A day enjoying Hue specialties

Breakfast with beef noodle soup, banh canh, lunch with mussel rice, vermicelli noodle soup, clay pot rice and afternoon snack with banh loc, banh nam, banh beo are suggestions for tourists when coming to Hue .

Besides palaces, mausoleums and ancient architectural works, cuisine is also one of the attractions for tourists when coming to Hue. In the list of Best Food Cities in the World 2023 published on the world-famous culinary website Taste Atlas, Hue ranked 28th in the rankings. Below are some suggestions for dishes that visitors can enjoy when coming to the ancient capital. Simple breakfast like Hue people Hue people often start the day with familiar, hot and steaming dishes such as beef noodle soup, banh canh, sticky rice... Each dish has its own flavor that can only be found in the ancient capital.

Hue beef noodle soup

A familiar dish and the top choice for breakfast for locals and tourists is Hue beef noodle soup. A bowl of traditional beef noodle soup has a sweet taste from the bones, rich flavor from shrimp paste and aroma from herbs, onions, lemongrass... A full bowl of noodles with pork leg, beef, blood, crab cake, meatballs... served with raw vegetables will give visitors enough energy to start a day of exploring the ancient capital.

After the first day, diners can switch to noodle soup. There are many types of noodle soup for visitors to choose from such as Nam Pho noodle soup, snakehead fish noodle soup, loose crab noodle soup... Among them, the dish originating from Nam Pho village is a specialty commonly found on street vendors along Hue streets.

The broth used to serve the noodle soup is thick and slightly cloudy, made from rice flour and rice flour. Hue people eat noodle soup with shrimp, crab, pork, crab cakes, green onions and coriander.

Sticky rice with grilled pork. Photo: Nguyen Tien Nhan

For tourists who are fans of sticky rice, used to starting their breakfast with fragrant sticky rice packages, they can choose a portion of sticky rice with hon meat. This is a unique breakfast dish of Hue, rarely seen in other localities. Hon meat is pork stewed with peanuts, minced lemongrass, roasted sesame, turmeric... This meat will be eaten with sticky rice cooked from plump, sticky rice.

Lunch with rice and vermicelli After a morning exploring the relics in the ancient capital, visitors can have lunch with mussel rice, mussel vermicelli, sour shrimp rice with boiled meat, and underworld rice. These are all specialties of ancient Hue people for the king. Before becoming a royal product, mussel rice was a rustic dish, appearing more than 200 years ago. A bowl of Hue-style mussel rice is made from cold rice, mixed with mussels sauteed in oil and spices, served with herbs, banana flowers, pork rinds, roasted peanuts, stewed chili... In addition, visitors can try mussel vermicelli, mussels with rice paper.

Rice with mussels.

Another royal specialty that should not be missed when coming to Hue is Hell Rice. According to local people, in the past, King Bao Dai was treated to this dish by a local when he was traveling incognito. After returning, the king asked the kitchen to add Hell Rice to the list. This rice dish is served with dried shrimp, grilled pork, roasted pork, pork roll, sour sausage, herbs... and a bowl of sweet and sour, spicy fish sauce. In addition, sour shrimp, served with rice, boiled meat and vegetables is also an option for lunch. The sweet and refreshing shrimp are marinated with galangal, garlic, chili... spices with a sweet and sour taste to stimulate the taste buds, making it a suitable choice for summer meals.

Sour shrimp served with boiled meat and vegetables. Photo: Bui Thuy

Snacks with cakes and sweet soups Hue's culinary reputation is partly made up of cakes. If you stay here for many days, you will have many choices for your afternoon snack. Banh bot loc, banh nam, banh beo, banh ram it are popular dishes, appearing in luxury restaurants, street vendors, and small shops deep in alleys. Banh khoai is also a dish you should try when coming to Hue. This type of cake has a similar shape to banh xeo. However, Hue people rarely dip it with sweet and sour fish sauce, but instead use broth, made from pork liver, minced lean meat, roasted sesame, crushed peanuts and soy sauce. Usually, banh xeo shops will sell nem lui. Visitors can order this dish to enjoy when coming to the ancient capital. Another afternoon snack that diners can refer to is tre Hue. This dish looks similar to nem and cha. However, the difference lies in the recipe. The ingredients for making tre are diverse, including pork, cow or pig skin, rice bran and spices. After satisfying the taste buds with the above dishes, visitors can have dessert with sweet soups. Tapioca dumpling with roasted pork is a typical sweet soup only available in Hue. Besides that, there are sweet soups such as corn sweet soup, royal bean sweet soup, banana sweet soup, potato sweet soup... Some famous sweet soup shops in Hue that visitors can refer to are Cam sweet soup - No. 10 Nguyen Sinh Cung, Hem sweet soup - 17 Hung Vuong, Ton Dich sweet soup...

Enjoy dinner on the Western Street After a day of trying all kinds of Hue specialties, visitors can have dinner and have fun at the Western Street restaurants on Pham Ngu Lao, Chu Van An and Vo Thi Sau streets. This is a familiar address for young people and foreign tourists with bars, pubs, restaurants, live music cafes... On weekends, from 6pm to 2am, this area is a walking street, except on Sundays from 6pm to 12am. Before going home to rest, visitors can have a snack with some late-night dishes such as Trang Tien bread. Bread costs 7,000 - 15,000 VND, visitors can choose from pork belly, pate, fried egg, Chinese sausage, sausage, tapioca flour.

Besides, pressed cakes are also an option for tourists. The cakes are made from tapioca flour, eggs, green onions, and fatty meat. The seller forms the cakes into small balls of dough, places the filling on top, and then presses them tightly in the middle of a hot, oiled cast iron plate with two sides. Tourists can enjoy this dish at many places such as 20 Nguyen Du, 1 Van Cao, 101 Ba Trieu, 116 Le Ngo Cat, 73 Tung Thien Vuong....

Pressed rice cake served with salad and Vietnamese coriander. Photo: Thuyseatbook

VnExpress Marathon Hue 2024 takes place on April 21. Combining running, runners can explore the culture and cuisine of the ancient capital. Local authorities will also exempt runners from entrance fees to Nguyen Dynasty relics. Currently, the tournament registration portal is still accepting information. Runners who want to enjoy the festival atmosphere, immerse themselves in the royal cultural space and join in the vibrant sports atmosphere can register for the tournament.

Lan Anh

Source: https://vnexpress.net/mot-ngay-thuong-thuc-dac-san-hue-4722654.html