Hoi An – The Charming Old Town
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Hoi An used to be the important trading port (Photo: Internet)
Hoi An is fortunate to be a cultural crossroads of the Cham culture, the Asian (Japanese, Chinese, Indian), and the Western ones during their trading here in the 16th century.
Thanks to these days, Hoi An still has a classic beauty with yellow-painted-houses; Chinese Assembly Halls; The Japanese Covered Bridge; Several ‘Old Houses’ and museums; etc.
The charming of Hoi An comes from climate, architecture, religion, festivals, traditional food, and so on.
Hoi An earned UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1999 (Photo: Internet)
Enjoys the traditional food is the good way to discover a new land. If you have a chance to visit Hoi An, enjoy the traditional dishes of the local people. Here are 7 famous dishes you must try when visiting this beautiful and peaceful old town.
Cao Lau
Cao Lau is the most local specialties in Hoi An (Photo: Internet)
When you talk about the cuisines of Hoi An, it will be the big mistake if without the presence of Cao Lau. Cao Lau has the thick-long-yellow noodles, barbecue pork slide, beansprouts, croutons, and fresh herbs from Tra Que village in a pork-based gravy. According to the local people, they use the new sticky rice and the water from Ba Le well with the thousand-year-old the noodles of Cao Lau.
Having the unique flavors, Cao Lau is a must-try dish at least one time during your trip. There are so many restaurants and hawkers in town doing their versions of Cao Lau.
Price: Each bowl of Cao Lau cost from 20.000 – 50.000 VND.
Com Ga
Com Ga is Com Ga is a famous Hoi An traditional food (Photo: Internet)
In Vietnam, Com Ga may be sold at anywhere. But Com Ga is one of the Hoi An’s traditional dishes and is different from them all.
Com Ga is made from chicken, rice, sauce, and pickled carrot. They only use the free-range chickens raised in countryside gardens and boiled with some herbs like ginger. They cook the rice with the chicken broth. A plate of Com Ga is served with yellow-rice, chicken meat, peppermint, papaya, salted onions and the famous chili sauce. The spicy dish might burn your tongue a little bit, but it’s an essential part of the cultural experience in Hoi An.
Banh Mi
Banh Mi – A worth trying street food in Hoi An (Photo: Internet)
One of the Vietnam’s famous street food, you can buy Banh Mi in every corner, from the busy city to a peaceful village. But when you visit to Hoi An, you can enjoy special flavored Banh Mi which is well-know all over the word. The soul of Hoi An’s Banh Mi comes from fresh baguette, pate, pork, fresh herbs, pickle carrots and chilli.
In Hoi An, you can enyoy Banh Mi every day, at any time during the day from the early morning until midnight. Enjoys hot Banh Mi on the sidewalk, you can feel the peaceful lifestlyle of the old town.
Banh Vac
The English name is White Rose Dumpling because of the beautiful appearance like a rose (Photo: Internet)
Beautiful like a white rose, Banh Vac is a local appetiser that you must try on your trip. The filling is made from shrimp or pork and the white skin made from rice flour. Like Cao Lau, the local people use the water from Ba Le well to make the white skin for the best taste. They served banh bao vac on the plate with deep fried onion and sweet-sour fish sauce.
Mi Quang
The deliciousness of Mi Quang depends a lot on the broth (Photo: Internet)
Mi Quang is a specialty dish of many Vietnamese Central provinces. Enjoys Mi Quang in Hoi An will be the great culinary experience.
The dish contains a lot of greens and very little broth, delicate and elegant features. There are many kinds of meat which you can enjoy with Mi Quang such as pork, chicken, shrimp, beef, etc. You can find Mi Quang in many street vendors in Old Town, each bowl costs from 20.000 – 40.000 VND.
Hen Xao – Banh Dap
One of interesting traditional food in Hoi An is the Hen Xao – Banh Dap (Photo: Internet)
Hen Xao – Banh Dap is a combination of mussels and crispy rice paper. The tiny mussels from Thu Bon river are boiled and flesh will be separated from the shell and then fried with herbs, spring onions, peppers, chili, ginger and peanuts. Banh Dap has a layer of rice noodle roll placed in the middle between 2 pieces of grilled girdle cakes.
Xi Ma
A bowl of Xi ma – A signature food of Hoi An (Photo: Internet)
Xi Ma is a Chinese dessert from Fujian province. With the passage of time, it has become a typical dish of Hoi An people.
Xi Ma is made from the black sesame, coconut, herbal, rice flour and sugar. Therefore, it is not only considered as a traditional and delicious dish but also a good nutrition.
At the frist sigh, you may be taken aback by the black color. But once you taste it, you wouldn’t be able to forget its taste. This sweet soup is the tastiest when it is served hot.
Charming Hoi An is a lovely place to take in an early morning or late afternoon stroll, when the sun is no longer at its blistering peak. Lush gardens, illuminated lanterns glowing after dark, and gorgeous beaches await at this dreamy, ancient spot in central Vietnam. Do not forget to enjoy traditional local dishes on your romantic trip to Hoi An.
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