Imperial Hue

Appears in
top 1000The Songs of Sapa
The Songs of Sapa

By Luke Nguyen

Published 2009

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ARRIVING IN HUE FEELS AS IF I’M ARRIVING IN A DIFFERENT ASIAN COUNTRY ALTOGETHER. I ASK A LOCAL FOR DIRECTIONS AND I CAN’T UNDERSTAND A WORD HE IS SAYING. HE ISN’T SPEAKING A DIFFERENT DIALECT, BUT IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH ALL THE TONES AND ACCENTS ARE CONFUSED. I SUDDENLY FEEL LIKE A REAL TOURIST. WE HIRE TWO BICYCLES AND PEDDLE AROUND THE CITY, MAP IN HAND.

We don’t get too far before I see a handwritten sign on a fence, ‘bun bo Hue’ — a regional noodle soup of Hue and one that my mother makes on special occasions. It has the same origins as pho, but with added chilli, shrimp paste and lemongrass, with rice noodles that look like spaghetti. My mother’s version, which I included in my first cookbook, has added pig trotters and blood jelly. I’m curious to find out if this soup is authentic to Hue or if it’s another complex version of the south.