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.

At noon on July 28th, Hue City Federation of Labor and the Trade Union of Son Ha Hue Co., Ltd. held the 2025 “Trade Union Meal” event.

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.