Ninh Binh province hosts Cuisine Tourism Festival 2025

The festival is taking place from December 25, 2025 to January 2, 2026in Tam Chuc, Nam Dinh and Hoa Lu wards. The festival will move through three themed spaces rooted in regional identities and cooking traditions, offering visitors a layered taste of northern heritage and modern culinary creativity.

The Northern Vietnam Traditional Cake Festival is being held at the Tam Chuc tourist area from December 25 to 26, with the theme "The Soul of Vietnamese Cakes in Contemporary Life".

It features 80 booths, including 60 dedicated to displaying and introducing traditional cakes from the northern region and 20 serving as experiential spaces for hands-on activities with chefs and artisans.

Meanwhile, workshops will discuss the value of traditional cakes in modern life and unique folk performances will entrance visitors.

The Rice Noodle Festival is held at the Nam Dinh Museum in the former province of Nam Dinh on December 26-27. With the theme "Rice Noodle Cuisine - Honouring the Rice Grain", the festival aims to promote the essence of traditional Vietnamese dishes made from rice, such as buun (rice vermicelli) and pho (rice noodle soup), along with other traditional Vietnamese foods.

It will help uphold Vietnamese cuisine internationally and connect tourism and culture from Nam Dinh's ancient town within the expanded Ninh Binh province.

Visitors will have the chance to sample dishes from 80 "mini restaurants" that serve various types of noodles from many different localities nationwide.

Highlights include a "Five-star Viet Pho" cooking contest, noodle-cooking demonstrations and a seminar titled "Vietnamese pho and its journey of integration into the global culinary world".

The key event will be the Ninh Biinh Food Festival associated with the "Traditional Northern Tet", which will take place from December 28 to January 2, 2026 at Dong Thanh Stadium in HoaLu ward.

Themed "The Quintessence of Cuisine of the Ancient Capital", the festival will feature 180 booths, including 120 booths showcasing unique dishes from Ninh Bình and other provinces and cities nationwide; 40 booths introducing OCOP products, regional specialties and traditional crafts; and 20 booths promoting tourism, travel and experiences.

The opening ceremony on December 28 will kick off several activities, including culinary demonstrations, folk art performances, food sculpting demonstrations, an experiential space for the traditional Northern Vietnamese Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, interactive games, check-in activities and community cultural performances.

In his remarks at the press conference announcing the festival, Director of the Ninh Biinh Provincial Department of Tourism Bui Van Manh confirmed that the festival is an event of significant political and social importance.

The festival's success will lay the groundwork to build the event into an annual activity, contributing to promoting the image of Ninh Bình's land and people, as well as the distinctive features of its local cuisine, to domestic and international visitors.

It would also stimulate tourism and strengthen connections and cooperation between localities, businesses and organisations throughout the province.

Maanh believed that the festival will contribute to enriching tourism promotion activities, gradually building the Ninh Binh tourism brand in a professional, creative and sustainable direction.

It will also uphold the role of cuisine as a cultural ambassador, creating a highlight to attract tourists and making a positive contribution to the socio-economic development of the locality.