Culinary Art of Ancient Hue Court

When speaking about the cuisine in Hue, people usually mention both the traditional and court culinary art.

The feast of ancient Hue court is divided into different categories, such as the worshipping feast for great ceremonies, the feast for mandarins or envoys and the feast for new doctoral laureates. The number of dishes in each type of feast is also different. For instance, a great feast includes about 161 dishes while a precious feast has 50 dishes, a hefty breakfast feast with 12 dishes and a vegetarian feast for worshipping at the pagoda with 25 dishes.

Spring rolls are decorated with roses made of tomatoes.

The ingredients for making court dishes are the same as that for making daily dishes. However, the technique of cooking as well as the artistic dish arrangements are very selective and require the cook’s creativeness. All the dishes are refined to offer the best ingredients for good health and always reach the pinnacle in fragrance and taste, not to mention the meticulous presentation.

Visiting Hue today, tourists can enjoy various dishes of the Hue royal style in hotels or restaurants, such as Tinh Gia Vien Restaurant owned by artisan Ton Nu Thi Ha, a descendant of the Nguyen Dynasty. Here, night parties of the ancient court are reproduced, leaving a long-lasting impression on tourists.

Water-melons are carved into flowers and served as deserts at royal banquets.	The dragon-shaped salad is made from fruits, shrimp, meat and other ingredients.
The peacock-shaped dish is made from bulbs, fruits, eggs and meat.	The dish of chopped meat rolled with Lot leave is arranged into a peacock