the Mekong Delta. It is interesting to wear it since it is not only used to shelter from the sunshine, but also gives you a new and special look while traveling to the rural water area.