I cannot stress quite enough how much I adore Vietnamese food. The spices, the intense plethora of flavor, and the low calorie count all make for some of the most perfect meals of my life, which sounds dramatically unlikely perhaps, but which is absolutely true nonetheless. And Hoi An was the pinnacle of flavorful, unforgettable, Vietnamese street food.
Hoi An is the best place in Vietnam. Sure, you might argue with me on this one, and I get it. You might claim it is a little too touristy (it is), a little too crowded (it is), or just in general too much right on the beaten path (who the fuck cares?). Everyone I met on my trip to Southeast Asia who had come from the north of Vietnam agreed with me: Hoi An is magical, it is dreamy, it is the perfect blend of ancient and modern, and it has the best food. I’m pretty sure I didn’t stop eating the entire time I was there.
There are several dishes that are specific to this central coastal city, and I insist that you don’t miss out on a one of them. The city is not huge, and there are plenty of delicious spots to grab a bite all by foot. Here is a quick walking tour of some of my personal favorite dishes in some of my personal favorite spots, for an afternoon of good eats and satisfied appetites.
To start, head to Cho Hoi An, the eclectic central market of the city, full of vendors of all kinds of goodies, brimming with opportunity to stuff some food down that gullet.
Banh Bao Vac
A little background about this special Hoi An recipe: there is actually only one family in the entire city who makes these little dumplings. They use two pieces of special, airy rice paper and fill them with pork or shrimp in the center, steaming the edges in a way to look like little white roses, served with scallions and crunchy onions on top. Currently on their third generation of keeping this recipe a secret, the Ngai family is well respected in Hoi An for their famous dish that is only found within this city’s limits. Originally the family made the dumplings for themselves at family dinners, but when word spread and the dish began to get really popular, they started to sell them to the rest of Hoi An. And thank the good lord that they did.
When I went into the market, I walked down the aisles, scanning menus for white rose. I was on a mission for these puppies. You cannot go to Hoi An without scooping up a serving, and if you do, you need to re-examine your priorities. The market in Hoi An is a little bit less hectic than the one in Ho Chi Minh City, and I wasn’t being pulled from all directions by restaurant owners trying to aggressively throw me down into one of their seats. Nothing makes me more nervous than trying to navigate a market and having people literally grabbing you and yelling at you and trying to convince you to buy from them. Don’t make eye contact, for the love of all that is holy.
I ended up parking my sweaty rump at Mrs. Thu’s, one of the stall-sized restaurants at the market. The restaurant is owned by a woman, Mrs. Thu, and her husband, and they offer all the best Hoi An specialties. For a small restaurant in the middle of the market, Mrs. Thu’s is certainly well-loved among both travelers and locals. I ordered white rose for 40.000 VND, or about $1.75, and received the dish within minutes. The service was friendly, the food was delicious, and it was the perfect place to escape the heat of the Vietnam sun.
Bánh xèo
While in the market, be sure to also order a rice pancake, a dish that is popular all over the country as well as in Cambodia, but is especially prevalent in central Vietnam. Bánh xèo, Vietnamese for “sizzling cake,” is known as a savory, crispy rice pancake filled with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts. It is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted, it is incredibly filling and satisfying, crunchy yet juicy and full of flavor, and I’m pretty sure I ate at least five of these over the course of two weeks. Mrs. Thu offers them for 20.000 VND, less than $1, but you can find them all over the inside of the central market.
Cơm Gà
Com Ga was another dish I was determined to find while I was in Hoi An. It can be found on every street corner, served out of giant steaming pots. Com ga literally means “chicken rice,” and is a staple of the city, the chicken served shredded and super moist and flavored with spices, a papaya salad on the side with special chili sauce for dipping. I knew that I was going to be all about this dish, being a relatively simple eater in my day-to-day life (putting ketchup or relish on a hot dog is a true travesty), and I wasn’t wrong.
I meandered down a little alleyway that was a few blocks west of the central market and sat down at the patio of Long Com Ga, a family-owned restaurant specializing in chicken rice. I arrived around 3 pm and was the only person there, and they took good care of me, offering me a complimentary cup of Vietnamese tea to accompany my 35.000 VND meal. The atmosphere was very laid back and I enjoyed talking to the owner’s small children who were riding up and down the patio on little plastic cars. Nothing fuels baby fever more than all the babies you meet traveling (sorry, Mom).
I spent about an hour here because I was so resolute when it came to using my chopsticks my entire stay in Vietnam that I sat there clamping down on each individual grain of rice and sucking them into my mouth. Guess what? Locals don’t eat rice with fucking chopsticks. They use a spoon. Feel free to eat your com ga grain by grain, but you’ll probably get a couple of those “wow, you are a true idiot tourist” looks, of which I received many. Learn from the mistakes of this idiot American and eat like a normal person.
Cao Lầu
Cao Lau is actually the official dish of Hoi An, which will come in really handy for you if you decide to play a round of trivia at your Hoi An hostel and this question comes up (thankfully I did a lot of research on the best food of Hoi An before I even arrived, so I was well-versed in Hoi An’s claims to fame; I screamed louder than everyone else on my team and relished in their gratitude upon receiving one point for the correct answer. I was, however, utterly useless on other questions, like which country has the largest breasts on the planet and how many kilometers is Vietnam in length. Who really cares about the answers to either of those though, honestly).
In my continued self-guided walking food tour of Hoi An, I meandered on over to Mot Hoi An. I met up with a few of my new friends from my hostel and we all sat down at one of the little tables, ordered a cup of their signature herbal tea, complete with lotus seeds and refreshing as HECK on a hot day, as well as a steamy bowl of cao lau each (except for my vegetarian French friend, who ordered some vegetarian dish which I am sure was as good as a vegetarian dish can possibly be). Cao lau is LITERALLY only available in Hoi An, Hoi An’s truest and most official signature dish, its noodles’ taste and texture a result of using water from an ancient well that was dug by the Cham people right outside of the town. The dish consists of thick and fresh rice noodles, pork, pork rinds, and bean sprouts, but is not a soup, like most other noodle dishes originating in Vietnam. It is spicy, unique, and savory, and is a must while you’re in Hoi An.
Bánh Mì
One of my favorite things about Vietnam is that women run the show. All the best places to eat are run by women, and from talking to locals, it is often times the women who are the backbone of their families, supporting their husbands and children alike. Mrs. Thu is obviously an angel and offers some of the best food in Hoi An, and then there’s the QUEEN. Specifically, Madam Khanh, the self-proclaimed queen of banh mi, and also the queen of my whole world, to be perfectly honest.
To elaborate on what exactly banh mi is for those who don’t know: banh mi directly translates to “bread,” or “baguette,” which were brought to Vietnam during the French colonial period of the 1800s. A banh mi sandwich (often times referred to simply as “banh mi”) is a baguette stuffed with all kinds of delicious things, from eggs and cheese to pork and vegetables and spices. I also had quite a few of these while I was in Vietnam, including one from a famous restaurant in Hanoi that a Canadian girl I met in Hoi An raved about, but none of them, I repeat NONE. OF. THEM., were nearly as delicious as the banh mi I got from Madam Khanh’s.
The woman working there was not Madam Khanh, but she was incredibly nice, and because I was having a hard time communicating with her I just told her to put whatever she wanted in there. I still don’t know what it was, but every flavor came together to be a delectable, orgasmic experience in my mouth. It was spicy, it was meaty, the vegetables gave it a refreshing crunch. I ate it down by the waterfront alone with my fanny pack and a group of Vietnamese men walked by and laughed at me as I dripped sauce down my chin, but I didn’t even care, because I was having the most heavenly experience of my life.
My mom is probably wondering why I always write in hyperbole, but I can guarantee that there is absolutely no aggrandizing of Madam Khanh’s banh mi taking place here today. I miss it dearly.
Bánh tiêu
Okay, time for dessert, you’ve earned it. Hopefully you have a bit of room left. From Madam Khanh’s, circle back towards the center of the Old Town, and keep an eye out for street vendors frying these little pockets of dough. These are banh tieu, hollow Vietnamese donuts, and are not like donuts you’d find in the States. The dough is only slightly sweet, they are dipped in sesame seeds and deep fried, and are occasionally filled with other little treats (mine had shaved coconut). It was the perfect end to a day of classic, savory Hoi An specialties, not too sweet but sweet enough. I met a woman outside of the Hoi An Museum who was in the same spot outside of the Hoi An Museum every day making donuts, but you can find them for less than $1 on lots of Hoi An’s other street corners.
If you’ve made it through this entire food walking tour without hurling, then I commend you. It’s a lot of food, but it is all superb. Hoi An is a truly special place, earning a spot in my top three favorite cities in the entire world (Barcelona and Prague are getting a run for their money. Watch your backs, babies), and a walk through town is one hell of a trip for your taste buds. I’m already dying to go back.
Have you been to Hoi An? What is your favorite classic Vietnamese dish?
