In Hue, the traditional Lunar New Year “Tet” does not arrive with fanfare. It begins quietly in the kitchen, from a pot of banh tet (a cylindrical sticky rice cake with mung beans and pork) glowing over the fire, from the warm scent of ginger, from a jar of mixed pickled vegetables. Just by looking at these dishes, people in Hue know that Tet is very near.

In this weekend’s edition, Hue Today Weekly would like to present a collection of photos taken by Anh Le, a photographer, designed to stir the senses of readers near and far with dishes rich in Hue flavors.

Lotus roots that lie deeply in the mud, through hands of Hue people, are “upgraded” to become a sophisticated exquisite dish. Though far from a luxurious dish, many people are willing to cover tens of kilometers just to taste it.

The culinary passport is seen as a fresh idea that turns dining experiences into highlights of a travel journey. Instead of traditional sightseeing, visitors can “stamp their taste buds” by checking in with signature dishes at each destination. This idea opens up new ways to stimulate tourism demand.

Hue Ancient Capital is a paradise for vegetarian cuisine. On the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, even restaurants that usually serve meat often switch entirely to vegetarian dishes. This is hardly surprising, given that Hue is one of Vietnam’s major Buddhist centers, a land steeped in spiritual traditions, where eating vegetarian food has become a beautiful cultural feature.

Recently, Hue beef noodles was selected by the culinary website Taste Atlas for the list of "100 best soup dishes in the world," with Pho ranked 6th and Bun Bo ranked 16th.

Along with pho, bun rieu, bun cha ca, banh canh, and others, bun bo Hue (Hue beef noodle soup) is one of the delicious Vietnamese dishes featured in the “Top 100 best soups in the world” list, recently announced by the renowned culinary website Taste Atlas.

Culinary culture not simply is about food but also contains stories about the vibrant life of indigenous people. In the vast Truong Son mountains, the dishes of Ta Oi, Pa Co, Co Tu ethnic groups are rich with the flavors of the forest from available natural ingredients, combined with age-old secrets, creating unique values found nowhere else.

Thanks to technology, many delicious dishes from Hue have transcended the borders of their homeland. The unique flavors of the ancient capital are now finding their way to the East and the West, driven by the rise of e-commerce and the entrepreneurial spirit.

In the midst of urban life, many busy people still want to find the taste of home-cooked meals, returning to rustic dishes imbued with the breath of their homeland in an unfamiliar yet comforting place.