Hoi An has good quantity and quality food. Every turn, nook and canny in the city yields a new restaurants or cafés.
I joined Jason and Kat for Christmas lunch shortly after we arrived in Hoi An from Hue. We have chosen a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet in Tan Phu near the market. I ordered cao lau and fried wanton, which I am immensely satisfied. White rose, fried wanton and cao lau are Hoi An specialties. White rose is actually steam dumpling with shrimp. Fried wonton, unlike our local version, is wrapped with mixture of mince shrimp and crab meat. The real treat, in my opinion, is cao lau, which is served in almost every Hoi An restaurants. It's a thick and flat rice noodle, much like our hand-made noodles, with slices of pork, croutons, sprouts, greens and crispy rice paper in a light soup, which are enhanced with mint, anise, small chilis. It is both filing and flavourful.
For dinner, I checked out this nondescript restaurant along Phan Dinh Phung. The place is operated by an Australian lady. According to the sign board, she also served vegemite to homesick Aussie. A young Dutch joined me at the table because he doesn't want to dine alone. Neither do I.
The young Dutch is Ramco. He was an IT analyst in Amsterdam and recently quitted his job to travel the world. He has done China and was doing Southeast Asia before heading to Australia/New Zealand. We chatted through dinner, and thereafter headed to “Treat” in Tran Phu St. Treat is a well run bar with 2 pool tables. It seems to be very popular and packed with travelers.
Besides traditional Vietnamese fares, Hoi An also offers a stunning variety of foreign cuisines to satisfy the whim of every visitors. For lunch on the second day, I ordered burger in Hoi An Patisserie. The burger was done to perfection, with thick juicy beef patty, crisp fresh veggie, soft cheese sandwiched in between a nicely toasted sesame bud. Yummy.. This recommended café by Let's Go guide has a wide selection of pastry and gourmet sandwiches. I took my food and coffee on the terrace of the café overlooking Thu Bon River. It is a nice place to spend a lazy afternoon and draft a few posts.
By evening on the 2nd day in Hoi An, I finished my travel literature which I brought for the trip: Sarah Macdonald's “Holy Cow”. The book accounted her travel and adventure in India, and I had an urged to try Indian food. I was not disappointed for Hoi An boosted a popular India place “Omar's Restaurant” (14 Phan Dinh Phung). The curry was excellent. As the place was packed I was make to share the table with a young French student in her early 20s. Currently on her short Christmas break, she was interning in the Hanoi UN Office. She love India and have since visited 4 times. Apparently, she loves Indian food.
I have my lunch on the last day in Hoi An in Café Ly (22 Nguyen Hue), another recommended café by Let's Go guide. They served excellent local food and I tried their signature grilled pork in rice paper wrap. It was delicious.
By all account, it was not surprise why many travellers stayed longer in Hoi An. It has a nice World Heritage town, unhurried pace of life, and excellent food.
I joined Jason and Kat for Christmas lunch shortly after we arrived in Hoi An from Hue. We have chosen a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet in Tan Phu near the market. I ordered cao lau and fried wanton, which I am immensely satisfied. White rose, fried wanton and cao lau are Hoi An specialties. White rose is actually steam dumpling with shrimp. Fried wonton, unlike our local version, is wrapped with mixture of mince shrimp and crab meat. The real treat, in my opinion, is cao lau, which is served in almost every Hoi An restaurants. It's a thick and flat rice noodle, much like our hand-made noodles, with slices of pork, croutons, sprouts, greens and crispy rice paper in a light soup, which are enhanced with mint, anise, small chilis. It is both filing and flavourful.
For dinner, I checked out this nondescript restaurant along Phan Dinh Phung. The place is operated by an Australian lady. According to the sign board, she also served vegemite to homesick Aussie. A young Dutch joined me at the table because he doesn't want to dine alone. Neither do I.
The young Dutch is Ramco. He was an IT analyst in Amsterdam and recently quitted his job to travel the world. He has done China and was doing Southeast Asia before heading to Australia/New Zealand. We chatted through dinner, and thereafter headed to “Treat” in Tran Phu St. Treat is a well run bar with 2 pool tables. It seems to be very popular and packed with travelers.
Besides traditional Vietnamese fares, Hoi An also offers a stunning variety of foreign cuisines to satisfy the whim of every visitors. For lunch on the second day, I ordered burger in Hoi An Patisserie. The burger was done to perfection, with thick juicy beef patty, crisp fresh veggie, soft cheese sandwiched in between a nicely toasted sesame bud. Yummy.. This recommended café by Let's Go guide has a wide selection of pastry and gourmet sandwiches. I took my food and coffee on the terrace of the café overlooking Thu Bon River. It is a nice place to spend a lazy afternoon and draft a few posts.
By evening on the 2nd day in Hoi An, I finished my travel literature which I brought for the trip: Sarah Macdonald's “Holy Cow”. The book accounted her travel and adventure in India, and I had an urged to try Indian food. I was not disappointed for Hoi An boosted a popular India place “Omar's Restaurant” (14 Phan Dinh Phung). The curry was excellent. As the place was packed I was make to share the table with a young French student in her early 20s. Currently on her short Christmas break, she was interning in the Hanoi UN Office. She love India and have since visited 4 times. Apparently, she loves Indian food.
I have my lunch on the last day in Hoi An in Café Ly (22 Nguyen Hue), another recommended café by Let's Go guide. They served excellent local food and I tried their signature grilled pork in rice paper wrap. It was delicious.
By all account, it was not surprise why many travellers stayed longer in Hoi An. It has a nice World Heritage town, unhurried pace of life, and excellent food.
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