To know Vietnam, start in Hue. Hue was the imperial capital of the Nguyen dynasty, which 143 year rule ended in 1945. Hue is also the culinary capital of Vietnam. Of 3,000 Vietnamese dishes, over 1,700 came originally from Hue.
The most important thing to see in Hue is the Purple Forbidden City which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Forbidden City is protected by 10 kilometres of defensive moat, 10 gates like this, and layers of citadels with the emperor's palace in the centre.
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| Only 10 of the Imperial City's 160 buildings survived the Battle of Hue. Photo credit: Robert H. Reid |
Much of the Forbidden City was destroyed during wars with France and the USA. The Battle of Hue in 1968 was fiercely fought right here in the Citadel.
Only some minor buildings survived. Much of the Forbidden City are now empty lawns where grand buildings once stood. Rebuilding and restoration works are in progress but looking just at the beauty of the minor buildings, we can only imagine the Forbidden City's original splendour.
Though only a shadow of itself, the Forbidden City is a must visit because it is a special place - the soul of Hue in the heart of the city. By that I mean, we can see the scars, the pain of this country and at the same time feel the resilience and big hearted spirit of Vietnamese people. I see many former foes, French and Americans walking freely, welcome with open arms on the once forbidden, forever sacred grounds of the Nguyen emperors.
Bao Dai, the last emperor of Vietnam ascended the throne in 1926. By then, Vietnam was already part of French Indochine (together with Laos and Cambodia). Bao Dai abdicated the crown in 1945 declaring that he rather "be a citizen of an independent country than Emperor of an enslaved one", thus proclaiming the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
A legacy of the Purple Forbidden City is imperial cuisine once served to the Nguyen emperors. Fortunately, we are still able to taste imperial cuisine in restaurants like Tinh Gia Vien. Owner chef Ton Nu Thi Ha who descended from Hue royalty is committed to preserving and promoting imperial Hue cuisine.
Imperial cuisine served to the emperor must be delicious, health fortifying and must be pleasing to his eyes. At Tinh Gia Vien restaurant you will see chef Ton Nu Thi Ha prepare imperial dishes the way it was done in the Forbidden City. It is tedious and takes a lot of time, but if you are a gourmand, Tinh Gia Vien restaurant is a box you have to tick.
Restaurant name: Tinh Gia Vien
Address: 7 Kiet 28 Lê Thánh Tôn, Phú Hậu, Thành phố Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế, Vietnam
Tel: +84 234 3522 243
Hours: 11:00am - 10:00pm (imperial dishes by appointment only)
Although the Nguyen emperors were elite gourmands, they were open to enjoying dishes from beyond the Forbidden City's walls. While imperial dishes were created within the Forbidden City, royal dishes were commoner dishes which the emperor and his court also enjoyed. A place you need to add to your foodie itinerary for royal dishes in Hue is Boi Tran Garden.
Madame Boi Tran who also descended from Hue royalty founded the sprawling lush Boi Tran Garden in 1999 as her art studio, gallery and personal retreat. Madame Boi Tran is a renown painter and sculptor whose works are sold by Christie's.
Madame Boi Tran initially cooked only for her family and friends, but opened to the public following popular demand. Many dignitaries have graced Boi Tran Garden including Anthony Bourdain. There is a 6 month waiting list to dine at Boi Tran Garden.
Madame Boi Tran prepares royal dishes which are rarely made nowadays and serves them in a fine dining setting in the elegant grand dining hall in Boi Tran Garden.
Restaurant name: Boi Tran Garden House
Address: Thủy Bằng, Hương Thủy, Thừa Thiên Huế, Vietnam
Tel: +84 234 3884 453
Hours: By appointment only
Vegetarians and vegans visiting Hue are spoilt for choice as Hue has many vegetarian restaurants as the imperial city has a large population who are vegetarian due to religious observance e.g. Buddhists.
We tried a few vegetarian options from street side stall to simple restaurant to a fine dining place. We went to Sân Mây Huế which is reputedly Hue's best vegetarian restaurant. I like it there - the ambiance was nice as it was a traditional wooden house surrounded by a flower garden, the food looked beautiful, the ingredients were fresh and the dishes were delicious even for an omnivore like me. If you have time only for one vegetarian place in Hue, consider Sân Mây Huế.
Restaurant name: Sân Mây Huế
Address: 8 Thanh Tịnh, Vỹ Dạ, Thành phố Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế
Hours: 7:00am - 9:00pm (Sat & Sun) (Other days by appointment)
Tel: +84 93 199 99 72
Coming to Hue, tasting the imperial city's street food is a must. Many delicious dishes like bun bo Hue, banh khoai, com hen etc are unique to Hue. But, not knowing what dishes to try and where are the better stalls, make getting a taste of many of them challenging during a short stay.
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I recommend jumping on one of the food tours of Hue on cyclo (trishaws). Seeing the city from behind a window in a taxi won't do, and walking doesn't cover enough ground, if time is a premium. A cyclo food tour is a good solution. We visited 5 dining places and got a gritty street level view of the city, weaving through main streets and small lanes few tourists venture to.
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Another good option to hit a few iconic Hue dishes together, lovingly prepared and cooked, and learn about typical Vietnamese family lifestyle, is to visit a host family. Have tea and lunch with the family at their home - the food is delicious and the experience memorable.
Alternatively, take a cruise down the placid meandering Perfume River in an ornately dressed dragon boat.
The Perfume River that gives life to Hue city is just 30 km short. The river is formed by two tributaries merging south of Hue. The slow flowing water takes a lazy meandering course into the East Vietnam Sea to the north. The brackish water is rich with aquatic life which often feature in Hue dishes. Flowers upriver fall into the water during Autumn, bringing fragrance to the city downriver, hence its name Hương Giang 香江 or Perfume River.
The river boats serve meals on board, some in well appointed dining halls that compare well with the best restaurants. The ride was so smooth, you'll forget that you're on a boat, if you don't look out of the windows.
Our boat served both imperial and royal dishes such as banh nam, banh khoai, fried spring rolls, banh beo, banh bot loc etc. Not the tastiest that I've tried in Hue but beautifully presented and when combined together with sights of the historic river, the cruise is worth a try.
Skip the hotel breakfast for a day and visit the local morning food market. Markets are great places to meet locals and from the types of food and produce on sale, get an insight into their lives and culture.
Join the locals for breakfast at a food stall. In Vietnam, you sit right next to the hawker who prepares food for you on the spot, like an omakase chef.
You hold the bowl of food in one hand and chopsticks in the other as there is often no table. Sit on small kindergarten size plastic stools - it is comfortable enough, once you get the hang of it. Just be careful that the little stools are not 100% stable.
Just enjoy the experience like Anthony Bourdain.
In Hue, the most accessible morning market is the century old Cho Dong Ba. It is located near to the Citadel's east gate. Even the Forbidden City's imperial kitchen staff used to come here for their daily marketing as the produce at Cho Dong Ba is the freshest and the best in the city. The morning market starts with street side stalls at the foot of the historic Truong Tien Bridge stretching to the core of the market.
When in Hue, take a walk across the 400m long Truong Tien Bridge (there are pedestrian walkways along the bridge). By night, the 6 spans are lit with colourful lights that change colour every few seconds. From the busy bridge that connects the old imperial city in the north and the French quarter in the south since 1899, you can get an overview of Hue along the lazily meandering Perfume River.
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| Refugees fleeing on the collapsed Truong Tien Bridge during the Battle of Hue in 1968. Photo credit: Philip Jones Griffiths |
If you have the time, you might venture to Chuồn Village Market which is 30 minutes from downtown Hue. Chuồn Village Market is a smaller version of Cho Dong Ba in downtown Hue, but they have Bánh Khoái đầm Chuồn which is a dish unique to Chuồn Village.
Hue Banh Khoai is a royal Hue dish which every visitor must try. Chuồn Village has a unique version known as Bánh Khoái đầm Chuồn. Here's what to do when you are at Chuồn Village Market.
Buy your seafood from any of the small stalls at the market. You can get prawn, squid, rabbit fish (pek tor herr), anything you fancy - all super fresh.
Then, take your seafood to any one of the 3 or 4 banh khoai stalls at the market. The stall holder will clean your seafood and make Bánh Khoái đầm Chuồn on the spot for you.
Bánh Khoái đầm Chuồn is an open face thin rice crepe topped with fish, prawn, squid, or pork slices - anything of your choice that can fit into that small crepe. It is made with rice flour fried in a small skillet. Bánh Khoái đầm Chuồn is eaten with fish sauce and bits of chili pepper. Layers of savoury sweetness and a bit of spicy heat (if you added chili pepper). Highly addictive dish and memorable experience at the market.
Attraction: Chuồn Village Market
Address: Phú Thị, Phú Vang District, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
Hours: 4:00am - 11:00am
Back in the city, you can expect to encounter the "regular" banh khoai. It's a thicker rice crepe which looked yellowish from turmeric added. When chocked full of vegetable and meat and seafood filling, it looks like a half open clam.
It is folded like a samosa when it isn't bursting with fillings. It is said that banh khoai is one of the emperor's favourite dishes and it is shaped like a smile because any food presented to the king must be pleasing to his eyes (we mentioned that earlier). If possible, try all three types 😄 Personally, my favourite is Bánh Khoái đầm Chuồn.
But, there are all kinds of banh in Vietnam, like there are all types of kueh in Singapore and Malaysia. The banh I ended up eating the most is banh nam because it is more widely available.
It's a tongue of rice, soft like custard. Slathered on top with sauteed minced pork and dried prawns. Wrapped in banana leaf and cooked by steaming. Eaten with a splash of fish sauce and bits of chili pepper. Sweet rice infused with banana leaf fragrance. Layers of mild savoury sweetness punctuated with spicy heat. Too easy to overindulge.
Most of us have eaten pho, it's everywhere in the world and seen by many as The Vietnamese Noodle. In Hue, I didn't see any pho (there may be some) but I saw bun bo Hue everywhere - from sidewalk stalls to restaurants.
Bun bo Hue means "beef noodle from Hue" but the soup is made by boiling pork, beef bones, lemongrass and prawn paste. The toppings consists of beef and pork, plus the signature crab-pork meat ball. Sometimes, there's also pork blood curd. The fat round noodles which look like thick rice vermicelli are made of rice and cassava.
Beefy and porky savoury sweet with a bit of umami and heat from spices in the broth. Mint, basil, coriander, banana blossom, bean sprout etc toppings add crunch, sweetness, zest, and fragrances that complete the wonder dish. Now, if there is pho and bun bo Hue in the menu, my money goes to BBH.
You need this poor man's dish for bragging rights. Com hen is a dish that is found only in Hue. Only in Hue. Because, the little basket clams in the dish come only from Con Hen, a little silt island in the middle of the Perfume River in Hue.
The clams from Con Hen island are boiled to make the soup. The dish is made with leftover rice because in the past people cannot afford to throw away leftover rice. So, cold rice is topped with clam meat dug from the beach, fried pork rind (pig skin), fried peanut, basil, mint, bean sprout, banana blossom, and a dollop of chili paste. It is warmed by pouring in the clam soup.
It's a wonderful mix of soft, tender, crunchy and crackly textures. Layers of savoury sweetness with zest and spicy heat. Though a peasant cold rice dish, Com Hen is considered royal cuisine as it found favour even with the emperor.
Don't leave Hue without eating Com Hen.
I was surprised when I first heard that Vietnam has a longer coastline than California - yes, it is true by a wide margin. Vietnam's coastline is 3,260km long while California's is 1,350km. Hue city is just 10km from the coast, so it is a seafood paradise.
If you have time, take a 20 minute drive to the coast for seafood. We went to Quán Hải Sản Tuấn Phúc seafood restaurant at the mouth of the Perfume River. The seafood were live and cooked by the simplest techniques so we enjoyed the seafood's natural flavours. These roe ladened crabs were simply boiled and served - I couldn't remember tastier crabs than these 🦀
👍 To Know Vietnam, Start in Hue, the Imperial & Culinary Capital.
Bánh Khoái đầm Chuồn 👈 click
Bun bo Hue 👈 click
Food tour on cyclo 👈 click
Imperial prawn ball 👈 click
Imperial pork leg 👈 click
Imperial squid 👈 click
Boi Tran Garden 👈 click
Bờ Ao Quán restaurant 👈 click
Tinh Gia Vien restaurant 👈 click
Home cooked Hue cuisine 👈 click
Quán Hải Sản Tuấn Phúc 👈 click
Cho Dong Ba market 👈 click
Com Hen clam rice 👈 click
Sân Mây Huế restaurant 👈 click
Ban nam Hue 👈 click
Our visit to Hue was arranged by Nguyen Ngoc An of Connect Travel.
Date visited: 1 - 8 Mar 2020
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