Eating Hue

Seafood by the beach in Hoi An

One thing we learned about Hue and food is that many Vietnamese dishes originated in Hue due to the enormous appetites of the Emperors. This of course means that Hue is a city of good eats. As students living in a hotel for five weeks, we eat out every single day. A breakfast buffet is provided courtesy of the hotel, and is actually pretty tasty. They have a different noodle soup every day (like pho or bun bo Hue), a spread of local fruits, fried banana crepes, etc. Yet, it's when it comes time to scrounge around the city for lunch and dinner when things get interesting, food-wise.

The Che Lady in Hoi An: Her che, or sweet dessert soup, contains agar jelly, grass jelly, basil seeds, and a dash of ginger flavoured syrup. A refeshing street-side sweet for a hot day ;)

Exploring the local neighborhood reveals a plethora of places to eat. Most of these are family operated cafes which spill over into the street. And of course, there is the street food. Every night, Mai Thuc Loan street comes alive with the smells of street-side grilled duck, noodle soups, nuoc mia (sugarcane juice) venders, and com tam (broken rice dishes). On one of the first nights we enjoyed bun rieu (crab noodle soup) from a street side stall which was evidently good and popular from the amount of people scoffing down grub from infant size tables and plastic stools. Street food here is the cheapest of all good eats here in Hue. They usually cost less than a dollar for one good sized bowl of hot, steaming noodles. Another day we had a hot bowl of pho, crouching over our bowls to the sound of motorbikes buzzing past.

Our first two weeks we chowed down on local grub, but soon enough the pinings for a good burger or fried chicken got the better of us, and we taxied through the citadel to Truong Tien Plaza to enjoy Ga Ran Kentucky (or KFC, as it's called back in the states). KFC is different here. They have less choices, but different types of food: for example, KFC here in Hue serves soft serve ice cream and seafood choices. The service is pretty fancy, too--you order and then the cashier, like a waiter, brings your food to you in a clean white dish. Food at the Big C supermarket isn't bad either. Tonight a few of us enjoyed Thai-style hotpot in the canteen (thanks, Sonny!):

"Saigon Pizza" from Little Italy: the interesting ingredient are the sweet Vietnamese sausages

The backpacker district also contains international grub, albeit more expensive than the local eats. There's Little Italy, which we've all frequented several times. The restaurant has an expansive menu featuring everying from burgers to spaghetti and of course, pizza. It's pretty darn good pizza, too (not to mention they have free delivery!). Yesterday we visited La Carambole, a restaurant whose sign brags about being mentioned in Lonely Planet and the Michelin foodie guide. They serve a plethora of local and European dishes such as banh khoai and savory crepes with aubergine and cheese.

Banh Khoai

Coming to Hue, I've learned to like plenty of new dishes. I'm especially partial to the rice-flour glutinous types, such as banh beo, banh nam, and banh loc. Thanks to Co Cuc and Co Thao from cooking class, we can bring a taste of Hue back with us when we go back home. However, it just won't be the same as eating in Hue.

Some rice flour dishes: banh nam (left) and banh loc (?) (right)