First created nearly 70 years ago, Gia Lai dried pho, often known as “two-bowl pho”, has become one of the region’s best-known specialties. The dish has been recognized as an Asian culinary treasure and was also featured in Vietnam’s “Vietnamese Cuisine” stamp collection. At the festival, it will be presented as a flagship dish representing the cuisine of the highland province.
Nguyễn Vũ Thảo Nguyên, owner of Phở Nhớ Phố Núi restaurant in Pleiku Ward, said her booth will prepare and serve dried pho directly to visitors during the three-day event. The team has prepared about 300 kilograms of ingredients, including dried pho noodles, black bean sauce and traditional spices.
The ingredients will also be packaged into dried pho sets so visitors can take them home as gifts or cook the dish themselves.
Nguyên said the booth has been designed to highlight the culture of the Central Highlands, from the layout of the space to the uniforms worn by staff.
“Dried pho is a unique variation of traditional Vietnamese pho, but it also reflects how local people adapted their cuisine to the climate, geography and culture of the highlands”, she said. “The National Tourism Year is a chance to promote and honor Gia Lai dried pho right in its homeland”.
Beyond pho, the festival will showcase a wide range of dishes rooted in the culinary traditions of the Bahnar and Jrai ethnic groups.
At the Homestay A Ngưi Kbang booth in Kgiang Village, Tơ Tung Commune, visitors will be able to sample village specialties including bamboo-tube rice, grilled chicken, grilled pork, stream fish and can wine, a fermented rice wine traditionally drunk through bamboo straws.
The dishes will be prepared on-site by Bahnar cooks to preserve their authentic flavors.
A Ngưi, owner of the homestay, said the ingredients are sourced locally, including free-range pigs, farm-raised chickens, rice wine fermented with forest leaves and fish caught from nearby streams before being grilled in bamboo tubes.
“Through our cuisine, we want visitors to understand the culture and daily life of the Bahnar people living in the Trường Sơn–Central Highlands mountains”, he said. “With every bite of bamboo-tube rice or grilled chicken, guests can taste the essence of the mountains and forests and the warmth of the village hearth”.
Bringing village cuisine to the event also creates opportunities for residents of Kgiang Village to take part in cooking and serving dishes, he added. The activity helps preserve traditional flavors while allowing locals to share the stories behind their food and learn how cuisine can support tourism.
The culinary journey continues with dishes from the Jrai community.
Ksor H’Khal, owner of Jrai Food in Pleiku Ward, said she hopes to introduce the unique flavors of Jrai cuisine to a wider audience at the festival.
Her booth will feature familiar dishes such as grilled chicken, bamboo-tube rice, skewered grilled pork and bitter cassava leaves, with the preparation methods and ingredients reflecting traditional cooking practices.
H’Khal said the bamboo-tube rice served at the festival will be made using wild bamboo collected from the border area between Gia Lai and Quảng Ngãi.
“There are many types of bamboo, but only the wild bamboo from this region gives the dish its distinctive aroma and flavor,” she said, adding that the rice used is upland sticky rice soaked for 30 minutes to two hours before being cooked in bamboo tubes.
The booth will also be designed as a Jrai cultural space, decorated with traditional baskets, t’rưng musical instruments and brocade tablecloths.
“Each dish carries memories and a close connection to nature and the fields,” H’Khal said. “Through these flavors, we want to share the cultural stories of the Jrai people and bring the culinary values of Gia Lai closer to both domestic and international visitors”.