Goat, ostrich and hill chicken meat, rice cakes and dairy products are among the top dishes of Ba Vi, a popular weekend getaway near Hanoi. 

Goat meat dishes vary from VND100,000 -200,000 ($4.3-8.6).

Goat meat

Let to run freely on the mountains, Ba Vi goat is very well known for its lean and juicy meat. The meat is marinated in basil and cedar and roasted slightly. After that, it is served in many different ways: raw with lemon, grilled, fried, steamed with citronella, or cooked with wine. Or you could try it with Hung Yen Province ban soybean paste, rice in bamboo tubes or fried Ba Vi vegetables.

La Co restaurant, Cau Va, Tan Linh Commune on National Highway 32 is a highly recommended restaurant to try Ba Vi goat meat.

Ostrich meat is considered more nutritious than beef with
a high protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin content. 

Ostrich meat

Another specialty in Ba Vi is ostrich which comes from the many farms here. It is usually served as a meatloaf or is fried, and sometimes come in a hot pot. On the way to Da Chong historical relic site in Minh Quang Commune, you can try ostrich meat at Oanh Tham restaurant in Tan Linh market.

Roadside vendors also sell fresh ostrich meat at VND270,000 ($12) per kilogram. For authentic ostrich meat, check out Lieu Quan fresh food store in Van Hoa Commune.

Chicken meat is a Ba Vi speciality given that the chicken here is raised in nature.

Hill chicken meat

Raised for meat with beans, corn and fish oil, a Ba Vi hill chicken weighs only around 2 kilograms. A whole chicken is often grilled or boiled or sometimes chopped and fries with pepper or mixed with onion like a salad.

Some of the recommended restaurants for hill chicken are Huong Viet country cuisine restaurant and Yen Bai Commune garden restaurant.

Banh te is sold at many restaurants and tourist
spots in Ba Vi for VND8,000 ($0.34).

Rice cake (banh te)

Phu Nhi village rice cake, filled with pork and wood ear, served hot with fish sauce along with lemon and chilli is one thing you should not miss while visiting Ba Vi. 

Ba Vi is well-known for diverse dairy products as
it is home to many cow and goat farms.

Dairy products

Known as ‘The White Milky Land’, Ba Vi has many cow and goat farms. Besides fresh milk, milk cakes, yogurt and creme caramel are some of the tasty treats sold around Ba Vi. To buy high-quality milk products, you can visit De Trang farm in Ke Moi village. The milk cakes at De Trang farm have an opaque ivory color and are not as sweet as at other stores.

Hanoi's rural district of Ba Vi is home to the Ba Vi National Park, about 50 km west of the city's center, a weekend getaway that allows people to reconnect with nature. The park is 10,815 ha (26,720 acres) in area, and is located in the Ba Vi mountain range. It has rich and diverse tropical and subtropical species of flora and fauna.