Welcome to SAO NAM Empire Shopping Gallery and discover the traditions, culture and secrets of Imperial Vietnamese cuisine dating back to the Nguyen Dynasty.

When Tu Duc was Emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, a new Imperial cuisine was developed to cater to his extremely demanding palate. It is said that he ordered his Imperial chefs to never serve him the same menu twice within a one year period. He demanded food that was markedly different from that eaten by the common person.

Since Hue lacked the agricultural diversity of either the north or the south. The Imperial kitchens were required to show an enormous amount of ingenuity – refining ordinary dishes until they become something truly special, so that eating could be viewed as an art, a ritual and a sensory pleasure at the same time. The most talented proponents of Imperial cuisine are survived by descendents, skills were painstakingly passed down in extended families through generations.

Today, there is a renewed interest in Imperial cuisine of Hue and the royal port Hoi An, and a great number of modern Vietnamese chefs have made it their mission to turn the simple art of cooking to something extraordinary, restoring Imperial cuisine to it’s former glory.