Discover Hue's Culinary Treasures

Hue Mussel Rice can be found everywhere, but not every place offers the unique and delicious flavors of Hue. This humble dish, made with simple ingredients like white rice and mussels, stands out in Hue. The mussels are pre-cooked with various seasonings, crispy fried pork fat, and especially the distinctive Hue shrimp paste—adding a rich and savory taste. Served with fresh vegetables, bean sprouts, corn, and roasted peanuts for an extra crunch. The best Hue Mussel Rice is found in Con Hen, and a bowl typically costs around 10,000 VND.

In Hue, there's a playful saying: If Hanoi has the '36 Streets,' then Hue has the '36 types of dessert.' Few people know exactly when this type of dessert appeared, but everyone is familiar with the name 'Sweet Alley Dessert' because it is often found deep in the alleys with a variety of different desserts. Each dessert has its own unique flavor, delightful, nutritious, and visually appealing. The corn sweet soup is cool and refreshing, especially delicious when made from young corn from Con Hen. The lotus seed sweet soup carries the pure fragrance of Tinh Tam lotus, known as the 'king's lotus.' There are many other desserts such as longan-wrapped lotus seed sweet soup, floating sweet soup, sweet potato sweet soup, and translucent cake dessert. One peculiar dessert that sounds strange but is unique to Hue is the translucent cake dessert wrapped with roast pork. It's made from small pieces of roast pork vermicelli wrapped in glutinous rice flour and sweetened with sugar. When eaten, this dessert gives a surprisingly unique taste—both sweet and salty.

For those who have visited Hue, never miss the chance to savor Bánh Canh (Vietnamese thick noodle soup) at Bà Đợi's place. Located on Đào Duy Anh Street, at the end of a small alley, this Bánh Canh eatery operates like a family business. Since the shop doesn't have a signboard, regular customers often refer to it as Bà Đợi's place (locals call it Mụ Đợi, addressing the owner respectfully). The broth is rich and characterized by the flavor of shrimp, and the spring rolls are crispy and flavorful. When eating, diners can add pepper, salt, lime, chili sauce, and finely chopped spring onions according to their preferences, as these condiments are already arranged on the table. Due to the unique broth, customers rarely leave any behind in their bowl of Bánh Canh at Bà Đợi's place.

Hue Beef Noodle Soup, known as Bún Bò Huế, is the soul of Hue's cuisine, and its deliciousness and fame need no introduction. Bún Bò Huế typically includes a piece of pork leg, a piece of knuckle, a small piece of pig's blood pudding, and, of course, slices of beef. The accompanying vegetables are fresh and varied. The most famous address for enjoying Bún Bò Huế is 13 Lý Thường Kiệt Street. Additionally, throughout Hue, you will easily find quality Bún Bò eateries where a bowl of Bún Bò Huế costs around 30,000 VND.

If you want a wholesome meal, try a vegetarian rice dish in Hue. The vegetarian options are diverse and rich, offering a complete and prosperous meal with vegetables, tubers, mushrooms, tofu, and more. For visitors to Hue who wish to enjoy a vegetarian meal, besides Buddhist followers who know how to cook delicious vegetarian meals for intimate gatherings at home, you can contact temples to experience a special vegetarian rice dish in Hue. You can visit any temple, but it is preferable to choose Tu Dam Pagoda, as it is a nunnery with many nuns who cook delicious vegetarian meals. Moreover, it is located right in the city on Dien Bien Phu Street.

When you visit Hue, you'll realize how closely bánh bèo is intertwined with the daily life of the ancient capital's residents. From 3 to 5 in the afternoon, women carry baskets on their shoulders or small baskets slung on their hips, going door-to-door to sell bánh bèo and bánh lọc. People in Hue are accustomed to enjoying these flavorful local cakes as snacks. You can go to places like An Định Palace, Ngự Bình Street, Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm Street... to witness and savor bánh bèo here. Bánh khoái is made from finely ground rice mixed with water and egg yolks, seasoned with pepper, onions, fish sauce, salt, peeled shrimp, sliced grilled beef, small pieces of fat, and fresh bean sprouts. The deliciousness of the cake is partly due to the unique dipping sauce, a distinctive broth. The quality of this broth determines the high-quality and superior taste of bánh khoái. The most famous bánh khoái is from Thượng Tứ, with branches including Lạc Thiện, Lạc Thạnh, and Bạch Yến.

A special feature of these two dishes lies in the perfectly marinated and grilled meat, resulting in a unique flavor unlike anywhere else. The accompanying dipping sauce is just right, and what sets them apart is the abundance of fresh herbs. The eateries for grilled meat vermicelli and grilled rice cake are located along Kim Long Riverside – the route to Thien Mu Pagoda.

Many people often say, 'Hue Grilled Sausage is one of the unique dishes of Hue.' On Nguyen Hue Street, there are two grilled sausage stalls operating day and night, always crowded with people. First-time customers of Hue Grilled Sausage are always amazed at its deliciousness, leading them to come back for more, even making it a daily habit. When eating, take the rice paper to wrap the grilled meatball along with herbs, fragrant vegetables, star fruit, lettuce, thinly sliced ​​green bananas, raw figs, colorful chili... then wrap it in a betel leaf and dip it in a special sauce called 'nước lèo'. The dipping sauce for Hue Grilled Sausage is prepared from dozens of different ingredients such as vegetable oil, pig liver, sesame seeds, sugar, fish sauce, cinnamon, etc., mixed with coconut milk.

This is a famous dish in Hue and originated from Nhật Lệ Street in the inner city, where dozens of bakeries specialize in making this cake. The cake is fragrant and chewy, delightful to eat due to the combination of ingredients such as beans, meat (fat and lean), glutinous rice, and spices like pepper, onions.

Sesame brittle, also known as sesame candy, is always present on the tea table of the people in Hue. The people of ancient Hue used to enjoy a few small bites of sesame brittle while sipping tea, a refined pleasure. In fact, nothing is rushed in Hue, even when it comes to eating sesame brittle. With this sticky specialty of Hue, you can only fully appreciate the sweetness, chewiness, and freshness that they bring when they melt in your mouth.

There are increasingly diverse types of sesame brittle produced due to customer demand, so you can come across various types such as soft sesame brittle, crispy sesame brittle, black sesame brittle, and glossy sesame brittle. Each type has its own deliciousness and uniqueness, but you also need to be careful when buying sesame brittle as a gift. When buying sesame brittle, you should check the color and flexibility. If the sesame brittle is golden yellow and, when squeezed or bent, feels soft but does not break, bouncing back to its original shape, it is a good type of sesame brittle.

This is the distinctive tapioca noodle soup of the people of Nam Pho (Phu Vang district), unlike any other tapioca noodle soup in other regions. The tapioca noodles are made from a special type of rice to achieve a soft and chewy texture without being mushy. The broth for the tapioca noodle soup is made from crab, ground lean meat, shrimp, pork ribs, and pork sausage, along with a unique secret that gives Nam Pho tapioca noodle soup its characteristic thickness and flavor. Nam Pho Tapioca Noodle Soup is usually not sold at fixed stores but can be found at street vendors, often located in market areas.

In Hue, when someone invites you to eat “mixed areca nut,” it means they want you to enjoy yourself, to have a good time eating. Perhaps that's why areca nut in Hue is often used as a fun and appetizing dish. If you're here, you must try the areca nut because this is the true specialty of Hue, only Hue has areca nut, guaranteed not to be found anywhere else.

Interestingly, when dining in Hue, from restaurants to street vendors, you'll easily come across mixed areca nut on the menu, indicating the locals' love for this fruit. Grilled rice paper is the perfect match for mixed areca nut. Scoop a piece of mixed areca nut with grilled rice paper into your mouth, and that's the authentic way of eating in Hue. Mixed areca nut is a popular dish, and you can easily find it at any eatery in Hue, especially at the local drinking places.

Royal Tea is a blend of precious herbs such as Lotus Stamen, Bitter Melon, Jasmine Bud, Artichoke, Fructus Amomi, Chrysanthemum, Apple Blossom, Rose Petal, Hollyhock, Saffron, Hoài sơn, Đại táo, Cỏ ngọt, Northern Licorice, Lái flower, all meticulously selected and processed, bringing a delightful and refreshing flavor. In the past, this type of tea was exclusively served to royalty, but today it is produced more widely for anyone who wants to revisit the nostalgic flavors with ease.

Hue's Pomelo, known for its distinctive flavor, is a taste that few cities can match. The Thanh Tra Pomelo from Hue is lighter than regular pomelos, with thin, shiny skin that is not rough. Thanh tra tea from Thuy Bieu carries a rich, delicious aroma, sweet and lingering in the mouth after indulging. The fragrance is not only present in the segments of the fruit but also in the peel, leaves, and of course, the pomelo blossoms. If you visit Hue between August and October, make sure to explore the pomelo orchards in Thuy Bieu to enjoy selecting and buying this unique local specialty.