I arrived late in the evening, around 8:30pm, and was given a table in the villa courtyard near the girls playing the traditional music. The two open floors of the restaurant gaze down upon the villa courtyard—and it is just one fantastic place! The music and the layout of the restaurant as a whole got two thumbs up for an incredible experience.

But neither the layout nor the music could hold a candle to the food at the Emperor Restaurant-which served some of the best Vietnamese food I have ever had anywhere. I highly recommend the Hue style spring rolls, which are brought out attached by toothpicks to a small hollowed pineapple with a candle in it. They alone are worth a trip back to the Emperor on my next trip to Hanoi! I also had the chicken and corn soup—which was excellent.

My main course was something had not seen before, chicken in lime sauce. Lime leaves are often used in Viet cooking, and they had a great flavor to any poultry dish. But it was a mystery to me what lime sauce might be. When the dish arrived - I found the sauce to be sweet and tangy and very much different than a lemon style sauce. It was not just good - it was excellent! This is a dish that you definitely want to try!!!!

If it is Hue style cooking that you want to try - the Emperor Restaurant should be where you go in Hanoi.