On a mix of outdoor and covered patio is a comfy little place inside the walls of the imperial city of Hue. I stopped in after a long day of cycling visiting the tombs of former Vietnamese kings. I ordered a mango juice, crispy noodles with pork and vegetables, sesame beef and the Hue “speciality”–loc. It’s impossible to ruin mango juice (unless you add sugar). The crispy noodles were like slightly saucy, lightly boiled ramen noodles among bok choy, onion, garlic and pork. I liked this one. The beef was tasty but dry. Loc turned out to be thin, gelatinous rice cake wrapped around mini prawns. They were individually wrapped in a large inedible leaf and when dipped into the chili water, they absorbed a nice spiciness. The food was normally priced. I spent 170,000 dong (about 8 US$). The waitress was friendly. The old men playing cards nearby sang along to songs from such artists as Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston and Kool and the Gang; you can probably guess which songs were playing (except Kool and the Gang, it was “Cherish”).

I don’t have a picture of the noodles because I was too hungry to remember.

Address: 26 Thanh Ton