Mệ Cuộc is an old lady with a gentle smile, fair complexion and her white hair was braided nicely into a bun. She had a small shop which sold everything, from cigarette to bánh mì, candy, spices, rubber bands, toys, etc. I was around three years old when I got to know her. My mother […]
Food
I like many kinds of food but I only love Huế food.
Bánh Bèo Dĩa
“How does it taste, ma?” I excitedly asked my mother the moment she put the first piece of bánh bèo, which I had just made, in her mouth. “Good!” She replied while chewing the smooth and tender bánh bèo made of rice flour and topped with shredded shrimp. Just that single word from her put […]
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Fruits You Shouldn’t Miss If You Visit Huế City
You haven’t really known Huế if you come and leave this garden city without trying some of its locally-grown fruits. Fruits are certainly at their best if you taste them seasonally. That said, don’t try to find bưởi and thanh trà (kinds of pomelo) if you happen to be in Huế in the wintertime. Just […]
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Photos: The Fresher Side of Đông Ba Market
Đông Ba is the biggest market in my hometown and seriously you can find from a needle to an elephant here. When I was a little girl, my favorite part of this marketplace is the central one where you could find a lot of stuffs that a little girl would love such as clothes, shoes, […]
Mrs. Đàm’s Cooking
I’ve been associated with my Pako* friends in A Lưới for a few years but I wasn’t impressed with their food until I met Mrs. Đàm. Her real name is Biên but according to Pako tradition it’s more polite to call a married woman after her first child. Mrs. Đàm does not read or write […]
What Makes Huế Food Different
Many people ask me what makes Huế cuisine different from the food in other areas of Vietnam whenever I tell them I love Huế food. Well, it isn’t easy to give them a correct answer, is it? However, in my opinion, apart from its elegant presentation and fresh ingredients, Huế food is amplified by the […]
Happy Pancakes from Chuồn Lagoon
Bánh khoái is one of the signature dishes of Thừa Thiên Huế Province. Bánh is a kind of cake or food made of rice powder or paste; and khoái means “smoke”, some say, or “enjoyable”, the others explain. I guess both of the explanations make sense to me but I prefer the latter so now […]
Bánh Khoái Cá Kình
Right at a corner of chaotic Chuồn Market, there is a woman, surrounded with people, struggling with a dozen of pans. It’s O Lành (Auntie Lành), a great “bánh khoái cá kình” maker. She used a short stalk of a banana leaf coating the pan’s bottom with a thin layer of cooking oil. She then […]
Huế Food
While I was studying in Bandung, a city famous for its unique cuisine on Java Island (Indonesia), I had thought that my gastronomical urges would be satisfied by the abundance of local delicacies. Besides, there was a Vietnamese restaurant called Hanoi House to satisfy my craving for Vietnamese food. However, I still felt like something […]
Steamed Rice with Honey Yellow Drops
Cơm nước mắm (steamed rice with fish sauce) is my forever favorite dish. It is a dish of the old poor time when my mother could not afford meat, or fish, or eggs for every of our meal.