The 2021-2025 period can be regarded as one of the most extraordinary stages in the development history of Hue City. This was not merely a term of socio-economic development following a conventional trajectory, but rather a period of “running while lining up”: simultaneously coping with unprecedented shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and global instability, while concentrating resources to realize the strategic goal of becoming a centrally governed municipality.

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.