Phu Quoc Island

Phu Quoc is a district of Kien Giang province about 46 km to the west of Ha Tien. Phu Quoc is the largest island of Vietnam. Its area is 68 square kilometers, about as big as Singapore.

Duong Dong, its district town, is a thriving fishing port with a population of 18,000. This island is well famed far and near for its town main products: pepper and ‘ca com’ fish sauce. Phu Quoc’s quality pepper long since has been highly ranked and appreciated, so has its ‘ca com’ fish sauce. (ca com, literally ‘rice fish’ is a tiny shaped species of fish usually found moving in shoals). The process of preparing nuoc mam ca com (ca com fish sauce) is something as follows: firstly fish are tightly barrel-salted; this mixture is afterward left to ferment in a few months. Decomposed by bacterial action the fish result in a clear, amber-brown juice that is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. Its first juice produces the purest sauce called ‘nuoc mam nhi’ (prime) from this, common fish sauce is made. A Western author ever compared ‘ca com’ (rice fish) to the grapes in such a way as both juices of them, from the process of fermentation, equally bring to the mankind their irreplaceable tastes.

For those Phu Quoc islanders who cannot afford motor-driven vessels for deep-sea fishing, small boats sufficiently meet their requirements for in-shore fishing of cuttlefish. Their product of dried cuttlefish is also in great demand from Asian market.
This island is also famous with its dog, ever classified on the list of worldly canine species as “dog of Phu Quoc”. This wolf-like dog is agile, aggressive and clever, always eager for action and hunting, very helpful to its master.