Book about Hanoi cuisine by author Vu The Long won the Influential Southeast Asian Book Award in China

The Chinese edition of the book, published by Chibooks Cultural Joint Stock Company, sold the copyright to Guangxi Science and Technology Publishing House, published in China in November 2024, and just won the 2025 Influential Southeast Asian Book Award in China.

The cover of the book was translated into Chinese. (Photo: Chi books)

The awards are given based on statistics in China on sales volume, reader feedback and media reviews.

The book goes back in time to the early years of the 20th century, to reminisce and explore how Hanoians ate, prepared and created cuisine , and how they “treated” (rejected, accepted, or even “assimilated”) the new culinary colors introduced to the capital through east-west, south-north exchanges...

The combination of personal experience of a person born and raised in Hanoi with the meticulous and careful research of a researcher from documents, archaeological artifacts to "living" documents - the grandparents of the previous generation have brought readers a book full of documents that is still lively, still very "real", so that we can feel the "depth" of Hanoi cuisine, of Hanoi's cultural identity throughout the turbulent 20th century.

The two books “Vat Qua Nhung Ngan May” and “Nguoi Hanoi, a story about eating famous dishes for a while” from the Vietnamese Culture Bookcase, officially held a book launch ceremony and author exchange on the afternoon of November 16, 2024 at the 2024 China - Southeast Asia Book Culture Week in Nanning City, China.

Ms. Nguyen Le Chi represents Chibooks at Guangxi Media Publishing House Group.

Author Vu The Long was born on February 1, 1947 in Hanoi. He is a PhD, a researcher in paleontology, anthropology, environment and cultural history; former Head of the Human and Environmental Research Department of the Vietnam Institute of Archeology - Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences .

He is currently the Secretary of the Culinary Arts and Culture Club (under the Vietnam Folk Arts Association); Executive Member of the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association. He has researched and taught for many years on Archeology - Biology, Environmental History, Cultural History, Sociology, etc.

Translator Thanh Doa, who translated the book “Hanoi People, Stories of Eating and Drinking in the Past” said that the book gives the feeling of talking to an old man, listening to him tell stories of the past. From this book, readers can understand many aspects of the lives of old Hanoians, understand the history and stories behind Hanoi's culinary culture. “Author Vu The Long also has very special perspectives, in each story he writes, he conveys his emotions in it” – translator Thanh Doa commented.

HA CHI

Source: https://nhandan.vn/sach-ve-am-thuc-ha-noi-cua-tac-gia-vu-the-long-gianh-giai-sach-dong-nam-a-co-suc-anh-huong-tai-trung-quoc-post892214.html