Hue Sweet Soup - a dish enjoyed by many people when traveling to the Ancient Capital

Enjoy the local flavors

One evening in front of Dong Ba market, I met a young tourist from Ho Chi Minh City who was accompanied by two foreign friends “wandering” around the food stalls. They ordered small portions: Bun mam nem, Bun hen, nem lui… The male tourist enjoyed the food and excitedly introduced the two foreign friends to Hue ’s culinary culture.

In recent years, cuisine has become the reason why many tourists, especially young people, come to Hue. Through videos and posts on social networks, many tourists want to experience "local" street food - small shops located deep in hard-to-find alleys.

On her TikTok channel with more than 4.7 million followers, TikToker Tina Thao Thi (Ho Chi Minh City) also made many clips experiencing street food when coming to Hue. The TikToker shared: The food in Hue is not only rich in flavor, but also very cheap. Amidst the peaceful life of Hue, in very popular eateries, street stalls, the famous TikToker and her team have repeatedly affirmed: "Hue food is always the best".

People who like to explore cuisines from all regions like Nguyen Hai An (from Nghe An) have a deeper feeling. He said that Hue is not only famous for its elaborate royal dishes, but also for the richness of its folk cuisine. In particular, the street food here is a vivid picture of culture. He recalled: “Once I visited Hue on a rainy day, stopped at a small roadside restaurant, with only a few plastic chairs, but the feeling was unusually close. I noticed that the style of enjoying cuisine here is very different. People eat while watching the rain, not in a hurry but leisurely. They do not just eat to be full, but also to enjoy, to chat with friends and relatives”.

Hue needs more spaces for culinary experiences

More perspectives on tourism development

In the current travel trends of tourists, culinary experiences have a positive impact on the image of the destination and the intention to introduce the destination to others. Tourists are now very interested in street food. This interest has also led many prestigious magazines to organize polls and honor cities famous for their affordable and attractive dishes. Recently, Time Out magazine (UK) announced a list of 10 Asian cities with the best street food, in which Hanoi ranked high. Obviously, these rankings are not only a reference suggestion for tourists, but also become a strong "boost" to promote the destinations.

Returning to Hue, the richness and uniqueness of street food here is undeniable. Affordable prices, distinctive flavors - all meet the criteria of tourists. However, to develop sustainably in association with tourism services, Hue needs to create more suitable street food spaces, well-planned, with clear criteria, from food hygiene and safety to environment and service style.

Hue now has a cute little corner of street food, which is the tofu stalls on the riverside road, in front of Thien Mu Pagoda. Tourists call this a street food corner worth experiencing because they can enjoy their childhood food while watching the beautiful sunset of Hue. However, one thing to note is to avoid actions that steal customers and damage the image of Hue tourism.

According to Director of the Department of Tourism Tran Thi Hoai Tram, identifying cuisine as a strength of Hue, the tourism industry has been organizing many events, weeks, and culinary festivals to promote it. In parallel, long-term solutions are also being implemented to turn this advantage into a unique tourism product, including street food.

“Every year, the tourism industry coordinates with other units to organize culinary festivals, creating experiences and enjoying Hue cuisine. In the city’s tourism development planning and strategy, it is necessary to elevate cuisine to a form of tourism like other destinations around the world are doing,” Ms. Tram shared.

In the long term, the locality and the tourism industry, together with relevant agencies, need to research and have appropriate plans to effectively exploit existing walking streets and night streets, creating culinary neighborhoods with delicious street food and Hue folk cuisine. There, it is necessary to preserve the "soul" of Hue cuisine, from the processing stage, flavor, service style, even the costumes of the sellers and the decoration of the stalls.

Hue cuisine, especially street food, is not just food, but a part of memory and cultural identity. Each bowl of vermicelli with mussels, each grilled spring rolls, each small bowl of banh beo... all contain the sophistication of the people of the ancient capital. It is this simplicity and depth that makes Hue street food a "gift" that anyone who has enjoyed it once will find hard to forget.

Article and photos: HUU PHUC

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/du-lich/am-thuc-hue/am-thuc-duong-pho-gay-thuong-nho-158914.html