First time around our visit to
Hue was all about the
sights and “must do’s” of this city, built either side of the Perfume
River. I was a kid in my early 20′s still grasping the concept of
holding a passport and pretty chuffed that somewhere like Vietnam was my
second (or third?) trip overseas. We cruised the river in a sampan, had
lunch on board and stopped at several temples. Loads of fun and a great
way to get a sense of the surrounding geography. The only thing I
remember, other than some fantastic fried spring rolls at
Lac Thien, was getting lost in the
Imperial City.
Home for the next couple of nights was
La Résidence,
a boutique riverside hotel and spa built in and around the former
official residence of the French governor in the 1930′s. The Art Deco
building has been lovingly restored inside and out, retaining the
colonial fabric of the former residence. Splashes of modern furniture
mingle with beautiful artworks and vintage bric-à-brac in the light and
airy communal areas and cosy rooms. Thanks to the annoying drizzle we
never quite made it into the salt water swimming pool but at least fit
in a wander around the grounds between trapsing and exploring the city.
La Résidence Hôtel & Spa
5 Le Loi Street
(84) 054 3837 475
website
Not much time had passed from checking into
the hotel and dropping our bags in the room. Before we knew it we were
out on Le Loi Street aimlessly walking along the riverside parkland.
Well, not quite aimlessly as I already had plans of sussing out a little
backstreet that has a few eateries offering a local specialty. My
partner just didn’t know it yet and I needed a post-breakfast snack.
Truong Dinh Street runs parallel to Le Loi,
just near the Saigon Morin Hotel, and is a quiet strip simmering with
locals sipping coffee and tucking into delicious plates and bowls of
goodies. Not a tourist in sight.
Ba Hoa, on this
particular visit, was the busiest place on the street. Judging purely on
visuals, it’s just like any run-of-the-mill local eatery across the
country. Bare concrete walls, plastic chairs, a bit grotty and that
ubiquitous condiment caddy on each table. Additional to the condiments
is a small plate of
banh lot loc and a bulb of fresh garlic, just in case you feel like messing up your breath for the rest of the day.
This is what we’re here for.
Com hen. Just look at it. Of all the things I ate on this trip, this ranked as my favourite. Translated it simply means
rice clams.
It’s a complicated layering of rice, crispy noodles, toasted peanuts,
fresh local clams, bean sprouts, coriander, peppermint, chilli and pork
crackling. That’s not all. Finely shaved banana flower makes it in
there, two types of fat, sesame seeds and a couple of things I couldn’t
identify. Clam broth is served on the side, a little mixed in with the
rice if you wish, and we’re encouraged to try the little banana
leaf-wrapped
banh lot loc on the table. I did try one
and was taken aback with its pungency and very intense flavour of
something akin to rancid pork fat mixed with fish. No thanks.
As for the
com hen, it’s
served at room temperature and is a jumble of textures and flavours
ranging from slightly sweet, salty, buttery, bitter and sour. Another
specialty of the house, and of Hue, is the
banh beo. Small
discs of steamed rice cake topped with minced cooked and then wok-dried
shrimp, a mixture of fish sauce and rice vinegar and crunchy bits of
pork crackling.
Ooooh yeah! Less than $2 for two dishes. You’ve gotta love that.
Ba Hoa
11 Truong Dinh Street
(84) 054 833 043
A couple of hours after a bit of snooping and schlepping we end up at
An Binh,
a place listed as being a top choice by Lonely Planet. Somehow the
guide failed to mention it is also a hotspot for sizeable tour groups.
Pity it had just started raining, otherwise we’d have found another
place. The restaurant host didn’t want us sitting downstairs in the
quiet dining room and instead ushered us upstairs to a room loaded with
folk fresh off a tour bus. I insisted we sit out at the lone table on
the balcony, away from the noise.
It’s a nice enough restaurant, very clean
and service was attentive only when they were done waiting on the bus
load. After being told the
luon xao sa ot (boneless eel) wasn’t available I settled on
banh Hue, a plate of banana-wrapped rice patties filled with finely chopped spiced shrimp. We were both confused when the
heo nuong
was delivered. What was meant to be slices of pork, skewered and
char-grilled took on the form of a rather saucy tangle of pork that
never quite made it onto a skewer or anywhere near a barbecue. Even when
questioned, we were told that is what it is.
Towards the end of our ordinary meal half
of the old German dudes decided to come out on the balcony and light up
cigars a metre from our table. Typically oblivious of their actions, we
took that as our queue to pay up and get the hell out.
An Binh (recommended by Lonely Planet, not recommended by heneedsfood)
65 Vo Thi Sau
(84) 054 825 305
Later that day we discovered a restaurant
teeming with locals just near our hotel. The split-level space takes a
corner possie that’s open to the street madness outside. Families,
friends and young couples all jostle for a seat to get their fill on
local food and beer. Seven items grace the
Ngu Uyen
menu; a simple formula covering a few of Hue’s unique dishes. It’s
casual, a bit rough around the edges and a definite step up from the
tourist bus dumping ground we endured earlier. A couple of dudes sit
outside on the footpath and turn
nem lui over charcoal whilst the ladies take care of the main kitchen tasks.
Of course the skewers of grilled pork were ordered, as was the
banh khoai;
a crispy rice cake loaded with shrimp, sprouts and other goodies. As
with much of Vietnamese street food, it’s all about do-it-yourself at
Ngu Uyen.
Grab a sheet of rice paper, layer it with the crispy rice cake and a
few provided herbs and pickled veg, or the grilled pork, dunk it in nuoc
cham and scoff it down. A sip of warm beer and it’s time to roll
another.
Ngu Uyen
3 Dien Bien Phu Street
054 362 6533
Crossing one of the bridges from the south
side to the north, you find yourself in Imperial territory. This side of
the Perfume River is where things began, the Old City and where the
Citadel is located. The biggest attraction in Hue has to be the Citadel,
a sprawling complex of pavilions, walls and intricate gates.
Thanks to its tumultuous past – fighting in
the late 1940′s between the French and Viet Minh and then slapped
around twenty years later by the Viet Cong and the Americans – much
of the Citadel was lost. Many of the walls remain, as do several
pavilions, palaces and moats and thanks to the tourist dollar,
restoration is an ongoing exercise.
It isn’t just the Citadel that can be found
on this side of town. Taking a wander about the maze of streets on the
Citadel’s peripheries provides glimpses of everyday life in the Old
Town. Tailor shops, fruit and vegetable sellers, even a dude with his
mobile aquarium for any fish enthusiasts. The city’s Dong Ba Market is
also on this side of the bridges, a hive of crazy activity.
For old time’s sake we took ourselves back to
Dinh Tien Hoang Street,
one of the only parts of town I remember from our previous visit. The
strip between the Citadel moat and Tran Hung Dao has a few restaurants
that have been trading for years; a magnet for locals and visitors
alike.
Some cooling
cà phê sua dá were in perfect order and my first real taste of
bún bò Hue.
Yes I’ve had it in Vietnamese restaurants in Sydney but none of them
compared to the beauty I tried on the footpath here in Hue.
Predominantly flavoured with lemongrass, it’s a delicious bowl of rice
noodles, shaved beef and pork cake, chunks of blood cake, julienned
banana blossom, herbs and chilli oil. Wowza!
Restaurant Bun Bo Thuong Tu
8 Dinh Tien Hoang Street
054 357 1128
It didn’t stop there. We ended up heading into the thick of
Dong Ba Market for more snackages and after that came back to
Dinh Tien Hoang Street for a few more. Just next door
Restaurant Bun Bo Thuong Tu is the ever-popular
Lac Thien,
somewhere we ate almost two decades ago. It looked pretty much the
same, just with visitors messages scribed up on the walls (I also
couldn’t resist).
Nem ran heo – a plate of crunchy and lacy pork spring rolls, average at best, made way for some gorgeous
banh chuoi – banana fritters doused in chocolate sauce.
Lac Thien
6 Dinh Tien Hoang Street
0543 527 348
With our time in Hue quickly diminishing I felt it completely necessary to return to
Truong Dinh Street for another com hen. Who knows when the next Vietnam visit will be so it just
had to happen. Just to mix it up a little we tried a place across the road and found it equally delicious as the one at
Ba Hoa. Same size, same deal, just as good. Perhaps a little more pork crackling than the first.
If anyone’s planning a trip to Hue I’d
strongly suggest stopping by this “com hen” street. A visit to this town
wouldn’t be complete without it.
'John I appreciate this connection/contact with our like passions Vietnam.. and appreciate your permission to reproduce such a sterling piece of photography travel journalism!
For more of John's amazing photography, recipes, travel info.. etc.. visit his blog!
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