08/05/2020
🥘🌮🍜 The colorful food culture of Hoi An Ancient Town - Nine delicious street dishes you must try in Hoi An - Hoi An Eat Guide 🥢🍝🍤
Hoi An is not just famous for its ancient beauty that has been recognized many times worldwide but also for its authentic cuisine. Hoi An is one of the 25 most attractive destinations for foodies all over the world. This city is considered as a heaven of street food since most of the food here is sold on the streets or in small alleys. Besides delighting and expensive food in some fancy restaurants, Hoi An street food is a highlight of Hoi An cuisine. What a shame if you came to Hoi An but have never eaten street food. Eating street food will bring you an interesting and unforgettable experience. Below are eight delicious street dishes you must try when being in Hoi An:
👉 #1 Cao lau
One of the most famous dishes in Hoi An is cao lau which is called Hoi An’s secret noodle. Cao lau is the best when being enjoyed in Hoi An and almost just available in Hoi An. To make cao lau, people have to take water from a thousand – year – old well in Hoi An called Ba Le, the rice to make cao lau must be soaked in ash water from Cham island, and the vegetables to eat along with the noodles must be from Tra Que organic vegetable village. This is a kind of noodles with just a little of the broth and being enjoyed upstairs (high floors) by the merchants from all over the world in the past.
A bowl of cao lau at street vendors’ costs from 20,000 VND – 25,000 VND/bowl. It’s easy to find cao lau in the old town or around Hoi An. Some good places to have cao lau:
– Ms. Ha, stall E035, Hoi An central market.
– Ms. Thanh, 26 Thai Phien St.
👉 # 2 - Quang Noodle – Mi Quang
Once you visit Hoi An, you cannot skip Mi Quang. Mi Quang is a noodle dish typical for Quang Nam province (Hoi An belongs to Quang Nam). Like cao lau, Mi Quang is served with just a little bit of broth. There are many kinds of Mi Quang. Mi Quang can be served with chicken, pork, shrimp, quail egg, snakehead fish, beef,…with vegetables and topped with peanuts and rice cracker. A bowl of Mi Quang just costs from 20,000 VND – 25,000 VND and mostly available in many street vendors in town. Some recommendation places to have Mi Quang:
– Mr. Hai restaurant- 6A Truong Minh Luong (from 6.00 AM to 10.00 PM).
– Ms. B**h restaurant at 272 Hung Vuong St.
– Street vendors in Thai Phien street.
👉 # 3 - Fried Green-Crab Cakes fried (In Vietnamese: Bánh Ghẹ Xanh).
Don't missed this dish, you can enjoy the taste of delicious crab butter, the meat was so rich and in some sections. The type of crab used is a green sentinel crab, which have an edible shell and are meatier than other sentinel crabs. The flour used is made from corn from Cam Nam and new rice grown near the Thu Bon river.
- Street vendor in Nguyen Thai Hoc street, Tran Phu, and Bach Dang streets in the afternoon.
👉 #4 Banh Mi Hoi An (Hoi An Bread Break).
Banh mi is everywhere in Vietnam and not specific to a particular place. However, banh mi in Hoi An is just fantastic! The banh mi here is so good that it is well-known all over the world. Every tourist coming to Hoi An must try its banh mi at least once. There are a variety of things inside a banh mi sold in Hoi An: pork liver pate, pork floss, boiled shredded chicken, pork belly, ham, tomato, cucumber, some herbs,…A banh mi costs from 10,000 VND – 25, 000 VND/loaf. It depends on what you want to put inside it. Some famous banh mi shops in Hoi An:
– Hoi An Bread Break Phuong at 2B Phan Chu Trinh St.
– Hoi An Bread Break Khanh at 115 Tran Cao Van St.
– Hoi An Bread Break Phi at 88 Thai Phien St.
👉 #5 Grilled pork wrapped in rice paper with vegetables
If you are a fan of BBQ, this is a must try. Grilled pork in Hoi An often served along with rice paper, vegetables and a special sauce made from pork liver pate, peanut, sesame and some other ingredients.
Vegetables eaten along with grilled pork skewers are a mixture of lettuce, fish herb, sliced star fruit, cucumber, mango, young banana, cilantro, basil,…All of these will be wrapped along with the grilled pork in two layers of rice paper: one is wet rice paper and the other one is dry rice paper.
You wrap it, make it like a roll, and then dip in in the sauce and feel the taste. Um…so good!
With just 10,000 VND/skewer, you have chance to try one of the best street food of Hoi An. You can find some street vendors selling this on Hai Ba Trung St., near the crossroad of Hai Ba Trung and Tran Hung Dao St., or find some on Bach Dang St.
👉 #6 Water fern cake – Bánh bèo
Coming to Hoi An, you should try this cake since it’s not very popular elsewhere except some central Vietnam cities: Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An. Hoi An water fern cake is different from Hue water fern cake. The water fern cake here is often served in a small bowl with a wet topping made with minced shrimp, pork, spring onion and dry topping made from deep-fried Cao lau noodles.
Where to eat:
– Aunt Tai’s with her mobile banh beo cart. Some streets she often passes through Ly Thuong Kiet, Ngo Gia Tu, Tran Hung Dao. She finishes on Nguyen Hue street. She starts at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
– Aunt Bay’s: at the corner of the old wall on Hoang Van Thu street.
Price: 2,000/bowl
👉 # 7 White Rose (Bánh Bao, Bánh vạc)
Banh bao vac is a local appetiser that resembles delicate white roses displayed on a platter. Each dumpling is made by wrapping shrimp or pork filling in flattened rice dough before cooking it in a steamer. Once soft and translucent, banh bao vac is carefully arranged on a flat plate, topped with shallots, and served with a dipping sauce made from shrimp broth, chillies, lemon and sugar. Available at most local restaurants in Hoi An, the banh bao vac are supplied by a local family residing at 533 Hai Ba Trung Street, where you can witness how this trademark dish is made.
Price: 90.000 vnd per person for plate
Location: 533 Hai Ba Trung Street
#8 Hoanh Thanh Chien (Fried Wonton Dumplings)
Hoan thanh chien may resemble Mexican nachos due its salsa-like topping, but it’s actually a fried wonton dumpling with a variety of meat fillings. Made with rice flour, the wonton is filled with diced pork, shrimp, eggs, and various spices before being deep-fried until golden. Great as a snack or appetiser, hoan thanh chien is then topped with a mix of sautéed pork, corn, shrimp, tomato roulade, and coriander leaves. Expect to pay between VND 30,000 and VND 50,000 for a massive platter.
#9 Nem Lui Hoian
Nem Lui Hoian is made in the same way as spring rolls with pork and spices, but instead of being wrapped, Hoian people shape it into long round pieces and grilled on a charcoal stove. Nem Hoian has the same way to enjoy as many Vietnam dishes. People eat it with rice paper and vegetables such as lettuce, cilantro, parsley, banana,… and a bowl of Vietnamese typical dipping sauce.
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