Stop 1: Morning Glory Street Food Restaurant. Recommended by: Lonely Planet guidebook.
Our first meal was at Morning Glory Street Food Restaurant, run by the local czar of restaurants. Ms. Vy. The menu conveniently had a "Hoi An Specialties" section, which we dove into. First was fried wantons with crabmeat and mango pineapple salsa. These wantons were more like fresh tortilla chips than most wantons we've had. Next was a crispy pancake with duck. The dish included several parts, which the staff showed us how to assemble. The parts included crispy pancakes, sheets of rice paper, roast duck, a mountain of fresh herbs (mint, cilantro, mustard greens, and morning glory we believe), and a dipping sauce. First we placed the prefolded crispy pancake on the wafer-thin sheet of rice paper (to prevent our hands from getting greasy). Into the folded pancake (like a taco shell) we placed the duck and fresh herbs. We rolled the whole thing up, dipped it in the sweet-salty-spicy sauce, and crunch we dug in.
Next up was a salad - morning glory salad. I don't recall exactly what was in it, but it was absolutely delicious and prompted us to order another salad with beef. The fresh herbs, unique greens, crispy shallots, and yummy dressings make these Vietnamese salads a real treat and something we've not found in the US.
We were so enthralled with our food at Morning Glory restaurant that we neglected to take any pictures.
Stop 2: Hi Restaurant. Recommended by: Tripadvisor
TripAdvisor steered us to Hi Restaurant, a food-stall that through a combination of good cheap food and a grassroots marketing effort is the #1 rated restaurant in Hoi An on Tripadvisor (based on only 43 reviews though). The restaurant itself sits within a "strip mall" of food stalls. The menu was extensive, and as we did before we headed straight to the Hoi An specialties page. White rose dumplings and cao lau noodles (made only in Hoi An using water from a particular well in town and ash from a tree grown in the Cham Islands 15km offshore from Hoi An) were the picks of the day. And we liked the fried wantons so much last night we ordered them again, this time with duck.
C enjoying his yummy lunch at Hi Restaurant.
White rose dumplings, left, and cao lau noodles, top right.
Crispy fried wantons with duck. Serving three of these to a group of two people is asking for a fight.
Stop 3: Bale Well restaurant. Recommended by: Lonely Planet guidebook
The sign for Bale Well restaurant
For dinner on day two, we decided to be a bit adventurous and go to a local restaurant called Bale Well. (The Bale Well is the name of the water source for the famous cao lau noodles, and this restaurant is located near the well but doesn't serve the noodles.) Reviews of this restaurant suggested that we show up with an open mind, an enthusiastic attitude, and a good appetite and the staff would feed us well and make it a memorable experience. The advice was spot on.
Locals enjoying the food at Bale Well. Tables are set along either side of an alley, and also inside.
The restaurant itself is located mostly outside with tables on either side of a small alley. The kitchen is outside as it the case at many restaurants in Vietnam.
The kitchen
Plenty of food.
Bale Well restaurant has no menu, and serves one signature dish with two variants. Soon after sitting down our table was filled with food -- BBQ pork, crispy spring rolls, a mountain of herbs and veggies, and kimchi. We also ordered some beer. The server showed us how to assemble our meal -- rice paper, then pork, spring roll ("crispy"), veggies, kimchi, and chili sauce. Delicious. The second variation of the dish used crispy pancakes and pressed pork on a stick (instead of crispy spring rolls and flat BBQ pork on a stick.) As tourists we were placed on the all-you-can-eat plan (locals get served on a pay-as-you-go plan), and the food kept on coming as we ate it.
First load up your pancake with meat and veggies...
...dip it in the sauce...
...and eat it!
Interacting with the staff was as much a highlight as the food. Several staff members came over to us at different points to show us how to make the food, ask us where we're from and how we found the place. One staffer even poured beer into C's mouth for him! The place was brimming with locals enjoying the food as well, which really added to the experience.
A full service place- they'll even pour beer in your mouth if your hands are full!
On day three we took a half day cooking class at Morning Glory restaurant. In the class we made some new dishes as well as the crispy pancake dish that we had eaten previously at the restaurant.
Shrimp dumpling and cabbage soup
Fresh spring roll with shrimp, pork, crispy thing, fresh herbs and vermicelli
Crispy pancake again! Look at all those fresh herbs
Mango salad with banana flower and star fruit
Mango salad with grilled marinated chicken on top.
Stop 5: A more upscale restaurant with good wine and so-so food. Recommended by: A food professional we met in the cooking class, assisted by TripAdvisor.
Forgettable food but unforgettable company -- we went to dinner with the folks sitting next to us in the cooking class. A topic for another post.
Stop 6: Banh Mi street stall. Recommended by: Anthony Bordain.
We searched out the street where Anthony Bordain got a superb Banh Mi sandwich on the Food Network. The sandwich was simply divine, and even with Anthony's international publicity still only cost 1 USD.
C enjoying his Banh Mi sandwich.
Stop 7: Cargo Club Cafe. Recommended by: The owner (Ms. Vy, our cooking class instructor).
For dessert after our Banh Mi sandwiches we headed to Cargo Club, an upscale cafe aimed at western tourists. This place gets everything right, with an appealing dining room, top notch staff, cheap prices, and one of the best bathrooms in town. Oh, and great coffee and desserts. One scoop of homemade cinnamon ice crean and a Vietnamese Iced Coffee recharged us for the afternoon. We forgot to take pictures.
Stop 8: Phone Cafe. Recommended by: Lonely Planet guidebook.
This restaurant is literally in someone's home. Many shops in Hoi An are built with the shop in front on the building and the owners residence either behind or above the shop in the same building. At Phone Cafe, however, we had much more visibility into the owner's home. When we arrived, the owner's family was sitting at one of the tables in the back. I think a young child was eating. After we ordered, the grandmother got up from the table to go back into the kitchen to cook our food. While waiting for our food, we asked to use the toilet. To access the toilet, we walked back in to the home, past two bedrooms, and through the kitchen to what was clearly the family's bathroom. (Toothbrushes and shampoo bottles were present.)
Cao Lau noodles and pork in a clay pot at Phone Cafe.
The food was delicious and inexpensive. The Cao Lau noodles we ate at Phone Cafe were our favorite of the trip. While we were eating, a family member arrived on a motorbike with some vegetables and herbs. After she entered the home/restaurant, the grandmother took a chair and sat down out front. We presumed she would attempt to drum up business from passing tourists. A few minutes later the family member who had arrived on the motorbike (who was our age) came up to us and asked us if we could please briefly move out of the way so she could bring her motorbike inside. In Vietnam and Cambodia, motorbikes (and even cars) are commonly stored inside homes and businesses. Our table was right in front of the door. Once we moved, a 2x6 board was placed as a ramp up the front steps, and the father of the family walked/drove the motorbike up the ramp, through the tables and back into the house. We then sat down again and finished our meal. This meal came with entertainment!
Stop 9: Ms. Tranh's street restaurant for Cao Lau noodles. Recommended by: Article in Afar magazine about Cao Lau noodles.
For lunch we sought out a restaurant that specializes in Cao Lau noodles. Ms. Tranh serves only one dish and there is no menu. When we arrived, the chef (a man, so perhaps Mr. Tranh?) put some noodles in the pot and before long we were munching on a delicious dish. The crispy wantons in this dish were the best of the three places we got Cao Lau in Hoi An.
Cao Lau noodles at Ms. Tranh's restaurant in Hoi An
Ms. Tranh's kitchen area. Ingredients are all pre-prepped and mis-en-place, and each serving of fresh noodles is boiled to order.
Stop 10: Cargo Club Cafe
We again stopped at Cargo Club for dessert to recharge. Ms. Vy must have imported a pasty chef from somewhere good, because the desserts are excellent. We had the chocolate truffle cake and were so busy eating it that we forgot to take a picture.
Stop 11: Mermaid Restaurant
Mermaid Restaurant is Ms. Vy's original restaurant in Hoi An. It also claims to be the oldest restaurant in Hoi An, opened in 1992 just as Vietnam was opened to international tourism. The dining room itself is basic and was clearly designed before Ms. Vy became familiar with the international style of restaurant decor. The food was excellent and cheaper than Ms. Vy's more recent restaurants. We had some more of our favorite Hoi An specialties -- crispy wanton and Cao Lau.
Summary.
The biggest surprise of our trip so far is definitely the cuisine in Hoi An. It was great we had a fairly long stay (5 days, we're told this is longer than most people stay in Hoi An) to try so many different restaurants and dishes.
