If you’ve made it to Sapa way up in the North West of Vietnam, you’ve no doubt already sampled a vast array of Vietnamese food. You may have even journeyed all the way from the south, stuffing yourself with as many platters of spring rolls, steaming bowls of pho and sticky handfuls of pastries a possible on the way. Now, surrounding by mountains and perched on hills overlooking valleys of verdant green rice, it is time to sample what Sapa has to offer. Sapa is a unique place filled with unique people who are all undoubtedly eating unique food, so give yourself a break from the usual Vietnamese staples and sample some of Sapa best, or ‘most interesting’ and here are some local food in Sapa you can not miss.

Sapa Thang Co

We’re throwing you straight in at the deep end, here. Thang Co may look like your standard soup or stew but is actually a traditional dish of the H’Mong tribe of Sapa and contains horse meat. Not just horse meat, of course, but horse organs too, as well as vegetables and a blend of lemongrass, chilli, local cabbage and other mystery spices. It is said the dish is of great significance to the H’Mong people and dates back many years to a time when the people of Sapa could only travel by foot or horse. When the family’s trusty steed became too old or sick to ride their meat would be used in the cooking of the Thang Co, giving the dish an important cultural significance.

Bamboo – Tube Rice

Bamboo-tube rice is a dish that can be found all over Vietnam but the flavour of the rice and serving style differs depending on which region you visit. In the North Western region of Sapa glutinous rice from the fields around the town is used. The rice is combined with coconut milk and grilled in a bamboo tube and, when cooked, retains an edible layer of bamboo membrane on its outer edge. In Sapa this dish is often served with bamboo tube beef and sesame and prepared by local people on open campfires. A culinary experience not to be missed. This dish contains special local flavour in Sapa.

Grilled Chinese Black Mushroom

This might not sound very exciting but I promise it is. Chinese black mushrooms grow wild in the cool forests surrounding Sapa and for this reason are a staple of many Sapa people’s diets and can be found in most restaurant-cooked noodles and stir fry dishes. But the mushrooms are also a big hit on the street food scene and are often grilled on a stick with slices of juicy pork. Sapa mushrooms are known to be highly nutritious and, of course, completely organic. When you have mushrooms and pork you really can’t go wrong.

Cap Nach Pig

Which brings me nicely to our next Sapa speciality, Cap Nach pig, or, Lon Cap Nach to be more precise. The name of this dish roughly translates to ‘under arm’ pig and alludes to the size of the pigs in question which normally weigh under 20kg. These little piggies are raised in semi-wild conditions in the forests surrounding Sapa. When it is time for the pig to become the pork they are often chargrilled and sold whole but Cap Nach pork can also be bought already sliced.

Bo Nuong La Lot

If horse and pork aren’t your thing how about some beef? Another favourite dish amongst Sapa’s locals and tourists is Bo Nuong La lot, which roughly translates to beef in betel leaf. Using the same technique as the famous Vietnamese spring roll which involves rolling various combinations of minced meat, nuts, vegetables and herbs and spices in a crispy shell, Bo Nuong La Lot uses betel leaves instead, giving the dish a firm bite and spicy aftertaste.