Top Things to Eat and Do in Hue: Citadel, Imperial Tombs (Khai Dinh), Perfume River, Walking Street
April 19, 2023
Before I go into detail about the top attractions in Hue, I’ll share a bit about this beautiful city. The main economy of Hue is tourism, with multiple UNESCO Heritage Sites found throughout the city, incl the Citadel and tombs we visited (of the 4th – Chinese style, and the 12th – French style). However, they do also have an agricultural and fisheries industry (tuna yum!). Honestly, I really liked the vibe overall.
Where we stayed
The Scarlett Boutique Hotel Hue
The staff here were lovely, and I really liked the boutique hotel vibe. Supposedly, it’s patterned after Gone with the Wind, so you’ll see murals of Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler throughout the hotel. The breakfast buffet is alright, VERY bountiful. I would say the best things to eat here would be their fruits (so delicious) and their yogurt (super good!). I also really loved their bread, croissants and all the works!
I found the bed pretty comfy, but the boys’ room said they think their bed had bed bugs huhu. They didn’t say anything AFTER the trip, so no idea if it really was bed bugs or not. My room and my parent’s room were great though!
Location-wise super good, as the Walking Street was walking distance only.
What we did in Hue
Hue Citadel
✨ The Citadel itself looks a lot like Beijing’s Forbidden City, and that’s because it’s fashioned after that! Until the 1700s, Vietnam and China were so closely linked (because really, they descended from China), that they were still using Mandarin, followed Chinese symbolism (like Feng shui), and mimicked Chinese architecture. Later on however, the Viets started developing their own look and language, especially once the French came in. Example – thank you is Kam Un (similar to fukien), while Hello is Ciao (third tone, kinda like Italian)
✨ Nguyen Dynasty had 13 kings, all of which from the 4th onwards were kinda just French puppets. In fact, when the French arrived with their guns, the 4th king ended up just ceding 3 provinces to them as he knew he couldn’t win a war. Likewise, the last king abdicated to Ho Chi Minh in 1945 because during this period, the French had withdrawn their forces back to France as they were busy fighting the Nazis. This left the Nguyen king no military power to speak of
Imperial Tombs
We visited two tombs – you can choose from three actually. But 2 out of 3 were of similar style (kinda like the Citadel style), so we just chose 1.
The first tomb we went to was the Khai Dinh Tomb (12th emperor), which though the smallest, was actually the most costly to build! The emperor for whom this tomb was built studied in France and really liked their architecture, so he actually incorporated a lot of French elements into his tomb. He did seem rather confused though, because he also incorporated many other things in his tomb – such as Buddhist symbols and Chinese symbols.
My favorite part here was the mosaic though – which was built by purchasing costly China and Japan ceramics, then breaking them up once they arrived in Vietnam to create this 4-season mosaic: apricot for spring, lotus flowers for summer, chrysanthemum for autumn, and bamboo for winter
Having said that, this tomb was costly to built, and the emperor raised taxes by 30% to be able to afford it. As you can imagine, that didn’t make him very popular with the locals.
The second tomb we went to was the Tu Duc Tomb (belonging to the 4th emperor). It was actually during his time that the French arrived. He knew he couldn’t win against them, so he ended up ceding some provinces to them. This was a smart decision, but the locals weren’t happy, so again, he wasn’t a popular emperor. Worse, he was also impotent and could not bear any kids. This also made the emperor quite sad, as this also resulted in many political fights even within the royal family. As a result, you’ll see the Tu Duc Tomb is quite spacious, very nature-y, and perfect for introspection.
The third stop we went to was the Thien Mu Pagoda. Interestingly, the 1st Nguyen king was actually the grandson of the Nguyen who built many pagodas across the city of Hue, including this one. It was said that he did this out of a political reason as he knew the people of Hue were very Buddhist and so he sought to ingratiate himself through religion. Well it worked!
Finally, we went to the Perfume River for a nice peaceful boat ride. Interestingly, it’s called the Perfume River because they used to grow medicinal grass here which smelled nice, and that’s how the name came to be. There’s none of that smell now, but also no bad smell, which is a relief. So it was a nice and peaceful boat ride. Before getting on the boat, there was a hawker selling taho of sorts, which we bought and it was pretty yum!
At night, we went to the Walking Street, which was super nice and vibrant, with a cool mix of locals and foreigners.
Where to Eat
Hue is well-known for its food, with many rice-based specialties (in the form of noodles and cakes). It’s said that this was because the Nguyen emperors were super demanding and wanted new dishes for every meal, so the chefs really had to innovate. Thankfully, they have amazingly fertile soil and waters, so they could make use of the freshest produce to come up with these yum dishes!
Hanh Restaurant
Out of all the restaurants we tried at Hue, Hanh Restaurant was the clear winner in terms of taste and value for money.
We got the set menu, which was SUPER SULIT. We thought the set menu was good for 1pax, but it’s actually easily good for 3pax.
In order of my favorites:
✨ Nem Lui: grilled minced pork rolls on lemongrass stick, served with rice paper and vegetables. This one taste like Chinese sausage in a bun. Yumyum!
✨ Bahn Beo (rice cake) : steamed rice cake, with chopped fresh shrimp and chicharon on top. Super excellent especially with the light sweet soy sauce. Tastes like rice roll but in cake form. I especially liked it with the chicharon because of the added crunch
✨ Bahn Cuon Thit Nuong: BBQ pork, wrapped in cilantro and moisture rice paper. The pork itself was already very flavorful, but the cilantro just made the flavor pop out more
✨ Bahn Khoai (rice pancake): savory fried pancake made of rice flour stuffed with shrimp, pork, diced green onion, carrots and bean sprouts. These Viets, they are experts in frying. Mhmmm.
✨ Nem Ran (fried spring roll): made from pork, mushroom, diced carrot and seasoning, rolled rice paper, then fried to turn crispy
Super recommend you check out Hanh when you’re in Hue. Having said that, medyo karinderia style, so don’t expect it to be the cleanest place
Madam Thu
Madam Thu, in my opinion, was a far 2nd. While the food was good and the ambiance great, it just doesn’t come close to Hahn when comparing taste and value for money.
Located along the walking street, it is great for tourists though as the servers can all speak English, and the menu is clearly earmarked so you know what you’re ordering.
Again, we got the set menu here, which contained the following: Bahn Khoai (stuffed rice pancake), Bahn Uot (grilled pork wrapped in wet rice paper), Nem Lui (grilled chopped pork), Bahn Nam, Bahn Beo, Bahn Loc, Bahn It (sticky rice cake), Nem Ran (deep fried spring rolls), Cuon Thom Thit (Mixed meat shrimp salad roll), fresh fruit
Overall still good, but not as good as Hahn.
We also got the Bun Thit Nuong (grilled pork with vermicelli), which was excellent with a ton of peanut sauce. As well as the Bun Bo Hue (their famed beef Noodle), which wasn’t that great here tbh.
Che Hem
Che Hem is an institution at Hue, been here for 42 years, and is as local as one can get. When we arrived here, we didn’t see a single tourist and they had difficulty communicating with us in English
At last, we managed, with the help of visual cues.
Of the three we ordered:
✨ Khoai Tia (purple yam): Delicious, like eating an ube slushie, with ube bits too!
✨ Bot loc heo quay (tapioca with pork and mushroom and something): This seems to be their specialty. It’s super interesting because the soup is sweet, while the tapioca with filling is savory and a tad salty
⭕ Xoa Xoa (Sally jelly): The least impressive, it was really just different colored jelly
Planning out the rest of your Central Vietnam itinerary? Check out the rest of my itinerary blogs here:
- Tips and Tricks for planning a trip to Central Vietnam from Manila
- Top Things to Eat and Do in Hue: Citadel, Imperial Tombs (Khai Dinh), Perfume River, Walking Street
- What to Expect from Hai Van Pass: Is it Worth It?
- Top Things to Eat and Do in Hoi An: Hoi An Food Tour, Ancient Town, Night Market, Central Market
- What to Expect from My Son Sanctuary: Is it Worth it?
- Ba Na Hills Resort: Best Route to Take to Maximize Time Here
- Where to Eat in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh