Thừa Thiên Huế Province

Vietnam's most complex noodle soup - thick round rice noodles in a lemongrass and shrimp paste broth with sliced beef, pork hock, and chả cua crab cake, the balance of spicy, sour, savoury, and aromatic is unlike any other Vietnamese noodle dish and has never been successfully replicated outside Huế itself

Steamed rice flour saucers in ceramic cups - topped with dried shrimp powder, crispy pork crackling, and spring onion oil, eaten in sets of eight to ten cups with a sweet-salty dipping sauce, one of dozens of small Huế snack dishes developed in the royal kitchens for the emperor's afternoon tea

Two royal Huế dumplings eaten together - bánh nậm is a flat steamed rice flour parcel with shrimp and pork in banana leaf, bánh lọc is a translucent tapioca dumpling with whole shrimp and pork fat, both served together as a set, delicate enough to have been served to Nguyễn emperors

Cold rice with tiny Perfume River mussels, pork crackling, fermented shrimp paste, and a tangle of fresh herbs - the mussels are harvested at dawn from Cồn Hến island in the middle of the river, served cold on leftover rice with a dozen condiments, Huế's most democratic dish eaten by everyone from street vendors to university students

Thick tapioca noodle soup from Nam Phổ village - cooked in a rich crab and shrimp paste broth with annatto oil giving a deep orange colour, topped with whole shrimp and pork, a Huế specialty distinct from the royal court dishes, eaten at dawn at village stalls that have operated the same recipe for generations

Hell rice - a Huế specialty of broken rice served with a dramatic arrangement of grilled pork, shredded chicken, fried egg, pork skin, and pickled vegetables on a black plate, named for its association with the underworld offerings, eaten at night at old Huế restaurants that specialise in this theatrical presentation

Stir-fried Perfume River baby mussels scooped up with crispy sesame rice crackers - the mussels from Cồn Hến island are stir-fried with lemongrass, chilli, peanuts, and fresh herbs then scooped onto crackers, a Huế street snack eaten at riverside stalls along the Perfume River at dusk

Crispy sizzling rice crepe unique to Huế - smaller and crispier than the southern bánh xèo, stuffed with shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts then eaten wrapped in mustard leaves and rice paper with a thick fermented soybean and peanut sauce that is the soul of the dish

Translucent tapioca dumplings filled with whole shrimp and pork fat - the Huế original, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed until the filling glows through the semi-transparent dough, eaten with a sweet chilli fish sauce, one of the royal kitchen's most delicate creations now sold at every Huế street stall

Wild fig salad unique to Huế - unripe cluster figs sliced thin and tossed with shredded pork, prawn, roasted peanuts, sesame, and fresh herbs in a tangy fish sauce dressing, the figs providing a firm, slightly astringent texture found in no other Vietnamese salad, eaten at Huế restaurants as a signature appetiser

Spiced pork paste grilled on lemongrass skewers over charcoal - the Huế version is finer and more aromatic than the Đà Nẵng adaptation, eaten rolled in bánh tráng with fig leaves, star fruit, green banana, and cucumber then dipped in a thick peanut and fermented soybean sauce, a street food staple along Huế's Đập Đá bridge

Royal Huế sweet soups - a world of over a dozen varieties from chè bắp corn pudding to chè đậu ván butter bean soup to chè hạt sen lotus seed sweet, developed in the imperial kitchens and now sold at dedicated chè stalls throughout the city, eaten cold in layered glasses at Huế's famous Đông Ba market

Sour vinegar noodle soup unique to Huế - rice vermicelli in a tangy pork and fermented vinegar broth topped with pork slices, fried shallots, and fresh herbs, the sharp sourness distinguishing it from all other Huế noodle soups, eaten at tiny specialist stalls in the old city that open only for the morning meal

Royal tribute salad from the Nguyễn imperial kitchen - a refined composition of shredded chicken, lotus stem, pomelo segments, fig, and fresh herbs dressed in a light lime and fish sauce dressing, historically prepared as an offering to the emperor and now served at Huế's heritage restaurants as the most elegant salad in Vietnamese cuisine