Whenever I crave a tasty, spicy, fresh, and healthy breakfast, I turn to clam rice (cơm hến). If the famous Huế beef noodles were the king, clam rice would be a queen in disguise to people in Huế – the former capital of Việt Nam. One will need more than two dozen ingredients to make […]
A Climb to the Top of the Huế Citadel with Aimee
I happened to discover that some iron gates to the top of the Huế Citadel’s wall and the Huế Flag Tower were wide open after being closed for a long time.
A Quát – the Sacred Food of Pa Cô and Tà Ôi People
A Quát is a kind of ritual dumpling that is only made of glutinous rice and wrapped in tiger grass leaves. They are popular among the Pa Cô and Tà Ôi communities. These A Quát dumplings often come in pairs and are tied together with banana midrib.
Six Things I Love about Hương River Antique Pottery Museum
When I started to work with Dr. Thái Kim Lan and the rest of the team on establishing Hương River Antique Pottery Museum (Bảo tàng Gốm Cổ Sông Hương) at 120 Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên (Huế) in 2021, I had thought I that I involved in this project because of my mentor Hồ Tấn Phan’s dream. Little did I know that I finally did it for my own good.
Dì Na’s Precious Lotus Rice
Perhaps lotus is the only flower which could bring serenity and purity to my heart. It even cultivates in me a habit of waiting for summer every single year because this season comes with pretty lotus blossoms and tasty delicacies made from different parts of lotus. My neighbor, dì Na, cooks lotus rice every summer […]
Six Things I Love about Being a Tour Guide
Especially for my colleagues, I have been working as a local guide since August 2017 with many ups and downs, mentally and emotionally, but I still have my heart in it nonetheless. Here are the six reasons why I love being a tour guide. 1. Talking about my favorite things and getting paid for it […]
Huế Delicacies Made from Food Scraps
The Huế people who underwent many natural disasters as well as wars and even epidemics, learnt how to appreciate mediocre foods, to include different kind of edible wild vegetables into their meals, and to reduce food waste. Some of them even took extra steps when using food scraps to make delicacies which were so mouth-watering […]
Wandering along Hương River in Huế City
Almost everyone in Việt Nam knows that Hương River goes through the heart of Huế but not many of them know that the river also runs between my name — Võ Thị Hương Lan, flowing into my soul and lingering there for good. While swimming in Hương river is like hugging a mother in my […]
“Hands of Huế” Video Series
I started a mini video project called “Hands of Huế” in December 2019. It’s planned to be a series of short footages featuring the hands of Huế people that move my heart with their passion and talent; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some other personal reasons, I am now focusing on the clever hands of my neighbor, Auntie Hương.
If You Haven’t Heard about Dưa & Mắm, You Know Nothing about Vietnamese Food.
Once an American friend teased me that I was too salty, I almost wanted to fire back, “Well, I’m also chua cay (which means “sour and spicy”, or “unpleasant”) because I have been eating too much dưa and mắm since I was a little girl,” but I held it back as I didn’t think he […]