Huế Food Guide: Bún Bò, Court Cuisine and Bánh Khoái

Huế eats more carefully than the rest of Vietnam. The legacy of court cuisine — six emperors and 13 generations of Nguyễn rulers up to 1945 — means dishes are smaller, more numerous, more fastidiously presented and considerably spicier than elsewhere.

Bún bò Huế

The single dish most associated with the city. Bún Bò Bà Tuyết Tốn Thất Thiệp at 47 Tôn Thất Thiệp is the classic, with bowls at 40,000 to 60,000 VND. Bún Bò Mệ Kéo on Bạch Đằng is the alternative. Both open at dawn and close mid-morning. Order the đặc biệt (special) version with everything on it.

Bánh khoái and the small bánh

Huế has a whole family of small steamed and fried "cake" dishes (bánh) made from rice flour, designed to be eaten in many small bites.

Bánh khoái — the central-Vietnamese cousin of bánh xèo. Smaller, thicker, fried in cast-iron, served with a peanut-liver dipping sauce. Best at Bánh Khoái Lạc Thiện on Đinh Tiên Hoàng.

Bánh bèo — tiny steamed rice cakes in individual dishes topped with dried shrimp, crackling and scallion oil. Bánh Bèo Bà Đỏ on Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm is the institution.

Bánh nậm and bánh lọc — flat or chewy rice dumplings wrapped in banana leaf with shrimp filling. Eaten alongside bánh bèo.

A full plate of these at a sit-down restaurant runs 80,000 to 150,000 VND.

Court cuisine restaurants

The "royal cuisine" experience is largely a tourist construction now, but a handful of restaurants keep it honest.

Y Thảo Garden at 3 Thạch Hãn, near the citadel, is a garden villa run by a Hue family that serves a fixed menu of court-style dishes — phoenix-shaped rice paper rolls, peacock-shaped salad presentations, small ornate plates. Around 500,000 VND a head.

Tịnh Gia Viên at 7K/20 Lê Thánh Tôn is the rival, with a fussier presentation and a similar price.

Both require reservation, especially in the evening. The food is good but the atmosphere is what you are paying for.

Vegetarian Huế

Huế has the strongest vegetarian (chay) tradition in the country, rooted in its many Buddhist pagodas. Liên Hoa at 3 Lê Quý Đôn is the long-running chay restaurant doing the full mock-meat repertoire. On the 1st and 15th of every lunar month half the city eats chay; almost any restaurant will have a vegetarian menu those days.

Chè Huế

Huế's miniature-portion dessert tradition is the city's other claim to food fame. Chè Hẻm at 17 Hùng Vương is the institution — small glasses of six or eight kinds of chè for tasting. Pick three or four and finish with a Vietnamese coffee.

Where to drink coffee

Café Trung Bộ on Lê Lợi for old-school iced milk coffee. Trung Nguyên Legend has a Huế branch on Hùng Vương. The riverfront cafés along the Perfume River are touristy but pleasant at sunset.

How to plan a day

Morning bún bò Huế. Coffee on the river. Late-morning citadel visit. Lunch of bánh khoái or bánh bèo. Afternoon chè tasting. Court-cuisine dinner at Y Thảo Garden. Final stop: more chè, or a quiet beer at any pavement stall.

Related reading: Huế, Bún bò Huế, Chè, Vegetarian Vietnam, Central and southern cuisine.