Saturday Night in Hue

After a long car ride back to Hanoi, and a short flight, we arrived in Hue — the capital of Vietnam from the early 1744 when the Nguyen lord controlled all of South Vietnam until 1945 when the last emperor of Vietnam abdicated. The city is home to numerous historical monuments, including a famous citadel and a tomb. The entire city is recognized as a UNESCO heritage site.

Our guide, Quy, was delayed, so we were met at then airport by Van. She gave us a brief description of the city, a suggestion for dinner, and mentioned that our hotel was near the largest modern “market” in Hue.

After we settled into our hotel (very lovely, first built in the 1920s), we walked to the old part of town for a bite to eat. Following Van’s suggestion, we went to a restaurant called Hahn, where we were virtually the only Westerners. Much to our surprise, the menu had English translations. Given the wide variety of items that we’d never eaten, for the princely sum of $7 we ordered a sampler platter and two beers! The food of fresh and tasty. I particularly liked an egg dish that had puffed rice and shrimp. Arie like a savory rice custard. Although I could have eaten another round, we decided to explore further.

We walked over to a pedestrian street, in which — thankfully — there were no motor scooters to dodge. Since it was Saturday evening, there were lots of people in the streets, both locals and tourists. We walked by a variety of food carts, with both savory and sweet treats. We stopped at a cart where they were making rolled ice cream. We settled on lychee, and ordered a cup. We watched the ice cream being prepared — milk is poured onto a cold surface, and is mixed with the fruit, then spread out and rolled. You can order the same treat in San Mateo for $10. Here it was $1. Yum.

Next vendor was making something that the kids were gathered around. From asking a few onlookers, we figured out that it was some type of sugar, rolled in crushed peanuts. This mixture is then set on rice cracker, topped with coconut and a small drizzle of chocolate, and then covered with another rice cracker. The cost — $0.20. We gave it a try. Meh. But, for 20 cents . ..

After filling our bellies, we decided to go to the modern market. The market is the top two stories of a large building. The top floor was had clothing and housewares. The items were all piled helter-skelter in bins and on shelves. People were everywhere, with lots of children in tow. One family had an infant in the bottom of a shopping cart — although based upon the fact that people were pointing and laughing at the sight, I gather that this is not the norm in Vietnam! The lower floor was a grocery store. The place was a madhouse. Seriously. On a Saturday night. The only sight that I could compare it to is an American grocery store before a hurricane or blizzard. People were everywhere. The lines were extremely long. Carts were full. While we recognized some products (ritz crackers and Oreos), many were puzzling to us. We were especially intrigued by women who were surrounding a styrofoam container in the produce section. In the container was a green fruit, covered by a white net (like you’d see on Asian pears in a US grocery store). The women seemed intent of getting the fruits that had a leaf attached. We couldn’t tell what the fruit was, and our use of google translator was fruitless. Turns out that it was a guava, and that getting one with a leaf attached guarantees freshness.Read more