# Chả mực: Hạ Long Bay's hand-pounded squid cakes

> Chả mực is Hạ Long’s famous squid cake: fresh squid pounded by hand into a springy paste, shaped into patties and fried until golden. It is eaten with sticky rice, rice rolls or bread. It is often sold by weight, and a restaurant plate usually starts around 100,000 VND. Order with “Cho tôi một đĩa chả mực”.

- URL: https://eatgreenvietnam.com/guides/cha-muc-ha-long
- Region: North Vietnam · City: Ha Long
- Published: 2026-09-29 · Last updated: 2026-09-30
- By: the Eat Green Vietnam team (https://eatgreenvietnam.com/about)

Listen for the thud of a pestle. In Hạ Long, the best chả mực is still pounded by hand, which gives it a bounce machines can’t match.

## At a glance

- **What it is:** Fresh squid, hand-pounded with a little seasoning and fried into golden patties.
- **Where:** Hạ Long and Quảng Ninh province, on the Gulf of Tonkin; also sold to take home in vacuum packs.
- **Typical price:** Often sold by weight; a plate at a restaurant usually starts around 100,000 VND. Prices vary a lot.
- **Eat green:** Choose shops that use fresh local squid and bring your own box if you buy some for the road.

## How to order

> “Cho tôi một đĩa chả mực.”

One plate of squid cakes. Ask **giã tay không?** (“is it hand-pounded?”) – the good shops will say yes proudly.

## How to eat it

Eat it hot with xôi (sticky rice), bánh cuốn or a crusty bánh mì, and dip it in chilli sauce or fish sauce with pepper and lime.

## A tip for the bay

Hạ Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On a cruise, refill a bottle instead of buying new ones, and never throw anything overboard – the bay’s fishing families depend on clean water.

## Questions travellers ask

### What is chả mực?

A fried cake made from pounded fresh squid, a speciality of Hạ Long in Quảng Ninh province.

### How much does chả mực cost?

It is often sold by weight; a restaurant plate usually starts around 100,000 VND. Ask the price before you order.

### Why is hand-pounded chả mực better?

Pounding by hand gives a springier, chewier texture than grinding by machine.

### Can I take chả mực home?

Many shops vacuum-pack it for travel. Check your airline and country rules before flying with food.

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Photo: Hoangkid (Đặng Thái Hoàng) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ch%E1%BA%A3_m%E1%BB%B1c.jpg
Source: Eat Green Vietnam, https://eatgreenvietnam.com/guides/cha-muc-ha-long. Prices are typical ranges and change often. You may quote and summarise with attribution and a link to the original page.