-          ${bigcity_Hue:"Hue"} food is what you can call elegance in simplicity. Though made of local ingredients from the river, green field and mountain, each meal is cooked and served meticulously that makes one think of having the privilege of eating a royal dish. Whether you’re eating a simple banh beo meal or a more complex dish, Hue food satisfies not only the stomach, but also develops a sense of culinary style among its patrons.

And just because you’re not in Hue doesn’t mean you won’t have the chance to experience the sophistication of Hue food. In ${bigcity_Ho_Chi_Minh_City:”Ho Chi Minh City”}, many restaurants serve Hue food. But Nam Giao in particular is considered the best of them all. Located at Le Thanh Ton Street near Ben Thanh Market, the name of the restaurant was taken from an open-air altar stage built in Hue in the 19th century. According to history, kings of the Nguyen Dynasty offered gifts and performed ritual ceremonies in spring in honor of the heaven and earth.

Nam Giao Restaurant offers not only the best of Hue cuisine in Ho Chi Minh City, but also a place of solace. Amidst the buzz and noise of the city outside, one feels being in an entirely different world once you step into the serene sophistication of the place. That is why Nam Giao is extremely popular not only among locals but also tourists alike.And when it comes to the food, Nam Giao boasts of more than a hundred dishes, from appetizers to entrees, snacks and desserts. Among the most famous recipes of the restaurant are its banh beo (fern-shaped cake), goi cuon (spring roll), mit tron (jackfruit salad), and com hen. These dishes take a lot of time and care in preparation and cooking, that’s why they are very special.

Mit tron is young jackfruit boiled for several hours then chopped finely. While the jackfruit is being boiled, the other ingredients: thinly sliced boiled pork and shrimp, rau ram (smartweed), fish sauce and lime are being prepared. Everything is then tossed together in a wok with a spoonful of oil, roasted sesame and nuts. The boiled and sliced jackfruit has neutrality that absorbs the different flavors of pork, shrimp, nuts and sesame.Com hen is a country dish made of rice and baby clams, preferably harvested from Huong Giang or Hue’s Perfume River. Making com hen is a tedious and time-consuming process. Separating the clams from their shells itself takes a lot of time to do. The shelled clams are then boiled and added to rice cooked in clam broth.

Sliced banana flowers, star fruit, bean sprouts, mint, sliced chili, fried nuts, fried pork fat and other herbs are added into the mixture for flavor and texture. The dish is then served with a spicy clam broth.Banh beo is made by pouring boiled rice powder into dozens of tiny bowls. The surface of the dish is sprinkled with ruoc tom (powdered shrimp), fried spring onion and small pieces of pork crackling. Banh beo is served with sweet and sour fish sauce fortified with sliced chili. The meal is quite attractive because of its contrasting colors and arrangement of bowls on a round bamboo plate.Hue food is different from other cuisines in that it is made of ingredients from a land of diverse geography. It symbolizes one’s love for not only food but also of family. And though most people go to Nam Giao for its food and the unity of family and friends, Nam Giao, somehow, also represents a part of Hue’s beautiful history.