For nearly three years, Hue Thuong, a free vegetarian eatery on Ngo The Lan Street in Phu Xuan Ward, has prepared over 200 meals daily for people in difficult circumstances. What began as the wish of two women has gradually grown into a collective effort, with more people joining hands to ensure free meals are provided every day.

The weather has been much more favorable this year than in previous years. Although it was late October, sunny and warm days were still lingering. Taking advantage of calm seas, fishermen in coastal communes such as the former Phu Dien, Vinh Thanh, and Vinh Xuan communes, now part of Phu Vinh Commune, have been heading out to sea to catch seafood and earn extra income. Although the catch is not as abundant as during the main fishing season, the ‘bounty of the sea’ is still enough to provide them with hearty meals.

More than just providing accommodation, Ms. Dinh Thi Phuong Thy (born in 1991, Kim Long Ward) brings visitors closer to local culture through everyday experiences such as making conical hats, making traditional Hue cakes, preparing Hue-style meals, and making lotus tea...

On the evening of September 26, at the 1K Noodle Shop (Tiem mi 1K), Hue SOS75 Zero-Cost Team held the ‘Journey of Sharing Love’ program, presenting gifts and free meals to people facing difficult circumstances in the city.

Growing up from the fields, steeped in rustic flavors of the countryside - “salty fermented vegetables, sour white eggplant”, yet it was not until my late forties that I first heard of mut ca phao (white eggplant preserves) from Hue. The humble eggplant, so familiar on simple family meals, appears here in an entirely unfamiliar form - a delicately beautiful preserves for the Lunar New Year.

On Facebook, amid the flood of news and images of inundation, among the urgent rescue and relief efforts by authorities and functional forces, I came across an image that warmed my heart: hot meals being packed and prepared for their journey from the area of fomer Phu Thuan to Hue Central Hospital, to be given to hungry patients trapped by the floods.

As many areas of Hue City are still submerged under water, warm lunchboxes prepared by women and kindhearted volunteers were delivered to residents in flooded neighborhoods and to patients in hospitals, bringing warmth and comfort to countless hearts as people continue to battle the floods.

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.