Hue Rendezvous

First time here. My mom suggested the chicken salad with crispy rice. So good. Never had it this good. Will be back again,

the food was sub par period…

I used to eat at this place which serve the middle region Vietnamese cuisine. They were known for Bun Bo Hue (pork based noodle soup) and Banh Beo (small rice pancakes with grind shrimp on top). I visit this place again recently with several of my family members.
food: ³⁄₅ The bun bo hue is authentic but with somewhat bland taste. Usually, the bun bo hue should be spicy and more salty. My brother like this, but I prefer Picasso and possible Ngu Binh better. The banh beo is ok, and again I prefer Ngu Binh better or Quan Hy or Hop. The best food was the com ga (fry crunchy rice on one plate with chicken serve on a bed of shredded cabbage on another plate). I will give this dish 4.5÷5, since this dish stands on its own. I don’t know any other restaurants that serve this dish. The Banh Cuon (steam rice crêpe) is good, maybe ⁴⁄₅ and comparable to Banh cuan Tay Ho.
service: ³⁄₅ This is family own which has 1 – 2 cook and one server. So, expect service to be slow.
ambiance: ³⁄₅ This place looks the same as any dive-​y place.
cleanlyness: ³⁄₅ no dysentery after meals
parking ⁴⁄₅ plenty of parking space in private lot.
overall: ³⁄₅ The place did not stand out in anyway. However, I would come for the dish Com Ga because this is the only place that probably offer this. And only if I have a craving for it.

I love food, and this place is like going back to Asia. «hole in the wall» for US standard, but their «Banh Beo» we call them little plates, which is made of some sort of rice flour w/​bits of shrimp and crunchy pork skin on top.
They make their fish sauce from scratch, and its as authentic as it comes.
Not a place to take a first date, but an awesome place to try real authentic Vietnamese food.
Other items that are awesome are Thit Ga Bop, this is shredded chicken/​onion/​cabbage (make sure you pour the fish sauce over it) — combination of the flavor w/​a bit of citrus is divine. And this is served w/​Com Don, which is crunchy rice that was cooked w/​chicken broth than fried, reminds me of sizzling soup.
Many of my white friend love the banh ram it, which is fried crispy mochi w/​another soft mochi/​shrimp bits in and on top. dipped in fish sauce it super yummy.
bun goi hen is also tasty… if you don’t want it spicy, need to let them know.
that is chopped clam with black sesame crackers, veggies, peanuts.
Don’t expect 5 star resort service, it is a dive with great food run by a family. (Write down the names of food from here, there are no pics in their menu)

Omg… I came 2x in one week. Both times for banh beo. The banh beo tasted fine… but this time… they served us water in styro foam cups! What. on earth? You guys gave me glass cups last time! What’s going on?! There was a random orange thing in my cup too… but I drank it anyways. MAYBE it was a shrimp shredding… but maybe it was something else.
Styrofoam cups? Really?

This place is OLD SCHOOL!
We used to come here a lot to get banh beo and other Hue goodies with the folks. But since then, they’ve kind of fallen off the map for me.
But last week, i came back with my sis and her fam and we all ordered the same thing —-Thit Ga Bop with Com Don. There was a great deal of chicken with bright flavors of rau ram over shredded cabbage. My only gripe would be to have more acidity to it next time. But the Com Don — crunchy rice was delish! Great flavor texture and just yummy! I didn’t find it overly oily but then again, we did ask them to be light on it. I’d def recommend this dish :)

The BEST banh beo! I’d give this place five stars if I was reviewing their banh beo alone. That’s the only thing I go there for. I’ve tried their bun bo hue and a couple of other items on their menu but wasn’t impressed. Their banh beo, however, keeps me going back there. Heck, I don’t care about lack of service or atmosphere. The banh beo here rocks. It’s made with fresh shrimp, not dried shrimp. That plus the shallots, green onions and pork rinds make these little rice cake wonders so darn good.

This place is supposely known for their banh beo. Well i gave it a try and i’m sorry to say it was nothing spectacular. Their other specialy is Bun Bo Hue. Well i tried that too… it was good but wasn’t anything special or out of the ball park. I gave this place another try at a later time and the the results were the same. Also the service was slow, i guess they try to cut cost by having only one waitress.

This place is really good. i go there like every weekend. My whole family loves this place. we’re probably one of the most people that go there. I love the people that work there. they are so nice and funny. they make you feel at home. I love how there is a TV there. so when people want to watch football they can! THIS PLACE IS THE BEST PLACE ON EARTH! i think its delicous. especially the com ga bop! i can eat that forever… sooo yummy (:
People should try it ! its very unique!

This used to be a great place for Bun Bo Hue and Hue food. But it’s gone downhill. 4 years ago I would have given it 4 stars. I’m giving it 3 stars to help it survive. Bun Bo Hue here, while not completely authentic, was very good. It seems they are substituting MSG now for flavor. I know the food here has changed. I don’t know the story behind the restaurant, but I know it was better before… Slim chances it will ever be as good again.

Came here with a friend. She ordered banh beo chen, com ga bop and bun bo hue. Banh beo chen has a very thin layer of steamed rice cake, but topping wasn’t anything impressive. I enjoyed the com ga bop purely because of the crispy rice. The chicken salad itself was just okay. Bun bo hue is mediocre.
I think food-​wise, it was very average. 3 stars. What brought the star rating down another notch was the service. Boy it’s so hard to flag one of them down. They’re all sitting at a table hovered over a laptop chatting, eating, laughing amongst themselves. I really don’t think they care. Generally we had to get up and go tell them what we needed since waving or even hollering didn’t work if you’re sitting on the other side of the restaurant.
If you want banh beo, there is better elsewhere. If you want bun bo hue, there is DEFINITELY better elsewhere. The only thing they had that was special was the com ga bop.

The banh beo’s okay. The chao (rice porridge) with shrimp/​crab was not at all what I expected, I didn’t like it. I should’ve just went with the lady’s suggestion of the com ga (rice with chicken)… but nooo…

I am almost embarresed to write about this place, i only eat one thing and one thing only. That is the Banh Beo. As a matter of fact that is where i took my profile pics. You can get this little rice cake bad boys for about 6 dollars and you get 12 plates of yumminess, and that is only one portion. Again a good place to snack but thats about it. Would not suggest anything major there.

Everything was bland. I wouldn’t mind eating here again, but it wouldn’t be my first choice.
Banh beo chen (there were two styles, and I forgot the name of this one. It’s the second type) was ok, but the pork crackling was stale.
Com ga bop was ok too. The crispy rice was nicely crisped, but was REALLY oily. The salad needed more rau ram and the addition of some crushed peanuts and fried garlic bits (but maybe that’s just the way I’m used to eating it).
Also had the chao tom, which the lady recommended. Edible, but I wouldn’t get it again. It wasn’t really flavorful and the texture should be a little bit more firm.
I would come back because nothing tasted bad and it was inexpensive. Just bland.
I agree with the others. Don’t mind the workers chatting away and the occasional dead fly on your table.

The food used to be a lot better. Now… it’s just whatever caused the service is not good (even when they know you). They made my starving 80 grandma wait a long time and we still have to remind them to get her food.
If you want good and big portion Com/​Bun Hen, Com Ga, or Banh Beo Chen then go to Vy Da, if you want good Bun Bo Hue then go to Bun Bo Hue So 1 to eat in or Lien Hue Food To Go on Euclid (to go that is).
They also make Com Um Phu… but it’s nothing like how it’s done at the actually Com Um Phu in Hue. Their version has some rice, chopped up cha, and some shredded shrimps a plate… it’s not that great. My aunt makes them way way better.
I used to go here, but not anymore.
Of course if you really want fantastic Hue food then you would have to go to Hue, VN or have one of your Hue relatives make them. There’s really no comparison.

A solid standby if I am looking for something light and cheap to eat with Hue flair.
When you think about central food, you normally think of Bun Bo Hue (Hue style beef soup noodles), but that really isn’t a good choice here as the flavor of their broth is pretty flat and not spicy at all. The different varieties of Hue rice cakes however make up for what they lack in their noodle soups.
Banh beo chen are good here. Smooth steamed rice cakes topped with shrimp, green onion oil, and pork crackling. mmm… mmm… For the same price as Quan Hy you get a whole dozen of these yummy little cakes here. I also love their Banh nam. Banh nam are steamed flat rice cakes stuffed with shrimp and bits of pork, wrapped in banana leaves. You eat both of these cakes with a light fish sauce and for those addicted to spice you are more than welcome to add in some thai chillis for that extra kick. Like Monica mentions, these cakes are quite laborous to make so I will often order these from restaurants as it really is too much trouble to make at home.
Their rice cakes are good appetizers, but a girl can’t just live on appetizers alone so I will often opt for their com ga bop, crispy rice with chicken and cabbage salad. The rice in this dish is first cooked and then fried on one side so that it crisps up to mimick what we call «com chay» (aka the crispy rice that is left at the bottom of the rice pot). The preparation of the chicken salad here is quite simple and traditional. Shredded chicken pieces with some bones and cartilage remaining are tossed together with shredded cabbage, sliced onions, and rau ram (vietnamese coriander). The combination of textures and flavors in this dish are at once comforting and addicting for those accustomed to Viet food.
It really is a family affair here as this restaurant is run by a group of sisters and their sister in law. I often find it amusing as they are always sitting around eating or chatting with each other so that when you need service it seems that they must pull themselves away from their table to get what you want. They aren’t unpleasant about it, but it sometimes makes me feel uncomfortable to pull them away from fun times. For that I will have to pull off one star as it is not a very professional set up.

Hue Rendezvous is a culinary tribute to the cuisine of Central Vietnam, which is known for its many uses for rice flour and mainstays such as mint leaves, lettuces, and bean sprouts that almost always make an appearance at the dinner table.
Hue used to be the Royal City, so I guess there is something to be said about being able to enjoy the food of the kings.
Some of my favorite dishes here:
Banh beo — These tiny rice flour disks are served individually in 2″ plates and topped with minced shrimp and fish sauce. An order comes with about 12 plates and works well as an appetizer for the table. They’re pretty laborious for what they are, so you’d be hard-​pressed to find people willing to go through the effort. The telling sign of a good banh beo is the consistency of the flour, which should be thin and smooth across.
I also like the Goi Ga, which is a light salad tossed with bap chuoi (I think they’re called banana blossoms) and chicken in a fish sauce dressing. Bun bo hue, a noodle soup with spicy beef broth and rice vermicelli, and bun cha gio thit nuong (rice vermicelli w/​eggrolls and bbq pork) are recommended as well.
Don’t expect bells and whistles – it’s really just a place to get your fill and get going.