Hanoi’s typical dishes with many variants always cause nostalgia for children who live far from their homeland. As famous as pho (rice noodles soup with beef), spring rolls are also a dish imbued with the “Vietnamese national spirit”: if you see spring rolls somewhere, people from the S-shaped country must be around the corner. A familiar food on a Bangui Street The typical Hanoi's dishes are prepared by Helen Green, a housewife who lives in Ho Chi Minh City The fateful meeting happened when the soldiers realized that a dish they ate on the street was so similar to the Vietnamese fried spring rolls. They weren’t wrong: it was real fried spring rolls, made by an old woman who came from Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi.Many years back in time, Vietnamese soldiers in the United Nations’ Peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic happened to meet an old woman, she was the only one from Vietnam to live in the capital, Bangui. Seventy years before, she … [Read more...] about [Quintessence of Hanoi’s cuisine] Quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine: Hanoi spring rolls
Vietnamese french press coffee
Coffee exports to US rise in value
General Department of Vietnam Customs data show that in May 2022, Vietnam exported 9,340 tonnes of coffee worth US$22 million to the US, down 16.5 percent in volume but up 2.3 percent in value compared with May 2021. In the first five months, the export volume reached 50,580 tonnes, with the value reaching US$124.95 million, down 2.9 percent in volume but up 23.6 percent in value year-on-year. Harvesting coffee The average price of Vietnamese coffee exports to the US in May 2022 was US$2,359 per tonne, down 5.9 percent compared with April but up 22.4 percent compared with May 2021. In the first five months, the average price was US$2,470 per tonne, up 27.2 percent year-on-year. According to the Center for WTO and International Trade, in the first four months of 2022, the US imported 768,800 tonnes of coffee worth US$4.11 billion, up 10.8 percent in volume of 49.6 percent in value compared with the same period last year. The average import price was US$5,353 per … [Read more...] about Coffee exports to US rise in value
Visa launches eco-friendly payment solutions in Asia Pacific
Digital payment service provider Visa announced earlier this week the launch of Visa Eco Benefits in the Asia-Pacific region in order to meet increasing demand for sustainable financial services. Eco Benefits is a suite of sustainability-focused solutions that will help Visa cardholders across the region better understand the environmental impact of their day-to-day payments, the multinational company said in a press release on Wednesday. They can calculate the carbon footprint generated by their Visa transactions, and access options for carbon offsetting or charitable donations from their bank’s website or app. Banks in Asia Pacific that sign up for Eco Benefits will be able to offer these solutions to their Visa cardholders and meet a growing demand for sustainable financial services. Sixty-six percent of consumers in the Asia-Pacific region expect their bank to offer eco-friendly payment solutions, according to a new Visa/YouGov survey. Over half (52 percent) would switch … [Read more...] about Visa launches eco-friendly payment solutions in Asia Pacific