Thua Thien-Hue (VNA) – The Hue International Food Festival will take place in Hue city’s Phu Xuan Park from April 28-May 2, the event’s organisingဣ board said at a press briefing on April 15.

As part of the Festival Hue 2016, the event will accommodate more than 100 stands, including 15-20 from ASEAN and several other Asian nations. Apart from the many cuisines on offer, there will be a beer festival and booths displaying traditional handicrafts. Dinh Manh Thang, President of the Thua Thien-Hue province Tourism Association, said the festival aims to honour the culinary values of Vietnam and countries worldwide, and create a cultural exchange for these nations, contributing to promoting international friendship and cooperation. Vietnam has about 3,000 dishes, of which more than 1,700 are Hue-style ones. Hue is best known for elegant royal cuisine. But there is far more to the former imperial city's food culture than what was served to the Nguyen dynasty in the 1800s. One distinctive quality of Hue food is the harmonisation of yin and yang in each dish. For example, molluscs are always cooked with chilli, pepper, lemongrass and grapefruit leaves, "hot" spices that balance the "cool" features of the water-based creatures. Various snack-like items, such as banh beo, banh nam, banh loc, banh canh and che, are a major part of the cuisine. Visitors can find these items at Hue restaurants in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Bun bo Hue, a local breakfast dish, is also popular around the country. Recently, Vietnam's record book listed several Hue dishes on its list of the country's best foods: bun bo (beef noodles), com hen (rice with mussels), banh beo (rice cake with grilled shrimp), banh bot loc (dumplings with shrimp), banh khoai (fried rice crepes), ruoc (shrimp paste), me xung (sesame candy), che hat sen (sweet lotus seed pudding), tom chua (pickled shrimp), and thanh tra (a grapefruit variety that was served to the king).-VNA