Hue food guide — Tasting various Hue traditional foods at Dong Ba Market

Dong Ba Market is known as a popular tourist attraction in Hue, Central Vietnam. If you are in Hue, the poetic ancient citadel of Vietnam, one among the sites that you should really pay a visit is Dong Ba Market, the significant place of interest inside the city. People come here not only for shopping but also eating junk food.

This market dates back to more than 100 years. It offers a variety of souvenirs for visitors.

“Che” Hue (a type of pudding usually made from beans) is a typical local dish.

Pate chaud pies with savory meat filling which are sold near the market gate for 5 thousand VND only.

Sticky rice cakes (banh giay) with green peas powder inside, a traditional dish formerly served only for kings. This cake takes time and skill to cook, thus these days local people hardly make it.

Tapioca dumplings (banh bot loc) with two tastes: salty and sweet. Salty cakes offers shrimp or meat filling whereas sweet ones are filled with green peas.

Mussel noodles (bun hen), an everyday meal to local residents and a worth-trying dish for tourists.

Saffron noodles is another sensible choice. There are 3 features for a perfect saffron noodles: soft noodles, tasteful saffron and delicious pig entrails.

Crab soup with quail eggs.

Skewered and grilled meat giving off savory smell will wake your appetite up.

“Banh khoai” (meaning “enjoyable cake”) is a traditional local food. The mixture filling consists of shrimp, pork pie, chicken eggs, meat and cake powder. The cook must be skilled to ensure its smell, softness and crispness.

Others Information

Address: Dong Ba Market located on Tran Hung Dao Street, Hue City, Vietnam

Prices of food: Inexpensive, main courses from US$2 – US$5.

How to Get There

There’s a bus station inside the market where tourist buses often park. Thus, it’s convenient for travelling there by bus or car as well. However, the most interesting way to visit Dong Ba Market must be by cyclo. Some local people even travel there by boat, starting from Vi Da Boat Station. This is really interesting, though tourists aren’t advised to do so as the safety standard is not guaranteed.

Read more Hue travel guide at here.