Hoi An was built as an ancient architecture complex and a busy business port in the 16th century of Viet Nam. Time passes, Hoi An still remains its indigenous beauty and charm which hundreds of people falling in love with.

THE 5 HOI AN CUISINES YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS 

Apart from admiring the prettiness of Hoi An, find yourself a local place to taste real specialized food as Hoi An is also widely known for its distinctive cuisine.

CHARMING HOI AN

This below list of local restaurants is what you need for a satisfying meal.

1. Banh Mi Phuong

When it comes to Banh Mi, you can’t go wrong with Banh Mi Phuong. Rated as one of the best street foods in the world by many well-known magazines, Phuong shop stretches her Vietnamese baguette brand in a superb value of money.

From the French baguette version, Banh Mi has been changed to be suitable for the Vietnamese taste. Breads are made longer and thinner with the filling is full of local ingredients as fresh herb, pork pate, pork, chili and toasted sesame.

In addition, Banh mi Phuong is better known for its secret recipe of the sauce. It’s still concealed as the cook doesn’t spread it to anyone.

Every day, Banh Mi is quickly sold out so you need to plan ahead and get this baguette as a pleasant treat for breakfast, lunch or even dinner. A banh mi costs about 1 usd (20,000 vnd) so it’s a friendly budget food to most people.

2. Central market food hall

A local market is always listed as a must-go place for every Southeast Asian trip. The central market in Hoi An is where you can observe the local lives and hectic purchasing style of Hoi An.

DISCOVER THE UNIQUE MARKETS IN HOI AN

When you are in the central market, don’t forget to appreciate the good food of the central food hall as there are a plenty of local foods served in these food courts at unbelievable prices.

3. Chi Ma phu – black sesame sweet soup

The image of an old man with hawker selling Chi Ma Phu – black sesame sweet soup has become a unique icon in Hoi An. No matter how bad the weather is, he continuously does his business. For years, the black sesames sweet made by this old man has been a favorite snack for the people living Hoi An.

The origin of Chi Ma Phu is from China. When the Chinese traders came to Hoi An in the past, they brought a recipe of the Fujian black soup. The ingredients are black sesame, coconut, rice flour, sugar, sinh a (Radix Rehmanniae) and thc a (Rehmannia glutinosa). For these components, black sesame sweet soup is also regarded as a healthy dish for people of all ages.

4. Ba Le well restaurant

Hoi An is a heaven for food lovers as there is no shortage of local food in this small town. To get insight into the Hoi An food, the pancake shouldn’t be missed out.

Ba Le well restaurant is a trustworthy store offering the best dish of Vietnamese pancakes, fried spring rolls and satay meat skewers. Coming to Ba Le shop, you can find excellent meal consisting of local pancake made from rice flour, shrimp and wrapped in rice paper. The pancake is eaten along with fresh herbs and dipping sauce.

Take a trip to Ba Le well restaurant at 45/51 Tran Hung Dao street, Hoi An to satisfy your stomach.

5. Ba gia restaurant

Passing a cross of the central city to Cam Nam village, you are getting closer to another suburb area of Hoi An. This village offers a unique food with Banh Dap (smashing rice paper), Hen xuc banh trang (minced clams with rice crackers), Che bap (corn sweet soup).

To smash rice paper, you need to break the rice paper into 2 pieces and leave the wet rice paper inside the crispy one. Then, smash that combination and eat with the sweet fermented fish sauce and chili called Mam nem.

Hen xuc Banh trang (minced clams with rice crackers) is another food to assure how well the food in Hoi An is.

Clams were caught from rivers, then they were boiled and fried with onions, chili and herbs. Toppings are peanuts which enhance the flavor of minced clams.

All foods in Ba Gia restaurant seem to be simple and easy to make but it brings to eaters a taste of local and complicated favor.

6. A Roi Restaurant

What does “Nhậu” means in Vietnamese?

It’s the way people call for a family or friend gathering in Viet Nam. Like the Western people, the Vietnamese has their own in celebrating or having fun.

A Roi restaurant is a most-liked stop for local people in Hoi An whenever they want to have a fun night of “Nhậu”. This restaurant with a wide space and hand-to-mouth menu attracts a number of people every day. Some of what the local usually write off for a meal are steamed clams, frog with chili and cilantro, banana flower with pork and grilled fish.

The food options are large so you needn’t worry about what to order.

7. Thanh restaurant

Next up is Cao Lau – a dish that is amazingly super smooth and rich in flavor. Every time you take a bowl of Cao Lau, you can feel a taste of sensation in your mouth.

What people like about this dish is seasoned pork eaten along with crispy crunchy croutons. The additional croutons made from dried cao lau noodles make this dish more appetizing. Cao lau noodles are said to be made using only water from one ancient well in Hoi An called Ba Le well. This is why the broth in Cao Lau brings to Cao Lau a completely different taste compared with other noodles.

Photo by Charles Haynes

A bowl of Cao Lau in Thanh restaurant will revolutionize your current standard of noodles. It seriously blows your mind.

8. Ms. Ty chicken rice restaurant

Hoi An is such a small fairyland for all foodies with a great exhibition of toothsome foods. And chicken rice is absolutely on top of the list.

Chicken rice is a basic selection of rice and chicken meat. It sounds simple to make, right? However, it’s truly a difficult task to cook an unbelievable dish of chicken rice as Ms. Ty did.

The tiny, casual shop of Ms. Ty is a real star of experiencing the hand-to-mouth chicken rice in Hoi An.

9. Ms. Tuat Khọt Cake

Along with this list of local restaurant, Ms. Tuat Khot cake is easily the best loved carts of people living in Hoi An.

Khot cake is a mini-sized rice cake which is fired with bird eggs and served with vegetables and sweet fish sauce. The crispy cake coming with additional item of fried bird egg creates a remarkable taste of Khot cake.

More and more tourists make their way to Ms. Tuat carts to try this tempting food as well as interact with the local people.

10. Mr. Hat Quang noodle restaurant

Originated from Quang Nam province, Quang noodle is a must-try food to every travelers. There are several versions of Quang Noodle around Viet Nam; however, Hoi An is where you get the most authentic dish. This food is a basic combination of rice flour noodles and pork based broth. Sometimes, people use crab and shrimp to make the broth much more flavorsome. Quang noodle appears at its best with fresh vegetables and rice crackers on top.
Coming to Mr. Hat shop, you will get a bowl of Quang noodle which is brightly in color and fresh in flavor.

Another location for Quang noodle is Mr. Hai restaurant at 6A Truong Minh Luong street, Hoi An. This restaurant also offers the same quality food as Mr. Hat does.

Source: justgola.com