Hoi An and the THE BEST BANH MI EVER

Continuing the Vietnam trip, Hoi An is only 40 or so minutes away from Danang. During our stay in Danang, we decided to catch the bus to Hoi An and I have to say, I fell in love with Hoi An. Hoi An is a city on Vietnam’s central coast known for its well-preserved Ancient Town, cut through with canals. We went here twice, both times only for half a day and I kind of wish we stayed here longer, the city is very laid back, picturesque (wish I took more shots with my camera) and had lots of little stores where i could and would have spent a fortune if we did stay longer. Not to mention, it has the BEST BANH MI in the world!!!!

We spent most of the time in Ancient Town, just wondering and eating. We took a tuk tuk the first time we were there, and it was a great way to see the town, though I wanted to stop, take photos or go into the store at that instant!

There were a lot of street foods, I manage to try some but not a lot as it’s always hard to eat street food with Dragon – cleanliness is a factor for her, however, we did try one of the desserts in the street, a very cold refreshing drink which both Dragon.

I really wanted to buy durian – you all know Dragon and my love for the fruit, but ‘The Mother’ would not have it at all!

Now, the best banh mi that I have ever tasted – Phuong, and I am talking not about just the fresh fillings inside but also undoubtedly the BEST BREAD I have tasted. They are not stingy about the filling either, and it is one of the cheapest place that we ate in Vietnam.

There are 12 different types of Banh Mi and between you and me, I really wished I tried ALL 12! However, we only tried 3 between the both of us as we ordered the same ones the second time we went there! No 5 – banh mi thit nuong – barbecue and No 9 – banh mi thit geo vii ham va pate, bread with pork, ham and pate were my two favourite!

The fresh baguette – I wanted to shove a dozen of them in my bag!

No 5 – pork, ham, and pate, my goodness, this was DIVINE! I could have eaten two bread rolls on my own (ok i ate 1.5, shared the other half with ‘The Mother’)

No 9 – barbecue which had pork crackling!!!! was probably my favourite, real pork meat, with crackles, who can say no to that.

The first night we went to Hoi An, ‘The Mother’ wanted pho, so we found the closest restaurant near the bus terminal that sold pho, Pho Hua.

‘The Mother’ couldn’t go past the beef pho – soup was clear, with lots of beef pieces floating on top. I have to say, this was good, better than any pho i have had in Hong Kong, but I still prefer Pho 75 that we went too in Danang.

Dragon and I on the other hand, the chicken rice (not glutinous rice) was ok, the chicken pieces were nicely marinated and the rice was tasty.

I couldn’t resist in ordering their vegetable spring roll, eaten with lettuce it was ‘semi’ healthy right?

The second time we were in Hoi An, we went to Morning Glory owned by local chef and restaurateur Trinh Diem Vy, who also owns other restaurants in Vietnam. The restaurant is located in a two-story old colonial building and specialises in local favourites. Reservations is highly recommended, but we were there for an early diner (5.45pm) and had to return the table by 7 which suited us fine.

We started with some duck spring rolls, not fried, have to say, this was pretty tasty, albeit small serving but the duck was tender, and the ingredients were all fresh!

‘The Mother’ absolutely loved the ‘My Quang’ Noodles with seafood – which is a well-known dish from the Quang Nam province with crab, shrimp, fresh herbs and yellow rice-flour noodles. He devoured this in no time.

I opt for the roast pork and fresh rice noodles – cold noodles, hot pork served with papaya pickle, fresh herbs, cucumber and sweet and sour peanut sauce. I had to ask for the sauce on the side, but the noodles were still tasty and perfect for a hot summer day.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for dessert, as we had to catch the bus back to Danang. The dessert all sounded wonderful and I truly wished that we had more time in Hoi An! Reservation is highly recommended at Morning Glory, we were there at 5.45am, that’s why we got a table, but even then, there was already a queue of people waiting to get into the restaurant.

Hoi An is just absolutely gorgeous, I think I could definitely have spent at least a week just exploring the city and eating my way through all the alleys, and not to mention try ALL the banh mi! There will be a next time, hopefully not too far in the distant future!