The Central Highlands is a hot spot for tourists, local and foreign alike. With its mountainous streets, rugged terrain, howling winds, foggy towns, night markets, various ethnic groups, dense forests, and a rich wildlife, it’s no wonder more and more visitors frequent the place every year.

Da Lat, Buon Ma Thout, and Pleika are the most famous towns in the highlands famous among tourists. Aside from the breathtaking scenery and diverse ethnic culture, what makes the Central Highlands a favorite tourist destination is its mix of unique delicacies. The grilled chicken and com lam (rice cooked in bamboo stems) are among the must-try specialties of the place.

The two dishes are best eaten together as a meal, adding more flavor and excitement to the experience by dipping them in sesame and salt, and drinking it down with ruou can, a beer-like drink sipped through a long bamboo pipe from a jar. Com lam originated in the mountains when natives used to travel on long journeys through the forest to work in mountain fields. To keep themselves from getting hungry during the trip, they would stuff wet rice into bamboo and place them in a cloth bag. But while the whole thing seems easy, the process of preparing the dish is a tedious one.

Choosing the bamboo stem itself is a meticulous procedure one should strictly follow. It is the key to the whole recipe which will either make or break the dish. The stems should be young and fresh to achieve that one-of-a-kind mountain scent into the rice. The rice should be of the glutinous variety and grown on the mountains.

Wash the rice, soak it in water for several hours, take it out and add some salt. Place the rice inside the bamboo stem, add some water, and seal both ends tightly with banana leaves. You can cook the rice in different ways, like steaming and grilling. This takes about 45-60 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

Com lam is best served with sesame and salt or grilled chicken. To prepare the latter, choose “free-range” birds raised by the natives and not the industrial-farmed ones. The former tastes better. Marinate the meat in honey, sesame oil, lemongrass, five-spices powder, garlic, ginger and salt. Insert the chicken mix in a bamboo stem and grill it on burning coal. Keep turning it over until it turns golden brown and smells delectable.

Com lam and grilled chicken becomes a complete, perfect meal when washed down with ruou can or mountain wine. It is the traditional, trademark drink of the ethnic people which has a sour-sweet taste to it. It is often drank on festivals as a wish to good health and giving thanks to the gods for good weather. It is made by fermenting rice and a combination of medicinal herbs and roots.

If you want to find and taste high quality Com lam, Ky Con Street in Pleiku Town is known for even offering unique flavors and tastes to the concoction. A tube of rice costs VND 12,000 while a one whole grilled chicken is about VND 190,000.