Pulled in here after a wet walk around the citadel. At the moment the entrance is not obvious as the downstairs bar is being renovated. If you are ushered up the spiral staircase you're at the right place.

Mr Thien was a frequent friendly prescence, opening beer with his legendary flourish, explaining with hand signals how to eat the food and clearing up. And he gave me one of his 'patented' bottle openers.

We had a four of the wrap-your-own dishes from the top of the long menu. Good without being outstanding. But really cheap: four mains, four desserts and six drinks for under $10 - plus my free bottle opener.

After a sweaty bike ride in 37 degree heat we stopped for refreshments at a Lonely Planet-recommended cafe on the North Bank. It turned out to be the best place, and one of the cheapest, we've eaten in Vietnam. Or in fact in south east Asia, or the whole trip. In fact, 'Lac Thanh Restaurant', set up by deaf mute Mr Lac Thanh in 1965, is possibly the best restaurant in the world. We were a bit worried when we sat down and realised that the place next door was called 'Lac Thien' and on the other side was a 'Lac Thuan', both of which also seemed to be staffed by deaf mute people. The guide book had said to be wary of copy-cat establishments. But then Mr Lac Thanh himself (we knew it was him cos his photo was on the sign on the front) took our order (by signing) and must have noticed our slight confusion as we looked at the different restaurant signs and consulted our guide book again. He then brought out his own slightly diffent edition of the Lonely Planet which listed all 3 places and said that one was the original and the others were copycats, but told (again through signing and head shaking etc) that in fact the LP was wrong and all 3 places are under the same management despite the slight name differences. So feeling reassured, we sipped our delicious ice cold fresh lemonades and waited for lunch to be served. We had the most sublime fresh shrimp spring rolls, that you roll yourself with rice papers, herby salad leaves, fig, green banana, cucumber and peanut sauce, plus some chicken with garlic and water spinach, and iced teas, followed by fresh fruit and iced coffees (we were very thirsty!) for afters. All delicious and all for less than 2 quid each!

I really enjoyed the food i had here. It was tofu with vegetables and crispy fried noodles. It was so good the first day that i just had to go back the next and have it again. We also had banana fried and coconut icecream with sesame seeds for desert. Would definately recommend. Cheap and tasty. Don't let the decor coming up the stairs put you off.

So one of the main specialties of Hue is their banh Khoai which is a vietnamese pancake with shrimp and pork. This place was recommended by the guidbooks for this specialty and the place is run by a deaf family who also make novelty bottle openers. Travelers who eat here seem to leave their mark by writing on the tile walls. Its close to the citadel and a very reasonable place to eat lunch.