Chè (sweet pudding) is one of the three typical images of Hue summer, along with flamboyant flowers and the Hương River. After dark, residents converge on the river banks to enjoy fresh air and savour puddings made from maize, potatoes, green and red beans, lotus seeds, and other ingredients mixed with coconut milk and served over ice.
Hue is said to have thirty-six kinds of chè. However, the actual figure is much higher. No other city in Viet Nam has as many varieties. Hue people, with their skill in food preparation, make hundreds of strange, delicious, and nutritious chè varieties.
In the past, chefs at the royal palace and at the homes of rich, aristocratic families usually cooked sophisticated and refined puddings, including chè with lotus seeds, chè with longans stuffed with lotus seeds, and chè with roasted meat. Previously, ordinary people only enjoyed simple and cheap dishes made from grains and legumes. Today, however, everyone can taste the different kinds of chè. At only 2,000 VND (US$ 0.13), a glass of chè is affordable for rich or poor alike.
Hue boasts dozens of restaurants and hundreds of street vendors serving chè. They concentrate in Hùng Vương, Trần Phú, Trương Định, and Cửa Thượng Tứ Streets and along the banks of the Hương River.