In the middle of the rice fields of Dien Hoa (now Dien Chau Commune, Nghe An Province) stands a small memorial site. There, the final wish of a father - the poet and musician Nguyen Trong Tao, who spent many years with Hue - has been fulfilled.

The recent export of 18 tons of Hue specialty cakes (including nam cakes (flat rice flour cakes with shrimp topping), loc cakes (tapioca dumplings), and it cakes (glutinous flour round cakes)) to the USA by Hue One Food and Kinh Do Specialty Joint Stock Company, Thuan An, holds significant meaning, acting as a special cultural ambassador of Hue to the world, with the value of cassava plant.

On September 5, Phu Loc Commune People’s Committee coordinated with Than Huu Charity Group - social rice restaurant, and Codes Vietnam to hold a gift-giving program for disadvantaged households and poor students in the area.

On August 26th, at the Roppongi outlet of Matsuya restaurant chain, an event was held to launch a menu featuring “Pork rice in the style of Vietnamese com tam (Broken rice)”.

The communal house faces a field, so in this season of the year it’s pervaded by the aroma of ripe rice. I’m standing at the gate of the Van Xa communal house (Huong Van Ward, Huong Tra Town) beholding the yellow paddy field admiring our ancestors who chose this place for the house. Twice a year, the ancient communal house reflects itself on the field, forming a very beautiful rustic sight.

According to statistics from the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue of Quang Dien District, as of June 18, more than 2,377 hectares of rice and vegetables in the district remain submerged due to the impact of the recent floods.

Due to the impact of Typhoon No. 1, heavy rainfall occurred in Hue City, causing significant damage to people and property. Currently, units and localities in low-lying areas have mobilized maximum resources and machinery to overcome the aftermath of the floods.

On the afternoon of June 13, Hue City Military Command and relevant units mobilized 200 soldiers to Thuy Tan commune (Huong Thuy town) to help local people harvest nearly 90 hectares of off-season rice that had been flooded due to the impact of Storm No.1.

On the 10-acre field of red chiem rice (a traditional red rice grown in brackish lowlands of Hue City, sown by April and harvested by July), each planting season requires 40 to 50 hired laborers, and the harvest stretches over several days. Left untended and unfertilized, the rice grows naturally under the generous sun and rain. Some call it “heaven’s rice” — a variety grown from the grace of Tam Giang’s waters.

Already a familiar face among startup CEOs in Hue, this time I met with Ngo Duc Vuong - Director of Hue One Food Company, whose flagship product has been dubbed “Hue Pizza” - the Thuan An pressed rice cake. We chatted over coffee in Grand Prairie, Texas, as he continued his mission of spreading the story of Hue’s entrepreneurial journey through the pressed rice cake and promoting Hue culture in the U.S market.