When travelers talk about Vietnamese food, they often mention pho, banh mi, or street food in Hanoi and Saigon. But those who truly understand Vietnam’s culinary soul know that local dishes in Hue represent the most refined, historical, and emotionally rich cuisine in the country.

Hue, the former imperial capital of Vietnam, is not just a destination of palaces, pagodas, and poetic rivers. It is a city where food is philosophy. From royal banquets once served to emperors to humble bowls eaten by river workers, local dishes in Hue reflect centuries of history, hierarchy, spirituality, and creativity.

This guide takes you deep into the world of local dishes in Hue, explaining not only what to eat, but why Hue food tastes the way it does — and how to experience it like a local.

Why Local Dishes in Hue Are So Special

Before diving into specific dishes, it’s important to understand what makes local dishes in Hue different from food elsewhere in Vietnam.

Hue cuisine is shaped by three major influences:

1. Imperial cuisine – elegance, small portions, visual harmony

2. Folk cuisine – affordable, creative, and bold flavors

3. Buddhist vegetarian traditions – balance, purity, and restraint

Because of this, local dishes in Hue are known for:

• Intricate preparation

• Smaller serving sizes

• A distinctive spicy kick (from chili, not oil)

• Strong visual presentation

BUN BO HUE

Bun Bo Hue is a famous dish not only at a national level but also worldwide, thanks to its recognition through many international media channels. Additionally, this dish can be said to be one of the best local dishes in Hue, as well as the most representative one. In fact, this is a distinguishing dish that is a perfect blend between the royal and rustic styles.

Foreign friend enjoyed the delicious Bun Bo Hue

Looking closer into the dish, we can see the harmonizing combination between meat and seafood since the ingredients include beef, pork leg, Vietnamese pork sausage, crab meatball, and pig blood. This is because Hue is a place that has both sea and mountains. Hence, through this special dish, you can taste both the specialties from the sea and the inland.

Besides, to add to the complex flavor, the broth consists of pork bone, lemongrass, Ruoc sauce, different types of herbs, and chili oil. At any time, you can eat this dish: for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even as a late-night meal.

COM HEN

Com hen (in English: Clam rice) is an affordable local dish that is one of the most popular and favorite dishes among the locals. The origin of this dish is from the working class of Hue, when meat was not something easily accessible to them. Instead, to save money, they utilized all the leftover and popular ingredients like broken rice, herbs, peanuts, and clams.

Com Hen (Source: Foody)

You can find these simple dishes anywhere around the tour: from the street vendor in the local market, a local restaurant, to a fine-dining place that elevates the local cuisine to another level.

However, if you want to eat the true piece of Hue cuisine, you have to go to Con Hen, which is 20-kilometre far from the Hue centre. In fact, this is the original place where the first clam rice was made. Besides the clam rice, you can taste the best sweet corn soup here since among all the places in Hue, the planted corns in this area are the moistest, most tender, and delicately sweet.

A simple dish, full of flavors at an affordable price, so why not give it a try, right?

VARIOUS TYPES OF “BANH”

Rice is the national ingredient in Vietnam, and seeing how Hue’s masters make and play with the ingredient shows the creative ability of the people who build Vietnamese Cuisine. To illustrate this point, we can take a look at the diversity of the different types of “Banh” (cake) in Hue.

There is no official statistical data, but, in an approximation, there are around 30 to 40 different types of cakes, both savory and sweet, using rice flour as the main ingredient.

For the savory suggestions, as a tourist, you should try Banh Beo (a small streamed rice cake putting in a small dish with prawns and crunchy greaves as toppings), Banh Bot Loc (steamed rice cake with sweet and sour prawns as the filling), and Banh Ram It (small rounded rice cake with a crunchy fried rice-flour bottom and top-up with dried prawns).

Besides, for the sweet tooth, we recommend trying Banh Dua (a small rice cake with coconut and mung bean filling) and Banh Vung (the black rice cake with the cover blending between black sesame and rice flour and filling with mung bean).

In addition, a side fact about the sweet treats is that these types of cakes are usually used for the traditional wedding ceremony in Hue, even though nowadays, you can find them easily around the town, especially in the local market.

BANH KHOAI – NEM LUI

If you love Vietnamese food, you might know about the famous Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Savory Pancake) from the Southern regions. However, Hue has its own version of this pancake called “Banh Khoai”. Sharing the same ingredients as Banh Xeo, like rice flour, prawns, bean sprouts, pork, and herbs, Banh Khoai has a smaller size than Banh Xeo with a thicker cover.

Banh Khoai – Nem Lui (Source: VnExpress)

Going side-by-side with Banh Khoai is Nem Lui. According to many reviews, this combination is one of the best local dishes in Hue. Nem Lui is made from ground pork with a strong seasoning of Ruoc sauce, lemongrass, and pepper. The local people will prepare it with a lemongrass stick, so when grilling on the stove, the stick can enhance the flavor of the meat.

Eating the crunchy Banh Khoai and the strongly flavorful Nem Lui with a sip of the fresh beer will light up your day as well as the whole travelling experience.

DIVERSE SELECTIONS FOR CHE

To end this section, we can talk about one of the best local dishes in Hue, as well as the best dessert – Che (in English, sweet soup). We can list a long list of flavors here for you to choose from, such as corn, taro, fruit, mung bean, white peas, and so on.

However, we would like to present a special flavor that you can find in Hue, which is “Bot Loc Heo Quay” (grilled pork and rice flour).

Che Bot Loc Heo Quay (Source: Am Thuc Hue)

It might sound weird at first when you hear about this combination since it is the mixing of the sweet and savory flavors. However, when you taste it for the first time, you will see the logic of the dish when the taste of the rice flour balances the savory in the grilled pork and the sweetness of the cane sugar liquid.

Back in the day, you could only find this special dish once a month in the sweet shop, and now, it is more popular and has become one of the best-selling flavors. Hence, if you want to try, you have to go early to have the chance to experience it.

BRIEF CONCLUSION

To try all of the best dishes in Hue that we mentioned above, it will take quite some time to move around the city. However, AVT Travel can help you to realize the best route to try all the food that you love and enjoy the city at the same time with the guided tour and customized service.

Check out our Best of Vietnam Tour as an inspiration, where Hue is one of the featured destinations in the fantastic 15-day journey, or let us know your own ideas through Build Your Own Trip.

Besides, you can connect with us via our media channels like Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram that we link below. We are always welcome to help you to finalize your dream trip with top service quality at the most affordable price.

For more information, please send your travel request to info@asiavietnamtravel.com or sales@asiavietnamtravel.com.