Sun peninsula resort

Emeralda Resort Ninh Binh is an amazing destination for sightseeing during the ripe rice season at Tam Coc

At an advantageous location near Hanoi, just a 90-minute drive from Hanoi, Emeralda Resort Ninh Binh lies on the edge of Van Long Nature Reserve – a tranquil reserve of Ninh Binh province’s characteristic reedy wetland.

Emeralda Ninh Binh Resort & Spa

With rich traditional Vietnamese architectural elements and furnishings wedded to cutting-edge enhancements and guest comforts, Emeralda Ninh Binh Resort incorporates the environmental commitment to go with its surroundings.

This April, Emeralda Ninh Binh Resort & Spa offers the best deals for visitors starting from VND1.225 million ($55) per guest (inclusive of VAT and service charge), including three complimentary meals for one and complimentary in-room tea, coffee, and bottle of water.

The offer applies for a Superior room that can accommodate two guests per room and is available until May 31, from Monday to Thursday. Different pricing will be applied during holidays. On Fridays, a surcharge of VND300,000 ($13) per room per night, while on Saturdays the surcharge will be VND1.1 million ($50) per room per night.

Enjoy your vacation at a French colonial villa in the heart of Dalat city

French Colonial Villa Village – a fairy land in the heart of Dalat city

Ana Villas Dalat Resort & Spa is famous for its elegant vintage and romantic beauty where visitors can enjoy a slow pace of life and immerse themselves in the nature of Dalat.

Moreover, visitors will be able to fill their Instagram with photos from Ana Villas Dalat Resort & Spa and its magnificent design in the midst of the forest.

Visitor at Ana Villas Dalat Resort & Spa

Ana Villas Dalat Resort & Spa is one of the top luxury resorts and wonderlands for young people in Vietnam.

This April, the resort offers the best rate ever for guests booking directly, only from VND1.75 million ($75) per room night for two guests (tax and service fees applicable), including a buffet breakfast for two and free use of the outside swimming pool and kids’ club.

The offer is applicable for the Le Petit rooms that can accommodate two guests and is valid from April 1 to June 30, from Monday to Thursday. Friday and Saturday bookings are subject to a surcharge of VND500,000 ($22) per room per night while the surcharge for Sunday is VND200,000 ($8.70) per room per night.

Another special offer includes a free room upgrade during the week (from Monday to Thursday) for bookings from two nights with a choice of one of the following special offers:

• Complimentary afternoon tea for one Villa room booking
• Complimentary foot massage (30 minutes) for one Villa room booking
• Complimentary one way pick up at the airport for one Villa Studa booking

Visit Ana, breath in the fresh morning air of the pine forest, and enjoy an afternoon tea with sweet cakes.

Afternoon Tea & Resort tour: VND170,000 (7.40) per person

Set Menu & Resort tour: VND320,000 ($13.90) per person. The prices include VAT and service charge.

The Hanoitimes – Built at the edge of Cuc Phuong National Park within lush green forests, limestone mountains and natural water surfaces, the construction had outperformed nearly 1,000 competitive submissions of more than 500 architecture enterprises from over 20 countries and territories to be awarded such a prestigious prize.

The Vedana restaurant which is designed by renown Vietnamese architect had won the Grand Prize of the International Yuan Ye Architecture Awards 2021.

The bamboo work is among three winning projects of the prestigious Grand Prizes (Group B – Architectural Projects) which are The Big House designed by Frankie Pappas; the Potato Head Studios by David Gianotten and Ken Fung; and Vedana Restaurant by Vo Trong Nghia.

Located inside a resort complex of the same name in the northern province of Vietnam, the Venada Restaurant had won the Grand Prize of the 11th International Yuan Ye Architecture Awards.

The Vedana restaurant is part of a newly built luxurious Vedana resort.

Similar to some award-winning architectures of Vo Trong Nghia, the restaurant was built on a peninsular of a giant natural lake in the locality, covering 1,050 square metres and stands 15.85 metres tall.

It is built from 36 bamboo frames that form a three-storey dome with the largest roof radius of 18.3 metres.

Built at the edge of Cuc Phuong National Park within lush green forests, limestone mountains and natural water surfaces, the construction had outperformed nearly 1,000 competitive submissions of more than 500 architecture enterprises from over 20 countries and territories in the world to be awarded such a prestigious prize.

Water plays an important role in regulating the temperature for the construction as well as offering great natural experiences for diners. It is also a reservoir that stores rainwater running down from the nearby mountains, that will be used for irrigating the whole tourism site in a total area of 16.4 hectare-large.

Established in 2010 in China, Yuan Ye Architecture Awards honour outstanding constructions and architects from all around the world.

Find some more photos of the awarded constructions below:

The Hanoitimes – Cu Da village has been making soy sauce since its founding some 500 years ago.

About 20km from Hanoi’s center, Cu Da ancient village still holds many imprints of Vietnamese villages with roofs, banyan trees, water wharves, especially the French-style architecture of some houses. Not only famous for its unique cultural space, the ancient village is also known for its traditional vermicelli making and soy sauce making.

The craft of making soy sauce in Cu Da has been around for a long time. This soy sauce is made from four main ingredients: soybean, glutinous rice, water and white salt and has a unique and attractive scent.

It must be through the hands of the Cu Da people that the soy sauce can taste right and delicious. Sauce made from about April to August is the best, because of the favorable weather. The beautiful sunshine bakes the bean and which after being fermented yields a special flavor.

Cu Da village has been making soy sauce since its founding some 500 years ago. In the past, every local household stored several jars of soy sauce to use all year round. Today, soy sauce is made not only for villagers’ own use, but to sell outside the village.

The soy sauce is made of glutinous rice, salt, soybeans, and water. The sauce is more delicious if it is made with rain water. The rice should be ‘ Nep cai hoa vang ’, a special variety of sticky rice of high quality and special flavor grown mainly in the northern delta and midland provinces.

Mr. Dinh Van Tinh, whose family has been engaged in the craft for five generations, has a 100-year-old soy sauce workshop branded “Trong Tinh”.

Mr. Tinh’s soy sauce workshop is always busy as they cook hundreds of sticky rice pots per day to make the sauce.

According to the village’s artisans, Cu Da soy sauce makes its own brand thanks to its sweet taste and fragrance.

Currently, Mr. Dinh Van Tinh’s grandson, Dinh Cong The, is the family fifth generation practicing this trade.

“Technically, making soy sauce involves two steps. Cooked glutinous rice is fermented for several days in an incubation chamber. After 5 or 6 days, the rice koji, resembling soft green-lentil cake, is moved to a salt tank. That’s the first step, making koji,” said Dinh Cong The.

“The second step is to make bean sauce. Roasted soybeans are ground, then cooked again, and boiled for an hour before being scooped into basins to cool down, then poured into jars.”

“Making koji, called mốc in Vietnamese, is the most difficult and tedious part of the soy sauce manufacturing process,” he stressed.

“Depending on the size of the jars, it takes 15 to 20 days to steep the bean sauce, which is then mixed with the koji. The paste is returned to the jars and dried under the sun as long as possible,” Cong The added.

“Koji must be dried as long as possible. Then the sauce can be mixed with the koji to become soy sauce.”

Delicious soy sauce tastes sweet. It doesn’t depend on how long it takes to steep the mixture. It takes less time to make soy sauce in the summer and more time in the winter,” Cong The said.

He affirmed that if the soy sauce makers don’t have good technique, it will be impossible to make soy sauce during the winter, when it takes at least a month to make a batch.

There are hundreds of soy sauce jars in his house, which have been prepared for his consumers.

It’s hard to confuse Cu Da soy sauce with soy sauce from other places, thanks to its sweetness and special aroma.

Cu Da soy sauce has become a product that enriches the culinary life of Hanoians in particular and Vietnamese people in general.

Mr. Vu Van Thanh, a resident in Cu Da village said that they are longing to be granted land by the local government to create a production area so that they can save the traditional profession and increase productivity.

With a trademark granted by the Intellectual Property Agency, Cu Da soy sauce has found a firm foothold in the market. It is sold in big supermarkets in provinces and cities nationwide and is exported to Asian countries.

However, despite hard work, the income of soy sauce producers is not high, which discourages them from pursuing this craft. Currently, only five workshops remain making soy sauce.

Hanoian Quang Tan said: “Cu Da soy sauce is sweeter and tastier than others. In the summer, it’s very delicious to eat spinach, pickled eggplant, and braised fish with soy sauce. During the Tet holiday, boiled beef, veal, and pork served with soy sauce are delightful.”

The Hanoitimes – Built at the edge of Cuc Phuong National Park within lush green forests, limestone mountains and natural water surfaces, the construction had outperformed nearly 1,000 competitive submissions of more than 500 architecture enterprises from over 20 countries and territories to be awarded such a prestigious prize.

The Vedana restaurant which is designed by renown Vietnamese architect had won the Grand Prize of the International Yuan Ye Architecture Awards 2021.

The bamboo work is among three winning projects of the prestigious Grand Prizes (Group B – Architectural Projects) which are The Big House designed by Frankie Pappas; the Potato Head Studios by David Gianotten and Ken Fung; and Vedana Restaurant by Vo Trong Nghia.

Located inside a resort complex of the same name in the northern province of Vietnam, the Venada Restaurant had won the Grand Prize of the 11th International Yuan Ye Architecture Awards.

The Vedana restaurant is part of a newly built luxurious Vedana resort.

Similar to some award-winning architectures of Vo Trong Nghia, the restaurant was built on a peninsular of a giant natural lake in the locality, covering 1,050 square metres and stands 15.85 metres tall.

It is built from 36 bamboo frames that form a three-storey dome with the largest roof radius of 18.3 metres.

Built at the edge of Cuc Phuong National Park within lush green forests, limestone mountains and natural water surfaces, the construction had outperformed nearly 1,000 competitive submissions of more than 500 architecture enterprises from over 20 countries and territories in the world to be awarded such a prestigious prize.

Water plays an important role in regulating the temperature for the construction as well as offering great natural experiences for diners. It is also a reservoir that stores rainwater running down from the nearby mountains, that will be used for irrigating the whole tourism site in a total area of 16.4 hectare-large.

Established in 2010 in China, Yuan Ye Architecture Awards honour outstanding constructions and architects from all around the world.

Find some more photos of the awarded constructions below: