Central Vietnam (2018): What I Ate In Hoi An

My previous post on How To Get From Da Nang Airport To Hoi An Old Town.

#nonhalalpost

Now, let me share with you of what I had when I was in Hoi An for two days. There are few of Hoi An specialty dishes which are particularly famous for and I think anyone who plan to visit here you should give them a try cause you won't able to find these food in any other parts of Vietnam. 

Cao lau 

This is the signature traditional food of Hoi An and only exclusively available within this ancient town. Cao lau comprises of thick rice noodles serve with slices of barbecue pork, pork cracking, lettuce and bean sprouts. And what make this dish to be so special? The tale behind this noodle is said to be made using water from an ancient well in Hoi An, namely Ba Le well. There are more I love to share about Cao lau but I think you can get more info from Google, right? 

We didn't purposely go and search for which restaurant or shop that serve the best cao lau but luck was on our side when we happened to stumble upon a restaurant nearby our homestay that serve cao lau.

Banh Bao Vac

Known as the white rose, it's a dumpling filled with either ground shrimp or pork wrapped in translucent white dough bunched up to resemble flower petals of the white rose shape. Arranged delicately on the plate, banh bao vac is topped with shallots and served with a dipping sauce. We got to try these in one of the restaurants located within Hoi An Old Town.

Bun Thit Nuong

A popular Vietnamese cold-rice vermicelli noodle topped with marinated grilled pork, peanuts, fresh greens and herbs and dipped in the fish sauce. This flavourful dish might not be originated from Hoi An, but it's one of the local delicacies you should try when visiting Hoi An. 

The next thing I would like to share is few shops and restaurants in Hoi An that serve delicious and scrumptious local delicacies which are really worth to pay visit. 

Madam Khanh - The Banh Mi Queen

One of my friends loves this Vietnamese baguette sandwich so much and therefore, I decided to hunt for the shop that serve the best banh mi in Hoi An. After searching up and down, I finally came across Madam Khanh - The Banh Mi Queen which is highly recommended on the net. It's situated outside the old town and the walk from our homestay to here took 10-15 minutes walk. 

Since there are tables and chairs within the shop, hence we opted for dine-in. We're given a menu written in English - this makes our life more easier when we saw it. We ordered two different banh mi to be shared among four of us; one filled with pork and ham whereas the other one filled with chicken. Our verdict? Both are equally delicious and my friend gave a huge "thumbs up" for this hearty baguette. For the price between 20,000 to 25,000 dong (approx. to RM3.50 to RM4.50), I bet you will going back for more. 

Address: 115 Tran Cao Van Street, Hoi An, Vietnam

Opening Hours: Daily from 7am to 7pm

Hoi An Roastery Espresso & Coffee House

A visit to Vietnam is incomplete without sipping a taste of authentic Vietnamese coffee. Among all the cafes within the ancient town, Hoi An Roastery Espresso & Coffee House is the one that caught our attention. Probably because there are three outlets situated right in the middle of the old town, hence we chosen to visit any of its outlet to have a rest before continue to roaming around.

The menu is diverse with wide selection of food and drinks ranging from local cuisine to western type. Not just that, they do serve tasty pastries and cakes as well. 

Bale Well Restaurant 

Initially, we were thinking should we go ahead with this plan or not as all of us are small eaters. Blame our small tummy. After thinking for so long, finally we decided not to have heavy meal during the lunch time in order to wait for the dinner time. 

Bale Well Restaurant is literally a restaurant served all-you-can-eat Vietnamese street food like Banh Xeo (savory Vietnamese rice pancake), fried spring roll, rice paper wrappers combine with fresh greens and herbs to create your own fresh spring roll. And the main star of the dish is the barbecued pork served in satay-style which is the bomb of the night. Wrap all these food on the rice paper wrappers and dip into peanut dipping sauce, it's amazingly delicious experience. At the end of our meal, we were served with chocolate and mango moosse to complete the meal.  

For the price of 120,000 dong per pax (approx. to RM21), I can conclude we made a wise choice to eat less during our lunch time and wait until dinner time to satisfy our hungry tummy. Not just it's dirt cheap, but this is one true place where you can experience almost all Vietnamese street food under one roof. Try to get to this place as early as you can especially during the dinner time before more crowd is coming in and once again, this place is really famous among the Korean tourists. 

Address: 45, Tran Hung Dao Street, Hoi An
Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm