Hoi An is arguably the food capital of Vietnam. We get outside its fabled old city to take a look at some of its more adventurous dining options.
While most visitors to Hoi An, a wonderfully preserved 16th-century trading port on the banks of Vietnam’s Thu Bon river, flock to the tourist-packed restaurants in the lantern-lit old city, more adventurous diners might be interested in seeking out these exciting options on the streets surrounding it. Pictured: Silk lanterns in Hoi An
White Rose Restaurant is a Hoi An institution. Its the only place in town that makes banh bao, or white rose dumplings, which it dispatches every morning to countless restaurants around town. Rice flour dough, sourced from the Mekong Delta in the south, is smoothed by hand, filled with a large dollop of shrimp paste, and then wrapped to resemble the flower that gives the dumplings their name. The results are steamed, sprinkled with shallots, and served with a dipping sauce that varies between resellers.
According to White Rose’s Tran Tuan Ngai, who makes the dumplings according to centuries-old family recipe, the restaurant churns out the remarkable 6000 banh bao every day. 533 Hai Ba Trung Street
Nguyen Thi Loc, or Madam Khan, is widely considered Hoi An’s banh mi queen. Even after 30 years at her present address, and more than 50 selling street food, this octogenarian master of the Vietnamese sandwich oversees every item going out over the counter to her customers.
Madam Khanh has no need for a menu: she only makes a single sandwich. Her banh mi comes stuffed with barbecued pork, pate, sausage, fried egg, pickles, papaya, carrots, parsley, chilli sauce, soy sauce and her own secret sauce – and is widely considered the best in the country. 115 Tran Cao Van Street
Tiem Banh Mi Phuong has something of the fast-food production line about it, but is still considered one of the city’s best places to get a sandwich. Anthony Bourdain once featured the place on No Reservations and described its most elaborate offering as “a symphony in a sandwich”. 2B Phan Chau Trinh Street
A group of plastic chairs in the middle of the footpath is the only hint that you’ve found one of the city’s best mi quang vendors. It’s best to get in early: when the large metal pots of turmeric-tinted noodles and broth run out, when there’s no more pork or shrimp and only hundreds of optional condiments left, the place disappears into the ether for the night. Somewhere on Nguyen Hue Street
One of the oldest eateries in town, Com Ga Ba Buoi only serves Hoi An chicken rice – shredded boiled chicken mixed with chopped herbs and onions and served with rice cooked in the chicken broth – and was opened by Mrs Buoi in the 1950s. Her son, Mr Binh, now runs the show with his family and still packs in devoted locals every evening. 22 Phan Chu Trinh Street
At Ty Cao Lau, Mr Ty has been making cao lau noodles and only cao lau noodles for 20 years. His char siu, or Cantonese-style barbecue pork, is widely considered the best in Hoi An. It is accompanied by locally-grown greens, deep-fried squares of cao lau dough, bean sprouts, chilli jam, pork broth and – of course – the cao lau noodles themselves, which boast a dirty brown colour and smoky flavour. If cao lau’s proponents are right, and this is the dish that best represents Hoi An and captures what is great about its food, then Mr Ty is Hoi An all over. Corner of a lane off Phan Chu Trinh St, one block west of Le Loi
