At the end of summer, Ba Be Lake still carry a verdant side with their own alluring forest. Especially, you can enjoy the taste of delicious grilled fish in the lake.
I came to Ba Be (Bac Kan) on a late summer day in a volunteer program at the beginning of the school year for children in Pac Ngoi village. It was my second time to Ba Be Lake but the taste and color of each dish here is still lingering inside my mind.
Among the fish caught in Ba Be Lake, the small anchovy is the most popular with local people and tourists. At the wharf or under the boat parking spot, there is always a peddler, who handles the grilled fish basket to sell these tasty skewers.
In Ba Be Lake, people eat grilled fish like daily snacks. We arrived at the wharf, some old ladies came out to offer everything, from fish, candy, wild bamboo shoots to other local specialties.
Fishes were steeped in A-shaped skewers, each skewer has 4-5 small fishes. The charcoal stove set up along the slope into the lake with Dzao children quickly put up the fire. There were also cooked rice in bamboo tube and grilled eggs.
Fish are caught by hands or just using fish net and other simple tools. After a few days of sun exposure, dried fishes are placed in the basket for sale. When the boat stopped in the Fairy Pond area, the children follows their mother while holding the fish basket.
Back to our meal, the old lady quickly put fish basket for us to choose. On the island, there are few tourists so your meal will be freshly grilled after your order. In addition, you can freely choose from different kinds of fish but our lady looked at us jokingly that many guests prefer to choose big fish but their texture are not as sweet and firm as the small one. The fish here is not smelly and has a dark yellow colour after being grilled, with fragrant, sweet and firm texture.
Apart from fish, grilled shrimp is also a specialty of the lake. The shrimp are exposed on the sun for a short time before being brought onto the skewers, so it is tasty as good as the fish. If you buy on skewers, the price is about 10,000 VND / 1 skewed shrimp or fish. Craving for more, we bought the whole bag as a gift for family and friends.
In the midst of summer holidays, the breeze of Ba Be Lake attracts many visitors. And other things about the food, it is like the soul of those who make it. Ba Be's grilled fish is as simple as the people who live on this lake but still an unforgettable memory for everyone coming here.
See more information about Ba Be and Ba Be tours HERE