As the meaning of its name, Lung Van – just a cloudy valley – is the highest peak in Muong Bi area (Tan Lac district, Hoa Binh province). Located at an altitude of more than 1,000m above sea level, the climate in Lung Van is cool all year round with clouds swirling around the top of the mountain in all four seasons. Traveling to Lung Van, in addition to being able to "hunt clouds" and enjoy beautiful scenery, visitors also have the opportunity to enjoy irresistible delicacies made from chayote vegetable bud grown by people on this land. 

 The beautiful scenery of Lung Van (Photo: Collected)

 Chayote is a species of gourd and squash grown in Vietnam since the early twentieth century, in addition to familiar dishes from the fruit, the top of the chayote can also be made into many delicious dishes, leaving an unforgettable aftertaste.

 Chayote buds are very fresh (Photo: Collected)

Boiled chayote buds are green, when eaten, they have a crisp, naturally sweet taste, and can be dipped with sesame salt or chili garlic fish sauce, but most delicious way is sauteed chayote buds with garlic. After removing fresh chayote bud outer fibrous layer, the buds are broken into short pieces, washed and drained. When cooking, add a little cooking oil to the pan and stir a few cloves of crushed garlic to increase the smell, then put the prepared chayote buds in, pay attention to use high heat and stir well to keep the vegetable green, crisp and sweet. After seasoning, the vegetables are ready to be served. 

Stir-fried chayote buds with garlic (Photo: Collected)

 Chayote in Lung Van has big, green buds with a naturally sweet and crisp taste when eaten. Due to the favorable weather, chayote in Lung Van does not need any fertilizers or stimulants but is still lush all year round. Nowadays, in order to develop this specialty vegetable into OCOP products of the province, people are more aware of the cultivation and production subject to VietGAP proces and  ensure food safety regulations. When visiting Hoa Binh or traveling to Lung Van, do not forget to enjoy this irresistible delicacy.

Lam Chau