The Bánh Mì Việt Nam (Vietnamese Sandwich) Festival 2024 will be held from May 17 to 19 at Lê Văn Tám Park in downtown HCM City. VNS Photo An Phương

It is now in the final stages of preparations and ready to welcome locals and foreigners, said Nguyễn Thị Khánh, chairwoman of the HCM City Tourism Association.

This year event will include around 150 stalls set up by leading local and foreign bánh mì brands, restaurants, vendors, and food suppliers, and an area where visitors can see the bánh mì making process and try the breads.

“The festival is one of the city’s primary tourism products to promote cross-cultural experiences,” Khánh said.

She said it would also connect chefs, bakers, and artisans who would promote the traditional sandwich with creative recipes. 

There would be a gate made of bánh mì shaped like a dragon, an area showcasing the history of bánh mì, and a fairy-tale corner for children with animals made from bánh mì. 

There will be a giant bánh mì served with 150 complementary dishes made from local specialties.

A seminar themed Bánh Mì Việt Nam Với Du Lịch Và Ẩm Thực Thế Giới (Vietnamese Sandwich with Global Tourism and Culinary) will be held to present the differences between bánh mì and other sandwiches made around the world, the evolution of the former and the role of Vietnamese expats in promoting it.

Visitors can try bánh mì made from rice flour and multiple grains and combined with Vietnamese produce.

There will be activities meant for women and pastry students on how to start a bánh mì stall.

Khánh said the organisers would tighten food hygiene policies this year by not allowing any stall to sell anything except bánh mì such as fried fish balls and assorted skewers after receiving complaints from the previous event.

Bánh mì is well-known to international travellers as one of the country’s iconic dishes. Last year, the inaugural festival attracted over 50,000 visitors and received positive feedback.

In March this year, Vietnamese food was ranked first in the list of the top 100 sandwiches in the world by international food website Taste Atlas. 

It also has had its name defined in reputable dictionaries like Oxford, Cambridge, and Merriam-Webster, to name just a few. – VNS