Roasted pork in sweet soup puts Hue shop on the map

Mo Ton Dich sweet shop on Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Thuan Hoa Ward, is a familiar address for diners who love Hue sweet soup.

A tray of 12 different types of sweet soup in Mo Ton Dich shop. Photo by VnExpress/Thu Mai

The shop is on the banks of the Huong River, near the town's iconic Truong Tien Bridge, so it is always crowded with customers, including many tourists. The shop opens daily from 6 p.m. until it's cleared out, specializing in sweet soup with banana, glutinous rice filled with mung bean paste, tofu, fruit... In particular, its sweet soup with roasted pork always draws a crowd.

On average, the shop sells more than 1,000 portions of sweet soup daily, not to mention orders from customers in other provinces. The price of a portion ranges from VND13,000 to 17,000 ($0.54 to 0.70). Customers can also try different types of sweet soup by ordering a tray with 12 small bowls for VND70,000.

Ton Nu Kim Luc, owner of Me Ton Dich sweet soup shop, said her grandmother opened the establishment around 1975. The recipe for the sweet soup was passed down by her, who learned how to cook this dish in the Imperial Citadel.

Ton Nu Kim Luc at her Mo Ton Dich sweet shop on Dinh Tien Hoang Street in Hue. Photo by VnExpress/Thu Mai

"The shop has been here for over 50 years. Each dish is cooked according to a recipe passed down from my grandmother to my mother and then to me. Diners love our roasted pork sweet soup," Luc said.

According to Luc, customers who want to enjoy roasted pork sweet soup often have to queue because it takes time to prepare.

Every day, she soaks the beans in the evening, then washes the other ingredients, cooks the sweet soup according to the traditional recipe and sells it at 6 p.m. until the street is empty or they run out of stock.

Sweet soup with roasted pork dumplings, a famous dish of the shop. Photo by VnExpress/Vo Thanh

Ngoc Yen from Hue said the sweet soup here has a light sweetness, the ingredients are soft and delicious and the space is clean.

"This is the first time I've tried the roasted pork sweet soup. I thought it would be difficult to eat because it is an unusual combination. But when I tasted it, I found this to be a very unique and delicious combination. I really like it," Yen said.

Currently, Mo Ton Dich only has one address at 20 Dinh Tien Hoang Street. Customers who want to enjoy the roasted pork sweet soup without having to wait in line should arrive early and avoid peak hours after 9 p.m.