Sapa is not only famous for its majestic natural scenery but also for its delicious specialties featuring the culinary culture of the Northwest mountain areas. Let’s explore some featured specialties in Sapa with Handspan Travel Indochina!

“Thang Co” (Stewed horse meat and horse organs)

“Thang Co” is one of the specialties in Sapa that makes a strong impression on any diner. It is a popular food of the Hmong people in Sapa, with horse meat as the original ingredient.

A Quynh Restaurant's "Thang Co"

It is not so complicated to cook a pot of Thang Co. The meat and viscera of horses or buffaloes and cows are cleaned and boiled, then marinated with typical spices of the highland people, such as cinnamon, ginger, lemongrass, cardamom, etc. After that, they are put into the broth with horse bones, organs, and blood and boiled for two to three hours. When enjoying Sapa Thang Co, you can add a little pepper, chili, or salt and try them with corn wine. 

Below are some addresses to try “Thang Co” in Sapa.

• Thang Co A Quynh: 15 Thach Son, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Thang Co A Phu: 15 Fansipan, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Hai Lam Restaurant: 72 Luong Dinh Cua, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province

A Phu Restaurant's "Thang Co"

Sapa salmon and sturgeon

Fresh salmon and sturgeon are also well-known specialties in Sapa. Thanks to the ideal weather climate, Sapa is suitable for farming salmon and sturgeon. 

Red Dzao House's salmon salad

There are many ways to process salmon and sturgeon. Sasumi salad and grilled salmon are two popular and most delicious dishes for salmon. These dishes still keep the firm, tender, sweet-tasty, and greasy flavor and characteristics of the salmon. Besides, a salmon hotpot with tasty broth also impresses diners. Same as salmon, sturgeon can be cooked in many ways. Sturgeon does not have many bones but cartilage; therefore, it is extremely sweet, chewy, and crispy when grilled or dipped in the hotpot.

Viet Deli Restaurant's sturgeon hotpot

A Phu Restaurant's sturgeon hotpot

You can choose to enjoy it at the restaurant or go to the fish farm to select your own fish and have the chefs cook them. Let’s refer to some addresses to try Sapa salmon and sturgeon below.

• Moment Romantic Restaurant: 001A Thac Bac, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Ban Pho Restaurant: 17 Le Van Tam, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Sapa salmon and sturgeon farm: Thac Bac tourist area, Sa Pa, Lao Cai Province

Thit Trau Gac Bep (Buffalo meat upstairs kitchen)

Thit Trau Gac Bep, or dried buffalo, is also among the specialties in Sapa you should try and bring home. It is a unique food of Black Thai people. Trying this food, you will feel the forest in a few days. After seasoning, fresh buffalo meat will be smoked until the unique taste of different species such as cape yellowwood seed, salt, pepper, garlic, and ginger infiltrate the buffalo meat. Besides, the distinct smell from the smoke of the kitchen combined with spicy lemon pepper salt is also addictive. 

A Quynh Restaurant's buffalo meat upstairs kitchen

You can find and enjoy Thit Trau Gac Bep at any restaurant in Sapa. If you want to bring it home, you can buy it in the Sapa night market in Dien Bien Phu Street, Sapa Town, or Viet’s Farm at 26 Dong Loi Street, Sapa Town. 

Thit lon cap nach (Stolen armpit pig)

Traveling to Sapa, you can easily find Thit lon cap nach (Stolen armpit pig) at any restaurant. It is among the specialties in Sapa that you should not miss. 

Stolen armpit pig is a special pig of people in mountainous areas. These pigs are naturally raised and have to find their own food from gardens or forests. Therefore, a stolen armpit pig is usually leaner, less fat, and more fragrant than other types of pigs. 

From stolen armpit pigs, local people can process many attractive dishes. However, grilled stolen armpit pork is the most popular, thanks to its rich and delicious taste. To have a perfect plate of armpit pork, it is indispensable to have local species mixed with salt, and green peppers. 

Ban Pho Restaurant's grilled wild boar

Do Quyen Restaurant's wild boar cuisines

Below are some addresses you should come to try stolen armpit pork.

• A Dung Restaurant: 85 Xuan Vien, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Red Dao House: 4B Thac Bac, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Ban Pho Restaurant: 17 Le Van Tam, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Do Quyen Sapa Restaurant: 214 Thach Son, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Hoa Dong Tien Sapa Restaurant: 29 Cau May, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province

Com lam (Bamboo sticky rice)

Besides grilled salmon, sturgeon, and stolen armpit pork, Com lam (Bamboo sticky rice) is also one of the specialties in Sapa that impresses tourists. It is simply rice cooked in a bamboo tube over hot coals. Thanks to this special method, Com lam has the sweet taste of glutinous rice and the smell of grilled bamboo. 

Sapa bamboo sticky rice

Com lam is often served with grilled pork, beef, chicken, and pieces of dried buffalo meat. Coming to Sapa, you should not miss these addresses to enjoy Com Lam below.

• A Quynh Restaurant: 15 Thach Son, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Cau May Sapa Restaurant: 92 Ngu Chi Son, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Red Dao House: 4B Thac Bac, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province

Grilled stream fish

Grilled stream fish is also among the specialties in Sapa, with a unique flavor. Sapa stream fish is not as big as fish living in ponds and lakes, but it is firm, delicious, and incredibly not fishy. To increase the delightful flavor, when trying grilled stream fish, you should eat it with “Cham cheo”, a typical sauce made from ginger, lemongrass, and herbs. 

If you have time, you can stay by the stream and wait to try the dish. It is ideal to enjoy grilled stream fish with glasses of wine while admiring the natural scenery of Northwest Mountain. Besides, you can also drop in these addresses below for tasty grilled stream fish.

• Vua Ca Hoi Sapa Restaurant: 015A Le Van Tam, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Chapa Restaurant: 40 Cau May, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Sapa Lotus Restaurant: 34 Cau May, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Moment Romantic Restaurant: 001A Thac Bac, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province

Sapa black chicken

Sapa black chicken is not only an attractive dish but also has high nutritional value. Black chicken is mainly raised by ethnic people in Sa Pa and fed with wild vegetables, corn bran, and rice bran, so the meat quality is much higher than other types of industrially raised chickens. 

There are many ways to process Sapa black chicken, such as fried, fried, boiled, etc. Sapa black chicken grilled with honey and Sapa black chicken stewed with traditional medicine are the two most popular dishes with tasty flavors. 

Traveling to Sapa, you can find Sapa black chicken in many restaurants. Let’s refer to the addresses below to try this unique dish.

• A Phu Restaurant: 15 Fansipan, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province
• Do Quyen Restaurant: 214 Thach Son, Sapa Town, Sapa, Lao Cai Province

In conclusion, you have just learned some specialties in Sapa you should not miss. Hope that these pieces of information will be helpful for your trip to Sapa.