Hanoi's traditional sweet o mai is drawing attention as a souvenir for foreign travelers. A preserved food made by pickling fruit in sugar or salt and drying it, it's marked by a distinctive flavor where sourness, sweetness, saltiness, and even a slight bitterness coexist in a single piece. Sparked by the cultural experience event "O Mai GOAT" held in the Hoan Kiem district, interest from overseas visitors is rising.
Participants who encountered o mai through interactive events using the five senses—flavor-guessing games, ingredient guessing, and more—one after another said they wanted to buy it to take home as a souvenir.
What is o mai
O mai is a traditional preserved sweet made by pickling fruit in sugar or salt and drying it. It has a complex flavor where sourness, sweetness, and saltiness, plus even a faint bitterness, layer in a single piece. There are also sweeter types flavored with apricot or ginger, and the strong sourness and unknown flavor surprise foreigners tasting it for the first time.
The response to the "O Mai GOAT" experience event
At the cultural experience event "O Mai GOAT" held in the Hoan Kiem district, interactive activities were on offer—sensory exploration using sight, smell, taste, and touch, flavor-guessing games, ingredient identification, and sensory challenges. Foreign participants' interest rose thanks to this event.
Participants' reactions
Participants from various countries offered candid impressions. Here are the main voices, organized.
| Participant (origin) | Reaction / comment |
|---|---|
| Udval (Mongolia) | "Until now I only knew o mai as a kind of preserved fruit." |
| Frappa (Canada) | Described the reaction on first tasting it as "shocking" |
| Daniel (Philippines) | Rated the flavor experience as "explosive" |
Rising souvenir demand
Many participants who savored o mai through the event said they wanted to buy it to take home as a souvenir for family and friends. The high shelf-life of sugar-pickled fruit and the distinctly Vietnamese complex flavor tie into its appeal as a take-home gift. Note that traditional o mai shops are known to gather on Hang Duong Street (the former "sugar street") in the Old Quarter.
If travelers are going to buy it
O mai ranges from sweeter varieties like apricot and ginger flavors to strongly sour types. For a first time, starting with the sweet apricot and ginger types makes it easy to get into. Since it keeps at room temperature, it's suited to souvenirs, and specialty shops gather on Hang Duong Street in the Old Quarter. Choosing it after learning the background of the flavor at a cultural experience event makes it easier to introduce to the recipient too.
Summary
O mai, where sourness and sweetness, saltiness and bitterness coexist in a single piece, is again in the spotlight as a souvenir for foreign travelers through the experience event "O Mai GOAT." The complexity of the flavor and the high shelf-life support its value as a distinctly Hanoi gift.
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Source:DTiNews / Vietnam Investment Review
