Delicious fruit-based dishes, specialties attract visitors during fruit harvest season

During the summer harvest season, fruit-growing areas across Dong Nai City become popular destinations for visitors from across the country. Among the attractions that draw tourists to the orchards, countryside cuisine stands out as a unique highlight. In particular, dishes made from fresh local fruits have become signature specialties that continue to captivate visitors.

Vo Thi Hong, head chef of Ut Tieu fruit garden in Binh Loc ward, prepares mangosteen chicken salad.

The creativity of local orchard chefs has enriched Dong Nai’s culinary culture while creating added value for farmers and orchard owners.

A wide variety of fruit-inspired delicacies

With nearly 100 hectares of fruit-growing land, Dong Nai City produces a diverse range of high-quality fruits. Many of them are well-known regional specialties, including Tan Trieu pomelo and Long Khanh rambutan. Summer marks the peak harvest season for many fruits and also the time when visitors flock to orchard destinations to enjoy fresh produce and local cuisine.

Among Dong Nai’s fruit specialties, farmers often say that “durian is the king, while mangosteen is the queen” because both fruits are delicious and highly valuable economically. One of the most sought-after seasonal dishes is mangosteen salad, a specialty available only during the mangosteen harvest season. Many tourists specifically plan orchard visits to enjoy this unique delicacy.

Green mangosteen is used as an ingredient to prepare delicious dishes.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, a tourist visiting Binh Loc ward to tour local orchards and enjoy its delicious fruits, shared: In recent years, mangosteen salad has become a "hot trend" sought out by young people. My family chose Binh Loc for our summer vacation because the area is known for many delicious fruits, including mangosteen. Every year, when we come to Binh Loc during the summer fruit season, my family orders this salad to enjoy. The distinctive appeal of country-style cuisine has become a draw for tourists like us, prompting us to make the long trip to the orchards to enjoy it.

Mangosteen chicken salad.

Vo Thi Hong, head chef at Ut Tieu Fruit Garden in Binh Loc Ward, said: Binh Loc ward has strongly developed its garden tourism model, with more than 40 garden owners taking part. In addition to touring the gardens and enjoying fresh fruit specialties directly from the orchards, visiting tourist groups are also very fond of country-style cuisine. The most diverse offerings are salads made from fresh fruits, such as mangosteen salad, young jackfruit salad, rambutan salad, and pomelo salad. In particular, mangosteen salad is the most popular choice. Hong said the dish is also quite simple to prepare. The salad is commonly mixed with shredded chicken or seafood to preserve the natural flavors of the fresh fruits.

Durian sticky rice.

Professional chefs note that fresh fruit provides abundant opportunities for culinary innovation in both Asian and Western cuisine. Popular fruit-based dishes include: mango sticky rice, banana sticky rice, durian sticky rice, durian spring rolls, fruit salads, fruit-based sauces, hotpot broths infused with fruit flavors

Beyond fresh consumption and dried products, fruits are also widely used for decorative food carving in upscale restaurants, adding both visual appeal and economic value to dishes.

Creating higher value for farmers

Most fruits ripen quickly and are highly perishable, leaving farmers vulnerable to price fluctuations and oversupply during peak harvest seasons. The growing use of fresh fruit in tourism and culinary services has helped create more stable demand and improved returns for growers.

Vo Thi Hong added: The selling prices of fruits sold to traders fluctuate unpredictably depending on the season and output. However, when growers engage in tourism, visitors come directly to the gardens to enjoy the fruits, allowing garden owners to sell their products directly to consumers without intermediaries and to earn higher profits. In addition, when fresh fruits are used as ingredients in dishes consumed in large quantities, farmers also earn higher profits. For example, with mangosteen, chefs often need five to six kilograms of fresh mangosteen to peel enough for one kilogram of fruit flesh used in salad. Therefore, on days with large numbers of visitors, the kitchen often has to peel dozens of kilograms of mangosteen for use as salad ingredients. Green mangosteen can be sold at high prices, also helping garden owners increase their income. In addition, during peak tourism periods, we also have to hire about a dozen seasonal workers for food preparation and service, helping create jobs for local workers.

Truong Thi Thu Huyen, representative of MITVEGAN Food Joint Stock Company (Tan Quan commune), introduced various fruit specialties at the Dong Nai City Golden Cashew Festival in 2026.

Sharing the same view, Truong Thi Thu Huyen, representative of MITVEGAN Food Joint Stock Company in Tan Quan commune, said: At the Dong Nai City Golden Cashew Festival 2026, we are offering a diverse range of delicious fruit specialties from Dong Nai City, such as Musang King durian, Buddha's hand banana, jackfruit, and durian. In particular, the company is introducing many specialties made from jackfruit, including green jackfruit spring rolls, young jackfruit pork sausage, jackfruit dumplings, fried jackfruit sausage with dill, young jackfruit sausage, young jackfruit pate, and stewed young jackfruit.

Comparing the value of fruits when sold fresh and when processed, Huyen said: A few years ago, when red-fleshed jackfruit was a new variety on the market, its retail price reached VND120,000-130,000 per kg, but it has now fallen to only VND10,000 per kg. The prices of fresh jackfruit varieties fluctuate unpredictably and tend to keep declining. But when the fruit is processed, jackfruit products not only have stable selling prices but also generate higher value, preventing steep price drops or price crashes. Many of the company's processed jackfruit products have achieved OCOP 3-star and 4-star ratings. The products are now available at many agents and establishments in many provinces and cities nationwide. Huyen said the market potential for this product line remains very large, and the company is continuing to expand the deep processing of this item.

By Binh Nguyen – Translated by Mai Nga, Minho