Top 10 delicious dishes to try when visiting Hue

If you're a food lover, you’ve surely heard of Hue Beef Noodle Soup, one of the most famous and beloved dishes in Vietnam. A bowl of Bún Bò Huế typically includes a piece of pig's trotters, a lump of homemade pork sausage, a bit of congealed pig's blood, and a few slices of beef. The fresh and varied herbs that accompany the dish enhance its flavor. What sets this dish apart is the broth, with its spicy kick from chili, the aromatic fragrance of lemongrass, and the added shrimp paste that creates the signature taste of Hue.

The most famous spot to enjoy Bún Bò Huế is 13 Ly Thuong Kiet (next to the Trade Union Guesthouse). You can also find numerous other popular spots along streets like Truong Dinh – Pham Hong Thai, Ly Thuong Kiet, Dinh Tien Hoang, Nguyen Thien Thuat, Nguyen Trai, etc. Prices for a bowl of Bún Bò Huế start from around 30,000 VND.

Each type of Hue dessert offers its own unique, delicious, and intricate flavor, reflecting the refined nature of the people from this region. Sweet and refreshing corn chè, made with young corn from Con Hen, or the fragrant lotus seed chè, made from the Tinh Tam lotus – known as the 'king's lotus', are just the beginning. There are also chè made with longan and lotus seeds, rich and sweet, as well as other varieties like hạt lựu chè, trôi nước chè, khoai sọ chè, and bột lọc chè.

One of the most unique desserts, which can only be found in Hue, is the roasted pork-stuffed chè bột lọc. This dish is prepared with small pieces of roasted pork wrapped in sticky rice dough and sweetened with sugar, creating an unexpectedly delightful combination of savory and sweet flavors, with a creamy texture that's hard to describe.

Top places to enjoy Hue’s best chè: Chè Hẻm: 17 Hung Vuong, Hue; Chè Sao: 60 Phan Chu Trinh – (84-54) 823069.

Hue Rice Wine is made using traditional fermentation methods. This dessert is not only delicious but also easy to digest, which is why many Hue families prepare it at home during meals. To create the perfect sticky rice balls, select old glutinous rice, wash it clean, soak it for 8 hours, and then drain. Steam the rice for the first time in a cloth, then remove and soak it in water mixed with salt for 3 minutes before steaming it again until fully cooked. After cooling the rice, place it on banana leaves and press it tightly with weights.

Grind the yeast into a fine powder, then sprinkle it evenly over the rice. Using a knife dipped in saltwater, cut the rice into 2.5 cm square pieces. Sprinkle more yeast over the pieces, wrap each in banana leaves, and stack them. Use a woven basket or similar item to place the rice packets, ensuring they are tightly wrapped. Leave them in a warm area for 3 days. Once fermented, the rice will be fluffy and slightly sweet, with a golden color. Remove the banana leaves, place the rice in a bowl, and pour the sweet rice wine over it. Seal the bowl and wait one day before eating. For longer storage, keep it in the fridge. Hue rice wine is often enjoyed with xôi vò (sticky rice balls).

Top spots to try Hue rice wine: Cơm Hến Hoa Đông, Tây Lộc market food area, and more.

Nhật Lệ Street in Hue’s ancient city is well-known for its traditional rice cake-making craft. The street is home to numerous rice cake factories, forming a bustling industry within the heart of the city. Especially during Tet, the atmosphere of production and trade becomes even livelier and more vibrant.

Along Nhật Lệ Street, buyers can easily witness the busy activity of various rice cake makers. Each household has dozens of workers, each responsible for a specific task in the production process. From washing the leaves, washing the glutinous rice, preparing the mung beans, wrapping the cakes, to cooking them, the entire process remains traditional but is carried out professionally and quickly. The Nhật Lệ rice cakes are best enjoyed cold, rather than hot. When you peel off the banana leaves, the green color of the cake is strikingly beautiful. Taking a bite, the mixture of savory pork and mung bean filling, wrapped in soft glutinous rice, fills your mouth with a rich, delicious flavor.

Located on Đào Duy Anh Street, at the end of a small alley, there is a bánh canh shop without a sign. Despite the bánh canh here being sliced into flat strips, similar to the style of Quảng Bình, instead of the round noodle molds, the broth is uniquely Huế. Bánh Canh Bà Đợi is a popular stop for both locals and tourists in Hue, and the shop has been around for over 30 years. The name “Bà Đợi” (Grandmother Wait) comes from the fact that customers often have to wait for a long time, so the shop was affectionately named after the owner. The broth here is rich and naturally fragrant with shrimp.

When the bowl of bánh canh is served, the clear broth, fresh shrimp, and tender fish cakes make a delightful combination. Customers can add pepper, salt, lime, chili oil, and chopped green onions available on the table, though the broth itself is already delicious enough. As a result, it’s rare for anyone to leave any broth behind at Bà Đợi’s bánh canh.

For the people of Hue, nem is a dish with a deep-rooted tradition, highly popular and widely available on the vibrant streets of this picturesque city. Among these, the nem stalls in the Old Dong Ba area are the most renowned, drawing in large crowds of customers. A properly made nem should have a dry, non-dripping surface, with a pale pink or lotus-like hue. The texture should be firm with a satisfying crunch, complemented by a balanced sourness and aromatic flavor. To fully appreciate the unique taste of nem, it is often enjoyed with garlic, where the pungent spiciness of the garlic blends beautifully with the tangy flavor of the nem, creating an irresistible combination.

The primary ingredients for making Gai Leaf Sticky Rice Cake are gai leaves, mung beans, and banana leaves. These cakes are traditionally used for ancestor worship during festive occasions, anniversaries, and memorial days. They are also given during weddings as a symbol of new beginnings, and during funerals to offer sympathy. Additionally, bánh ít is often given as a thoughtful gift to travelers, representing the warm heart of rural communities. Eating a piece of bánh ít provides a chewy texture, with the earthy taste of the leaves and the sweetness of the mung bean filling. The scent of the green beans and the fragrance of banana leaf oil fill the air, while the sound of each satisfying bite adds to the pleasure. Looking at the cake evokes thoughts of home and family, and reminds one of ancestors with the poetic phrase, 'Look at the bamboo strips on the roof, each bamboo strip reminds me of my ancestors.' You can easily find this cake at Dong Ba market or from street vendors on the streets.

When visiting Hue, one can easily see how deeply the people of this ancient city are connected to their traditional cakes. Between 3 to 5 PM, women can be spotted carrying baskets or small baskets on their hips, selling these beloved cakes door to door. The locals of Hue have long enjoyed these flavorful cakes as part of their daily meals and snacks.

You can try these delicious treats at the following locations:

• Quán Tranh Bèo Nậm Lọc
  Address: Chi Lăng Street, Hue - (84-54) 531866
• Bánh Bèo Nậm Lọc Bà Đỏ
  Address: 71 Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm, Hue - (84-54) 541182
• Bánh Bèo Bà Cư
  Address: 47 Nguyễn Huệ, Hue - (84-54) 832895

After a long journey to Hue, start warming up with a bowl of Rice with Clams (Cơm Hến). This dish is made by mixing cold rice with stir-fried clams, seasonings, clam broth, fermented shrimp paste, shredded cabbage, crispy pork skin, grilled rice paper, fried noodles, chili, peanuts, fried onions, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and salt. Variations such as 'bun hến' (clam noodles) and 'mì hến' (clam noodles) are not considered authentic Hue specialties. Originally a humble dish from the Hến Island area near the Perfume River, it was once served to the king and eventually became a royal dish.

This popular local dish is easy to find when visiting Hue. Despite its humble origins, rice with clams offers a rich, hearty flavor that resonates across the city, from villages to city streets. It's served with a variety of fresh herbs, including wild greens, banana flower, bean sprouts, and finely sliced taro stems. The peanuts are roasted to a golden brown, adding a beautiful touch. The best rice with clams can be found in the Hến Island area in the village of Cồn, Hương Lưu, Vĩ Dạ, just a few kilometers from the city center. In the famous Ô Châu Cận Lục book, it describes Hến Island as a charming little islet. A bowl of rice with clams typically costs around 15,000 VND.

Recommended places to try the best rice with clams in Hue: Cơm Hến Hoa Đông at 64 Kiệt 7 Ưng Bình, Cơm Hến Bà Cam at 2 Trương Định, Quán Nhỏ at 28 Phạm Hồng Thái, Cơm Hến 17 Hàn Mạc Tử, Cơm Hến-Bún Hến Lành at 38 Ngô Gia Tự,...

Grilled Nem Lụi is made in a similar way to fermented Nem, using ground pork and a blend of spices. However, instead of fermenting, the Huế version is shaped into long, sausage-like rolls around small bamboo skewers and then grilled over hot coals. This version of Nem Lụi is often enjoyed in a style similar to that of Saigon's Vietnamese spring rolls, where the grilled meat is wrapped in rice paper with fresh herbs such as lettuce, sour banana, starfruit, and pickled vegetables. The dish is complemented by a thick dipping sauce, similar to the one served with bánh khoái (crispy pancakes).

Where to try delicious Nem Lụi in Huế: Near Dong Ba Market, Phú Quý – Nguyễn Huệ street, or Hạnh's place at 11 Phó Đức Chính.