Top 10 Pastries You Should Try at Least Once in Hue

Nậm Cake is a traditional pastry and a signature dish of Hue, alongside Bánh bèo and Bánh bột lọc. It’s made from rice flour, spread thinly over banana leaves, with a savory filling of minced pork, shrimp, and green onions, giving it a delicious, comforting flavor. The dish is best enjoyed with sweet fish sauce, and can also be paired with shrimp paste for extra richness without being too heavy. In Hue, there’s also a vegetarian version made with mung beans, commonly served on full moon days and the first days of the lunar month.

Blending royal and folk culinary traditions, Sour Shrimp Rolled Cake is a dish that not only tastes delicious but also embodies the essence of Hue cuisine: small, intricate, and deeply philosophical.

Sour Shrimp Rolled Cake is a beloved dish, though it’s not widely known among younger generations. The ingredients are simple and easy to find, mainly including sour shrimp, pork, and fresh herbs. The sour shrimp, a Hue specialty, is the soul of the dish. When prepared with fresh, flavorful shrimp and accompanied by a perfect dipping sauce, this dish reaches new heights. It’s a nostalgic treat many grew up eating after school, but nowadays, it’s becoming harder to find. If you visit Hue, be sure to seek out and try it!

Hue Crispy Pancake is quite similar to the Southern Vietnamese bánh xèo, but the way it’s prepared in Hue has its own unique twist. The batter is mixed with caramelized sugar to give it a golden color, and the filling includes shrimp, bean sprouts, and even a slice of sausage and quail egg.

What makes Hue Crispy Pancake so special is the way it’s served—with fresh herbs, young mustard greens, starfruit, sour banana, and figs, all complemented by a dipping sauce made from soybeans, liver, flour, and just the right amount of spices. This rich, savory dipping sauce gives the dish a wonderful thick texture and aromatic fragrance. On a rainy day in Hue, there’s nothing more satisfying than enjoying a plate of crispy pancake!

Phu The Cake (also known as Xu Xê Cake) can be found in many places, but the version in Hue has a distinct flavor. In the North, the cake is round and wrapped in yellow and red plastic, while in the South, it comes in square or round shapes. In Hue, it’s served in a simple palm leaf box. The main ingredients include tapioca flour, mung beans, and coconut.

Making Phu The Cake requires several intricate steps. After preparing the cake, the Huế cooks add a touch of grapefruit flower water to give it a fragrant, intense aroma. The process requires great care to ensure the cake is perfectly steamed—translucent tapioca flour with a golden filling, neither too firm nor too watery. The cake is made by layering flour, a mix of coconut and mung bean filling, and then another layer of flour before steaming. Once the cake is done, it’s covered with a palm leaf to preserve the green color. When you eat it, you’ll experience the chewy, rich coconut, the refreshing, sweet mung beans, and the delicate fragrance of the cake. This is a taste you won’t forget.

Wet Cake in Hue is quite similar to the northern bánh cuốn. The dough is made from rice flour and tapioca starch, with some variations adding cassava flour for extra flavor. The cakes are thinly rolled, much like bánh cuốn, but they don’t tear easily. The texture is soft yet not too chewy, and the thinner the cake, the more delicate and skillful the preparation.

Wet Cake is typically served with grilled pork, Vietnamese sausage, or crispy roasted pork belly. The experience of eating it brings together five distinct flavors: the spiciness of chili and garlic, the sourness of sweet-sour fish sauce, the bitterness of banana blossoms, the saltiness from the fish sauce, and the sweetness from the meat and sausage.

Ram It Cake is made from sticky rice flour with a filling of shrimp, pork, and a hint of seasoning. The cake consists of two parts: the small white sticky rice cake on top and the crispy fried bottom. Each small cake, about the size of a small apple, hides a dried shrimp inside. Taking a bite, you’ll experience the chewy texture of the sticky rice and the crispiness of the fried base, complemented by the spicy yet lightly sweet dipping sauce.

Ram It Cake is a clever and delicate combination of two elements that seem to be opposites but create a unique and delightful taste when eaten together. It’s a perfect balance of texture and flavor that surprises and pleases the palate.

In Cake, also known as cộ cake or five-color cake, was once a royal treat presented to the Nguyen emperors. The cakes are made using wooden molds, which is why they are called in cake (literally “pressed cake”). Crafting each cake is a meticulous process that involves ten distinct steps.

The selection of ingredients is the key to making a delicious In Cake. The mung beans used must be of the highest quality to give the cake its irresistible fragrance. The cake can be made from various types of flour, such as sticky rice flour, huỳnh tinh flour, mung bean flour, and others, but the most traditional and widely loved is the colorful mung bean version, often imprinted with the character “Thọ” (Longevity), symbolizing good health and prosperity.

Tapioca Cake is a translucent, white cake that reveals its delicious filling, making it visually appealing and tempting. Made from tapioca starch mixed with a little water, it is typically filled with a combination of shrimp and pork, or pork and wood ear mushrooms. After being shaped into small cakes, they are wrapped in banana leaves (or left unwrapped) and steamed.

When you bite into a Tapioca Cake, you’ll experience the chewy texture of the dough combined with the fragrant shrimp and meat filling, complemented by the crunchy wood ear mushrooms. Dip the cake into a tangy, spicy, and sweet sauce made with sugar, garlic, lime, and chili, and you’ll discover a bold and distinct flavor that keeps you coming back for more.

Mini Rice Cakes from Hue are simple yet incredibly delicious, capturing the essence of Vietnamese street food. The process of making these little cakes is easier than you might think. The dough is made from rice flour mixed with a bit of tapioca starch, then topped with crispy fried shallots and dried shrimp. The cakes are usually served in small dishes, arranged on a large woven tray.

To enjoy them, you should spoon a little dipping sauce made from sugar, chili, and garlic onto the cakes and savor each bite. The chewy texture of the rice cake, combined with the fragrant, crunchy toppings, will help you understand why Mini Rice Cakes are such a beloved snack in Hue.

Among the many unique cakes from Hue, Grilled Rice Cake is perhaps one of the lesser-known treats. It holds a special place in the hearts of many students in Hue, who have enjoyed it for generations. Similar to the grilled rice paper snack from Da Lat, Grilled Rice Cake has its own distinct flavor!

The outer layer of Grilled Rice Cake is made from fresh tapioca flour, which is pressed together with eggs and various fillings like meat, pâté, and sausage. The name 'grilled rice cake' comes from the way the dough is tightly pressed and grilled, creating a crispy, chewy texture with a perfect balance of softness. To eat it the traditional way, roll the cake up with cucumber or pickled vegetables, and dip it in spicy fish sauce or fragrant fermented shrimp paste.