Dong Ba Market on Tran Hung Dao Street in Phu Hoa Ward, along the northern bank of the Huong (Perfume) River, around 100 meters from Truong Tien Bridge, is more than 120 years old and has long been a tourist icon of Hue.
From downtown hotels, you can hire a cyclo for VND150,000 ($6.38) to explore many of Hue’s tourist attractions including Dong Ba night market, open from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., and offering the busiest nightlife in town.
In addition to selling handicrafts, souvenirs, fruit and other specialties, the night market has a private space for street food with dozens of stalls and restaurants serving signature dishes like che (sweet soup), bun bo Hue (Hue-style beef noodle soup), banh beo (steamed rice cake) and com hen (rice dish featuring rural ingredients like baby mussels and fresh herbs).
Sweet soup used to be an indispensable dessert for kings and royal families during the reign of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1954) and is now a popular street food in Hue.
Sweet soup stalls mainly serve che hat sen (lotus seed), che nhan boc hat sen (longan stuffed with lotus seed), che khoai mon (taro sweet soup), and che bot loc heo quay made with small pieces of roasted pork with crispy skin wrapped in a layer of filter powder served with sugar water and ginger.
A bowl of sweet soup here costs only VND10,000 ($0.42)
Bun bo Hue at Ms. Vui’s stall costs from VND20,000-30,000 a bowl.
Bun bo Hue is a specialty of Hue, where it was invented. The broth requires both pig and beef bones to be boiled with a generous dose of lemongrass, sugar, annatto, and shrimp paste. Vendors then add various ingredients like sliced brisket, crab balls and pork pie.
Adventurous eaters can also add cubed pig's blood pudding for even more flavor. When served, the dish is garnished with a tangle of vegetables like lime, scallions, cilantro, banana blossoms, mint, basil, and Vietnamese coriander.
Only a portion of beef noodle soup at Ms.Vui's stall, one of the most popular addresses to try this dish in Hue, is left.
Snail dishes sauteed with lemongrass and chili are also worth a try with prices ranging from VND10,000-20,000 per serving.
Nem lui (Hue grilled pork skewer on bamboo sticks) is a signature dish in Hue.
The dish is made of ground pork grilled on a lemongrass skewer or bamboo stick. Other ingredients often include black pepper, pork skin, garlic, shallots, and fish sauce. The meat combination is rolled into a sausage shape around a bamboo stick, then brushed with oil and grilled on a coal stove until slightly charred.
Nem lui is always served with rice paper, vegetables and fresh herbs accompanied by a sweet and sour peanut-sesame sauce.
