Boi Tran is a painter and something of a throwback, an anomaly, a creature from another, earlier time in the life of the onetime Imperial City. She lives in an area called Thien An Hill, in a magnificently restored compound. These traditional wooden houses were once part of the regal style, with sloped grooves to handle the rainy Hue weather. But most importantly, she features a garden at the centre which follows the eastern philosophy that all things originate from a single source and expand in all directions. She also cooks, magnificently from a repertoire of Imperial Hue-era dishes numbering over 100. Back in dynastic times, the Emperors demanded variety: in wives, of whom they would sometimes have over 100, and in food, the menus of the 19th Century Imperial Palaces boasted new dishes every night. Small, flavorful, and beautifully presented. And that culinary tradition, which gave Hue its reputation as a food capital, continues today.