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Places to Eat

 

 

East Bank There is a solid string of pop­ular budget cafes worth checking out along D Hung Vnong. The competition is fierce and the prices low.

 

The Mandarin Cafe , on the grounds of the Duy Tan Hotel, is also excellent and tends to stay open late. Here the sign reads 'Lauded in Lonely Planet ...', so \ve figure it can't be tha t bad? The BLTs, potato sal ad and trademark banana pan­cakes are r ecommended. The cheerful owner Mr Cuu speaks English well and is full of useful travel advice, and there is even a Sinh Cafe booking desk.

T here is a cafe on the gro unds of Le Loi Hue Hotel, and Cafe 3 Le Loi, jus t across the street, also dishes up f ine food at cool prices and is a grea t place to swap trav­ellers' tales.

For a s lightly more upmarket dining ex­perience, try the pleasant Paradise Garden Res taurant (D N guyen Dinh Chieu), on the riverfront near Hotel Saigon Morin. The grilled chicken on lemon leaves and th e sauteed crab and mushrooms come highh recommended.

Song Huong Floating Restaurant is on the bank of the Perfume River just north o f Trang Tien Bridge (near the intersection ol 0 Le Loi and D Hung Vuong). The foo d here is awful, though the nice atmospher e might make it OK for a drink (how bad can the coffee be ?).

There is a restaurant in the Cercle Sportif (D Le Lo s), next to Phu Xuan Bridge. The Cercle Sportif has tenn is courts and renis paddle boats.

The restauran t on the top floor ofHuong Giang Hotel (51 D Le Loi) serves excellent Vietnamese, European and vegetarian dishes,

Vegetarian food, which has a long tradi­tion in Hue, is prepared at pagodas f or consumption by the monks. Small groups of visitors might be invited to join the monks for a meal. Stalls in the markets serve ve g­etarian food on the f irst and 15th days of the lunar month.

Down a narrow alley, Dong Tam (ts 8 78 403, 48/7 D Le Loi) has some of the be-,1, authentic Vietnamese veggie fare in to wn. Prices here are criminally cheap.

Another alterna tive is the excellent Tinh Tam (4 D Chu Van An) vegetarian rest; .11- rant, just around the block.

West Bank L ac Thanh Restaurant (-6A D Dinh Tien Hoang) is a fashion­able gathering spot for travellers . To orcer, see the book travellers have written in; the owner, Lac, is deaf and mute so everything is done with sign language. However, his daughter, Lan Anh, has been working hard on improving her English and can now communicate quite well. This is also the best spot in Hue to trade stories and advice with fellow travellers.

Right next door theLac Thien Res tau­rant has sort ol" cloned Lac Thanh's motif. Six deaf people working here also produc e f ine food, plus an en tertaining atmospher e

Backpackers on a tight budgel should explore Dong Ba Market (see Shopping in this section). Food here is so cheap they might as well give it away. Nevertheless, it's good quality. The only real problem w ill be f inding comfortable chairs (or, for that matter, any chairs) so you can sit down and enjoy your meal.

Ba Nhon R estaurant (-a 823853, 29 D Le Duan) is actually inside an old bus sta­tion. It has great Vietnamese food and low prices, but so far no English menu has appeared. You can stroll into the outdoor kitchen and try pointing out what you like best.

Within the Citadel is Huong Sen Res tau­rant (42 D Nguyen Trai), on the corner of D Thach Han. This 16 sided pavilion, bui lt on pylons in the middle of a lotus pond, is open from 9 am to midnight. You can't beat the atmosphere.