Top 15+ Hue specialties as gifts loved by tourists

1 Sesame

– Suggested address:

Thien Huong sesame: 20 Chi Lang

Nam Thuan sesame: 201 Huynh Thuc Khang

Sesame truffle Tai Ky: 49 Ngo Thi Nham

Sesame truffle is a typical sweet dish of the ancient capital, and has long become a familiar flavor in the lives of the people of Hue. Made from sesame, malt, rice paper and peanuts, this Hue specialty as a gift has a sweet, soft and fragrant taste, making it unforgettable for anyone who has ever tasted it.

2 Sour shrimp

– Suggested address:

Trong Tin sour shrimp: 21 Dang Tran Con

Cori sour shrimp: 184 Tang Bat Ho

Song Huong sour shrimp: Markets and supermarkets selling specialties in Hue

Sour shrimp is an indispensable traditional dish in Hue people’s meals, and is also a Hue specialty chosen as a gift by many people.

After being cleaned, fresh shrimp are fermented with galangal, chili, garlic and premium fish sauce, creating a balanced sweet, salty and sour flavor that is both rich and delicate. This dish is best when served with boiled meat, noodles or white rice. Sour shrimp is often preserved in sealed glass or plastic jars to retain its characteristic flavor.

3 Dry pressed cake

– Suggested address:

Gia Di Hue pressed cake: 52 Ba Trieu

Nguyen Du pressed cake: 20 Nguyen Du

Dry pressed cake is a convenient variation of traditional pressed cake, thinned, dried and vacuum-packed for longer preservation. When enjoying, just grill over charcoal or heat in the microwave to instantly have a crispy, fragrant cake. This is an attractive snack, easy to carry and extremely suitable as a Hue specialty as a gift for those who love new flavors.

4 Hue lotus seeds

– Suggested address:

Sen Hue Food: 168 Tang Bat Ho

Hue lotus seeds have an elegant and delicate flavor that is rare to find anywhere else. This type of seed is often collected from Tinh Tam Lake, one of the most famous lotus areas in the ancient capital. The lotus seeds are ivory white, round, supple and have a gentle fragrance, reminiscent of the typical elegance of Hue.

5 Hue royal tea

– Suggested address:

Duc Phuong royal tea: 24 Nguyen Hue

Hue royal tea: 7/49 Han Mac Tu

Tinh Tam Food: 24 Nguyen Hue

Hue royal tea is delicately blended from 16 precious herbs such as lotus heart, goji berry, northern licorice, star anise, cardamom, jujube and jujube. In the past, Hue royal tea was an elegant drink reserved only for kings. But today, this is considered a popular Hue specialty as a gift, it can bring pure flavor and great health benefits.

6 Areca candy

– Suggested address:

Dong Ba Market

Specialty stores

Areca candy is shaped like a six-cut areca fruit, wrapped in eye-catching transparent glass paper. The white crust is made from rice flour and sugar and covers the light yellow filling. It is sugar water that has been boiled to a thick consistency.

Visitors to Hue often cannot help but be curious about this beautiful little candy, which is both unique and reminiscent of the rustic features of the ancient capital. For the people of Hue, areca candy is a sweet, simple but endearing childhood flavor. This is also a Hue specialty as a rustic, meaningful gift that tourists should choose after each suitcase to Hue.

7 Lang Co oyster sauce

– Suggested address:

Lang Co Market

Shop selling Hue specialties

Lang Co oyster sauce is one of the famous Hue specialties as a gift, famous for its rich flavor, difficult to mix with any other type of fish sauce. This fish sauce is made from fresh clams, marinated with crushed galangal, roasted green beans, salt and chili powder, then incubated for about half a month to naturally ferment. The finished product is a red, smooth fish sauce with a unique aroma that makes everyone passing by stop.

When eaten with hot rice, boiled meat, raw vegetables or bean sprouts, the fish sauce flavor blends spicy, salty and fatty, creating an irresistible appeal. Just add a little garlic, chili and sugar, Lang Co oyster sauce will become a flavor that diners will never forget.

8 Thanh Tra Grapefruit

– Suggested address:

Grapefruit garden in Thuy Xuan ward, Hue city

Thanh Tra grapefruit is a famous specialty of Hue, famous for its gentle aroma and cool sweet taste. Grapefruit season usually blooms from July to September, when the gardens are laden with golden fruits in the sunshine.

Compared to other grapefruit varieties, Thanh Tra has a compact size, averaging about 1kg per fruit. The grapefruit peel is thin and golden, the pulp has a pleasant scent, and the grapefruit segments are clear yellow, succulent and sweet.

9 Hue royal wine

– Suggested address:

Traditional wine shop

Hue royal wine is distilled from natural ingredients such as rice, barley and precious herbs, fermented according to the family secrets of the people of Hue. Thanks to the long-term fermentation process, the wine has a passionate and delicate flavor.

The price of Hue royal wine usually ranges from 200,000 to 1,000,000 VND per bottle, depending on the type, age of the wine and brand. Although the price is higher than regular wines, this is a worthy choice when you are wondering whether to buy Hue specialties as gifts.

10 Hue cajuput essential oil

– Suggested address:

Hue cajuput essential oil Be Tho: 15 Spring 68

Hue cajuput essential oil at Vy Da Palace: 14 Thanh Tinh

Hue Kim Vui cajuput essential oil: 1 Nguyen Huu Ba

Hue cajuput essential oil is extracted completely from nature, through the process of distilling cajuput stems, leaves and branches. In the ancient capital, the two most popular essential oils are cajuput and tea tree. All have a gentle fragrance and many useful uses, very suitable as meaningful gifts.

11 Fig tea

– Suggested address:

Hue Ancient Capital specialties: 210 Phan Chu Trinh

Hue Gifts online: 88 Phan Dang Luu

Hue fig tea has a sweet aroma, refreshing taste and contains many nutrients that are good for the heart, blood sugar as well as the respiratory system. Taking a sip of this Hue specialty as a gift, visitors will feel the natural sweetness spreading, gentle yet profound.

12 Leaky fish sauce

– Suggested address:

Hue Gifts online: 88 Phan Dang Luu

Ancient Capital specialties: 4 Nguyen Phuc Nguyen

Khanh Trang Restaurant: 59 Dinh Cong Trang

Hue fish sauce has a characteristic rich flavor, made from fresh fish marinated with salt, chili, garlic and sticky rice wine, creating a salty taste mixed with a stimulating bit of sour and spicy. This type of fish sauce can be used as a dipping sauce or cooking spice. The flavor is easy to eat and suits the taste of many people. Like shrimp paste or shrimp paste, Hue sauce is affordable, suitable to buy as a gift while still rich in the culinary identity of the ancient capital.

13 Nem chua Hue

– Suggested address:

Dong Ba Restaurant: 25 Dao Duy Tu

Hao Hao Restaurant: Near the intersection of Dong Ba Bridge and Dao Duy Tu

Nem chua Hue has a rich flavor and is completely different from spring rolls in other regions. The dish is made from lean pork, pork skin, rock sugar, chili and traditional spices, then cleverly wrapped in guava and banana leaves. Each ingredient is carefully selected, creating a unique fragrant, mildly sour and spicy spring rolls.

These small spring rolls are not only a familiar daily dish but also appear in parties, weddings or death anniversaries, becoming a culinary feature associated with Hue people’s lives.

14 Tre Hue

– Suggested address:

Nem tre Ba Ngon: 220/4 Nguyen Sinh Cung

Dong Ba spring rolls: 25 Dao Duy Tu

Tré is a Hue specialty as a gift that is rich in the flavor of the ancient land, bringing with it a very unique sophistication. This dish is somewhat similar to spring rolls, wrapped in guava and banana leaves, with a rich, fragrant fermented bamboo meat inside. Tré often appears during Tet holidays, weddings or death anniversaries, becoming a familiar delicacy in the feasts of the people of the ancient capital.

15 Fruit green bean cake

– Suggested address:

Dong Ba Market

Green bean and fruit cake is a quintessential gift of Hue cuisine, imbued with ancient royal influences, and was once only offered at royal banquets. The cake has a sweet taste and mild aroma, made from peeled green beans combined with vegetables to create natural color and a little jelly powder to increase the softness and attractiveness.

16 Cha Hue

– Suggested address:

Dong Ba Market

Hue spring rolls Mai Huong

Cha Hue is made from pureed pork, mixed with typical spices and cleverly wrapped in banana leaves into individual small cards. The patties are soft and chewy enough, rich in flavor, easy to eat and suitable for most people’s tastes.

On the market, Hue rolls are often sold in dozens, each dozen includes 10 rolls, with prices ranging from 50,000 to 150,000 VND depending on the type. This is a Hue specialty as a simple gift, bringing the full flavor of the ancient capital.

Among the countless delicious dishes of the three regions, Hue specialties as gifts still have a gentle, delicate and rich character like the people there. If you have the opportunity to bring your suitcase to this dreamland, don’t forget to buy those specialties to keep the sweet flavor forever.