briefly cooked. Vegetables are eaten fresh; if they are cooked, they are boiled or only briefly stir-fried. Presence of herbs and vegetables: Herbs and vegetables are essential to many Vietnamese dishes and are often abundantly used. Variety and harmony of textures: Crisp with soft, watery with crunchy, delicate with rough. Broths or soup-based dishes are common in all three regions. Presentation: The condiments accompanying Vietnamese meals are usually colorful and arranged in eye-pleasing manners. While sharing some key features, Vietnamese culinary tradition differs from region to region. In northern Vietnam, a colder climate limits the production and availability of spices. As a result, the foods there are often less spicy than those in other regions. Black pepper is used in place of chilies as the most popular ingredient to produce spicy flavors. In general, northern Vietnamese cuisine is not bold in any particular taste—sweet, salty, spicy, bitter, or sour. Most northern Vietnamese foods feature light and balanced flavors that result from subtle combinations of many different flavoring ingredients. The use of meats such as pork, beef, and chicken were relatively limited in the past. Freshwater fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, such as prawns, squids, shrimps, crabs, clams, and mussels, are widely used. Many notable dishes of northern Vietnam are crab-centered (e.g., bún riêu). Fish sauce, soy sauce, prawn sauce, and limes are among the main flavoring ingredients. Being the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, northern Vietnam produces many signature dishes of Vietnam, such as bún riêu and bánh cuốn, which were carried to central and southern Vietnam through Vietnamese migration. Other famous Vietnamese dishes that originated from the north, particularly from Hanoi include "bún chả" (rice noodle with grilled marinated pork), phở gà (chicken soup with rice noodles), chả cá Lã Vọng (rice noodle with grilled fish). The abundance of spices produced by Central Vietnam's mountainous terrain makes this region's cuisine notable for its spicy food, which sets it apart from the two other regions of Vietnam, where foods are mostly not spicy. Once the capital of the last dynasty of Vietnam, Huếs culinary tradition features highly decorative and colorful food, reflecting the influence of ancient Vietnamese royal cuisine. The region's cuisine is also notable for its sophisticated meals consisting of many complex dishes served in small portions. Chili peppers and shrimp sauces are among the frequently used ingredients. Some Vietnamese signature dishes produced in central Vietnam are bún bò Huế and