Unique festival of "delicious dishes from basalt soil and sea" in Gia Lai

The festival "Delicious dishes from basalt soil and sea" in Gia Lai province with dozens of stalls selling specialties from the forest to the sea attracted a large number of people and tourists.

At the festival, coastal people demonstrated the art of filleting and processing tuna, while people from the highlands introduced brocade, weaving, and the unique coffee culture of the Jrai people.

Essence of forest - sea

On the afternoons of August 29 and 30, thousands of people and tourists came to Children's Park (An Duong Vuong Street, Quy Nhon Ward, Gia Lai Province) to experience, enjoy and shop at the festival's culinary space "Delicious dishes from basalt land and sea" - within the framework of the festival "The quintessence of the great forest - the convergence of the blue sea". Every afternoon, domestic and international chefs will butcher and fillet a tuna about 1.5m long and weighing over 50kg, processing it into 5,000 meals to serve tourists.

Female chef skillfully fillets nearly 60kg tuna

According to Mr. Cao Thanh Thuong, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Gia Lai province (the festival's host), the festival chose ocean tuna and coffee as the main ingredients - these are typical products of the coastal and mountainous areas of Gia Lai. From these two ingredients, the chefs created many unique combined dishes such as: tuna, coffee, sticky rice; tuna, coffee, bread; tuna, coffee and drinks; tuna and macadamia nuts...

In addition, the festival gathered 94 booths of 33 units, traditional craft villages from the forest to the sea. Besides the food booths, visitors also experienced spaces introducing OCOP products, craft village specialties, brocade, weaving, Central Highlands musical instruments... Notably, visitors and locals also experienced a Gia Lai coffee space with many unique recipes.

Miss Dinh Thi Hoa - Festival Media Ambassador interacts with young people in Pleiku mountain town

Free space to enjoy Central Highlands coffee

Visiting the festival, many tourists were delighted with the stalls and display spaces of the Jrai people from the mountainous town of Pleiku. Ms. Bui Thi Tuyet Nhung (tourist from Ho Chi Minh City) shared: "I am very impressed with the spaces and display methods of the Gia Lai mountain people's stalls. In their stalls, they meticulously presented, combining performance and product introduction, demonstrating their responsibility and curiosity for the heritage of their people."

Artists performing traditional Jrai ethnic weaving

Coming to the festival, artisan Pyui' (50 years old, from Phung village, Bien Ho commune, Gia Lai province) introduced to tourists the traditional brocade weaving art of the Jrai ethnic group. She said that Phung villagers still maintain the form of brocade weaving using looms. The brocade here is unique, with rich patterns, inspired by the life, work and activities of the Jrai village.

“Participating in this festival, we brought our weaving looms and finished products. The products are quite diverse, from traditional to modern designs, suitable for both the elderly and the young. In particular, the prices are reasonable, not expensive, suitable for the budget of locals and tourists,” artisan Pyui' added.

Pyui' artisan weaves brocade for tourists to see

Jrai ethnic brocade with many unique lines and patterns

There is a unique coffee culture of the Jrai people.

Ms. Y Phuong, Head of Service Department of Pleiku Museum (Gia Lai province) shared that at the festival, artisans from Jrai villages brought to display, perform, and introduce typical products, such as: brocade, weaving, coffee, traditional Jrai props, bamboo rice, grilled chicken... Most special is the space to practice traditional Jrai coffee.

According to Ms. Y Phuong, in the past, when growing coffee in the Central Highlands, the Jrai people created a very unique way of enjoying it. The coffee beans were processed by hand, dried, roasted in a pan, pounded in a mortar and then boiled to get the water to drink. The Jrai people used a bamboo cup to pour coffee, added a little salt and enjoyed it in the morning to stay alert for work. From there, a culture of handmade coffee with a history of hundreds of years was formed.

At the festival, Jrai artisans will demonstrate how to process and enjoy coffee of the ethnic groups in the ancient Central Highlands.

"At the festival, artisans and Jrai people demonstrate the traditional coffee-making recipes of ancient villages in the Central Highlands. We want to recreate the way the locals enjoy coffee to introduce to visitors a unique coffee culture, formed from the labor and production process of the people of the great mountains," said Ms. Y Phuong.

Jrai artisan prepares ingredients to demonstrate the traditional way of drinking coffee of the Central Highlands villages

The Head of Pleiku Museum Service Department expressed: "We hope that the government will organize more festivals, fairs, and promote the culture and agriculture of ethnic groups, not only in Quy Nhon but also in Pleiku, so that marine and forest specialties can be exchanged and connected. Through that, people, traders, and businesses from both regions can cooperate, promote linkages, production, and consumption of products."

NGOC OAI

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/doc-dao-le-hoi-mon-ngon-tu-dat-bazan-va-bien-o-gia-lai-post811021.html