Top 10 Best Foods in Hue [Must-try]

Vietnamese cuisine varies from places to places. The differences between each region are noticeable and the Central is said to have the best cuisines of all. In this article, we will show you top 10 must-try food as well as best restaurants to try in Hue, the former royal capital of Vietnam.

1. Bun Bo Hue (Hue style beef noodle)

Bun Bo Hue - Hue-style beef noodle 

Whenever mentioning about Hue, we will first think about Bun Bo Hue. It is the top of what-to-eat list. Bun Bo Hue is a little bit like Pho, but it is spicier. A bowl of Bun Bo includes a light and spicy broth, sliced beef, crab balls, vermicelli noodles, lemongrass, onion and so on. In different restaurants, there will be different toppings such as meatballs or pig’s blood. If you are visiting around the town, try to taste the dish in some restaurants below:

Bun Bo O Cuong - Chu Diep

• Address: No 06 Tran Thuc Nhan Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 06:30 am - 11:00 am
• Price: 1.5 USD per bowl

Bun Bo O Phuong

• Address: No 24 Nguyen Khuyen Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 09:00 am - 09:00 pm
• Price: 1.5 USD per bowl

Bun Bo O Hoa

• Address: 162 Mai Thuc Loa Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 05:30 am - 09:00 pm
• Price: 1 USD per bowl

2. Bun Thit Nuong - Hue Grilled Pork Noodle

Another must-try food in Hue is Bun Thit Nuong - Hue Grilled pork noodle. This food is staple in Vietnam but still, the version in Hue is slightly different. The pork is well marinated in sugar, salt, lemongrass and pepper, then grilled on charcoal. When being served, it goes along with rice noodles, fresh salad, green herbs, fried peanuts and pickled green papaya. The difference of this food in Hue is that people eat it with an unique peanut sauce.

Bun Thit Nuong - Hue Grilled Pork Noodle

Ba Ty Bun Thit Nuong

• Address: 81 Dao Duy Tu Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 04:00 pm - 07:00 pm
• Price: 1 USD per bowl

Nguyen Truong To Bun Thit Nuong

• Address: Opposite 35 Nguyen Truong To Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 03:00 pm - 08:00 pm
• Price: 0.5 USD per bowl

Bun Thit Nuong Huyen Anh

• Address: 50 Kim Long Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 09:00 am - 09:00 pm
• Price: 1.5 USD per bowl

3. Nem Lui - Hue Lemongrass Skewer

Nem Lui is made from sausage-like ground pork which is skewered onto lemongrass to perfection. Usually, people eat it with fresh salad and rice paper, wrap like a spring roll and then, dip into the special sauce. It is also one of the favorite dish that tourists should try when visiting Hue. Here are some suggestions of good places to try Nem Lui. 

Ba Ty Nem Lui

• Address: 81 Dao Duy Tu Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 04:00 am - 09:00 pm
• Price: 1 USD per bowl

Tai Phu Nem Lui

• Address: No 2 Dien Bien Phu Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 09:00 am - 10:00 pm
• Price: 2 USD

Nguyen Truong To Nem Lui

• Address: Opposite 35 Nguyen Truong To, Hue City
• Opening hours: 03:00 pm - 08:00 pm
• Price: 0.5 USD 

Nem Lui - Hue Lemongrass Skewer

4. Banh Bot Loc - Rice dumpling cake

One of the must-try dish in Hue is Banh Bot Lot (Rice dumpling cake). Banh Bot Loc is made from tapioca batter and is created like the dumplings. This kind of dish is filled with pork belly and shrimp and is topped with sweet chilli, fried shallots along with dipping sauce. 

Banh Bot Loc - Rice dumpling cake

Banh Loc Mu Cai

• Address: No 475 Chi Lang Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 02:00 pm - 09:00 pm
• Price: 0.5 USD

Quan 109

• Address: 109 Le Huan Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 06:00 am - 09:00 pm
• Price: 0.5 USD

Quan Ba Do 

• Address: No 08 Nguyen Binh Khiem Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 08:00 am - 09:30 pm
• Price: 2 USD per dish

5. Banh Khot (Khot cake)

What is the next dish should we eat in Hue? The answer is Banh Khot (Khot cake). This is a kind of savoury cake that is quite similar to Banh Bot Loc. Banh Khot is small and crispy. It is covered by coconut milk and tapioca flour. When being served, people add diced green onions and shrimp on top of the cake. 

Banh Khot (Khot cake)

Me Le

• Address: 104/17/9 Kim Long Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 06:00 am - 10:00 am
• Price: 1 USD

Banh Khot Bui Thi Xuan

• Address: Hue Station, Hue City
• Opening hours: 03:00 pm - 07:00 pm
• Price: 0.5 USD

Banh Khot Hoan Thien

• Address: 2/85 Nguyen Hue Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 02:00 pm - 09:00 pm
• Price: 0.5 USD

6. Banh Ram It

Banh Ram It

Banh Ram It is a kind of fried sticky rice cake. Inside the cake, there is shrimp, bean paste and pork belly. When being served, it will be put over a fried dough. Normally, the cake has 2 colors: yellow and white. People often eat it with Vietnamese special dipping sauce. Banh Ram It is also a must-try dish in Hue. Here are some good places to taste Banh Ram It. 

Quan Banh Chi

• Address: 2/64 Hoang Dieu Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 07:00 am - 07:00 pm
• Price: 0.5 USD

Banh Ram It Thuy

• Address: 16 Pham Hong Thai Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 03:00 pm - 07:00 pm
• Price: 0.5 USD

Me Le

• Address: 104/17/9 Kim Long Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 06:00 am - 10:00 am
• Price: 1 USD

7. Banh Khoai - Hue Pancake 

Banh Khoai is a very popular dish in Hue. It looks like another Vietnamese pancake which name is Banh Xeo. However, Banh Khoai still has a few differences. Thus, we really recommend you to try this food and find those distinctions. 

Banh Khoai - Hue Pancake 

Banh Khoai Hong Mai

• Address: 110 Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Phu Hau, Hue City
• Opening hours: 08:00 am - 09:00 pm
• Price: 1 USD

Banh Khoai Hanh

• Address: 11 Pho Duc Chinh Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 08:00 am - 10:00 pm
• Price: 1 USD

Banh Khoai Lac Thien

• Address: No 06 Dinh Tien Hoang, Hue City
• Opening hours: 08:00 am - 10:00 pm
• Price: 2 USD

8. Banh Beo - Bloating Fern-shaped cake

This cake is made of rice flour batter which looks quite similar to an opaque jelly. Then, they are put in tiny bowls and topped with crispy pork skin, chilli sauce and shrimp flakes. You can eat some cakes at one time to fill your stomach and they are super delicious.

Banh Beo - Bloating Fern-shaped cake

Banh Beo Ba Do

• Address: No 08 Nguyen Binh Khiem, Hue City
• Opening hours: 08:00 am - 08:00 pm
• Price: 1 USD

Banh Beo Thuy

• Address: 16 Pham Hong Thai Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 01:00 pm - 08:00 pm
• Price: 0.5 USD

Banh Beo Ba Cu

• Address: 107 Nguyen Hue Street, Hue city
• Opening hours: 02:00 pm - 07:00 pm
• Price: 1 USD

9. Com Hen - Rice with mussels

The next dish in the what-to-eat list when visiting Hue is Com Hen - Rice with mussels. At first, Com Hen was just for peasants because it was made by using up leftover rice in the house. However, over the time, this food became popular among all kinds of classes in Hue fors its distinctive flavours. Now, people mix clams, mussels and clam broth together along with crispy rice crackers, fried pork fat, star fruit, roasted peanuts, shrimp sauce and chili peppers to make the dish. Then, they serve it with room-temperature rice and other herbs like Vietnamese coriander and mint. 

Com Hen - Rice with mussels

Com Hen Hoa Dong

• Address: 64 Kiet 7 Ung Binh Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 06:30 am - 08:00 pm
• Price: 1 USD

Com Hen Ba Cam

• Address: No 02 Truong Dinh Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 06:00 am - 01:00 pm
• Price: 1.5 USD

Quan Nho

• Address: 28 Pham Hong Thai Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 06:00 am - 10:00 am
• Price: 1 USD

10. Ca phe muoi - Hue Salty Coffee

Some people may think that this kind of coffee is gross, but wait, it is such a tasty drink that you may not find in other countries. The special formula of this drink is that people add salt to the milk along with sweetened condensed milk in order to create salted caramel. As a result, the coffee does not taste so sweet and salty at all. 

Ca phe muoi - Hue Salty Coffee

Home Coffee

• Address: 10 Nguyen Luong Bang Street, Phu Hoi District, Hue City
• Opening hours: 06:30 am - 10:00 pm
• Price: 1 USD 

La Gare Bistro

• Address: 14 Phan Chu Trinh Street, Vinh Ninh, Hue City
• Opening hours: 06:30 am - 10:30 pm
• Price: 1 USD

Salt Coffee

• Address: 142 Dang Thai Than Street, Hue City
• Opening hours: 06:30 am - 10:00 pm
• Price: 1 USD

In conclusion, Hue has a wide range of delicious food that tourists should try once coming. The list of 10 must-try food above is the superb ones. When you have a chance to visit Hue, don't forget to taste them. You will certainly love them all. 

Let's join our Hue food tours to taste some of best foods in this delightful nostagia city.

Vana Pham 

Image source: Internet