Hội An Street Food Tour (Part 2)

Hội An Street Food Tour (Part 2)

There’s not a lot to do in Hội An.

Well, at least not after having visited Hội An several times in the past and already having enjoyed the local tour to Cham ruins and explored a trip to a nearby tragic-war-event-turned-tourist-attraction.  But, what there is always plenty of to do in Hội An is relaxation – strolling – shopping – cycling – and eating, all followed by more eating.  (I guess that actually is quite a bit to do.)

Last week I shared with Eating Saigon! readers Hai and my great culinary experience on The Original Taste of Hội An Food Tour.  It involved over five fun hours of sampling a vast array of Hội An, and more generally, Vietnamese foods with Neville, a great and knowledgeable guide!

And, I promised to let you know later what we did during our two additional days in Hội An after that tour. Well, ….

It might be of no surprise that what happened after the tour involved continued eating –and lots of it!

The food of central Vietnam is unique – quite unlike any food in Hanoi or Saigon.  The noodles here are different, sometimes containing ash! The spices are hotter! And the textures of central Vietnam foods often ring of gummy-bears.  So, where to begin?

Quán Bà Già

Our first meal in Hội An, and again later, our last meal, were enjoyed at a small table set beside a quiet back-water slough of the Thu Bồn River – just a bit outside of Hội An’s Ancient Town center.

Both of our meals at Quán Bà Già consisted of a variety of special foods unique to this part of Vietnam.  I consider Quán Bà Già to be the quintessential Hội An eatery – operated by the quintessential Hội An elderly Vietnamese lady. NOT trendy. NOT beautiful. Just real and special Hội An food!

We started with a one-of-a-kind Vietnamese light cracker, bánh đập.  It’s all texture and no flavor!

Bánh đập is simply a crunchy – – no make that chewy – – no make that both a crunchy and chewy edible tool used to dip and taste the strong, pungent, and spicy sauces that are served together with the cracker tool. The bánh đập consists of two light, crispy grilled sheets of frisbee-sized rice paper discs, with a gummy-chewy, steamed rice paper disc sandwiched in between them.

It is critical that immediately upon being served bánh đập you place your open palm on the large 3-layered cracker, press firmly, and crunch it into bite-size dipping pieces.  (If you wait too long, the gummy interior takes over and makes the bánh đập spongy and un-crackable.) Then sit back, sip on your beer or ice tea, and dip away into the yummy fish sauce/red chili table sauces – some salty, some very salty. All very yummy.

Notwithstanding, the unique bánh đập starter to our meal, the special treat and highlight of both our meals at Quán Bà Già was the hến xúc bánh tráng (a bowl full of tiny local river clams, sauteed with shallots, garlic, chili, mint and ginger (plus some secret ingredients). Served with a tasty fish sauce, and dipped with a crunchy bánh đa (yet another crispy grilled frisbee-sized rice cracker – single layered this time).

After finishing our crunchy cracker and river treats, it was time to enjoy Hội An’s most famous dish, cau lầu (those special thick, chewy, ash-laced, yummy noodles).  The bowl of cau lầu noodles was served up with thin slices of lean pork meat, a variety of greens and herbs, extra thick and crunchy, deep-fried cau lầu rice paste squares, and a mild soy sauce broth.

A YUM YUM YUM Hội An eating adventure, Quán Bà Già is not for the chic.  But for those wanting to explore one of the rapidly disappearing real Hội An, this is a place to explore and enjoy.  And, the price is right.  Only 68,000nd ($3.25 USD) for a generous two-person meal.

Son Hoian Restaurant

Speaking of chic, Hai and I always try to squeeze in one chic meal as real tourists.  We were advised that Son Hoian would be the best place in Hội An to have that ultimate upscale meal.

OK, we jumped on our motorbike and headed out of Hội An’s Ancient Town and headed towards the South China Sea (or is that Southeast Asia Sea??).  About halfway to the sea, set besides a lovely Thu Bồn River setting, we found Son Hoian, a tastefully decor’d, gently music’d, sea-breez’d restaurant. Very lovely indeed.

Then came the food :-(.  Damn, not again.

Why is it so many upscale, moderate-to-high-priced tourist restaurants just don’t deliver on Eating Saigon!’s Yum Meter?? (Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself.)

Stuffed duck leg in orange sauce! Sounded amazing. Tasted, well, not so good.  The duck meat was overcooked and dry.  The orange sauce loud (i.e., not subtle) and just, not appealing.

The grilled prawns had been soaked in coconut milk and were okay.  But, these skewered crustaceans would not actually call me back here.

The highlight of the meal for sure was dessert. The xôi (sticky rice) with a passion fruit topping was unique in both flavor and presentation.  A bit sour, a bit sweet, and a bit crunchy (the passion fruit seeds), the sauce complimented the sticky, chewy rice very nicely.

We has a fun ride back to Hội An on the small country road, a bit disappointed with our meal :-(.  Overall, Son Hoian delivered a Ho Hum meal at a moderate price of 380,000 vnd ($18 USD for two).

Quán Ăn Hai

The next day we decided to be true to ourselves and eat once again at a real Hội An food eatery.  Hai and I each enjoyed a bowl of mì quảng and finished up sharing yet another bowl of cau lầu.  Both noodle dishes truly delicious Hội An treats.

Mì quảng is, again, a thick rice noodle, but this time without the ash, and instead, including tumeric to give the rice noodle a distinctive yellow hue. The noodle dish mixed with pork, shrimp, and greens also includes its own crunchy bánh  đa and peanut accent toppings.

Rating a YUM YUM here at Eating Saigon!, Quán Ăn Hai is a small, simple place to enjoy two of Hội An’s specialty dishes.  At 20,000/dish, our total bill was 60,000 vnd ($3 USD total for the two of us.)

Tuyết

The surprise eating adventure of our trip had to be the food we enjoyed at the Tuyết Restaurant on Biển An Bàng beach.

The beach was beautiful, but the skies a bit cloudy (making jumping into surf a tad less inviting). We laid on the wooden beach lounge chairs under the thatched umbrella roofs enjoying the peaceful Southeast Asia Sea (or is that South China Sea??) view and contemplating the great questions of our day – How to solve Europe’s economic crises? How to resolve the China/Vietnam dispute over the Spratly islands? And, oh yes, What to eat now?

The grilled, caramelized, candied squid arrived shortly thereafter. So so good!

Then arrived the eggplant, wrapped in a banana leaf, salted, chili’d and smoked over an open fire.  Need I say more?  Finally, came the whole sea fish, cá cu, given the same amazingly delicious smoked banana leaf treatment.

Just another day at the beach 🙂   A very special Hội An day at the beach!

Our meal and drinks totaled 280,000 vnd ($13.50 USD).  Money well spent 🙂

And, yet another YUM YUM YUM Hội An eating adventure.

In conclusion, after enjoying The Original Taste of Hội An Food Tour on Day 1 of our Hội An visit, followed by two more wonderful days exploring Hội An eateries on our own, Hai and I have decided Life is Good in Hội An.

[ANOTHER, MORE RECENT HOI AN ADVENTURE HERE]

Quán Bà Già
Cẩm Nam Island, Hoi An
(head directly from Ancient Town over the Cẩm Nam Bridge, continue forward, the road curves left and look on your rite side after 50-100 meters.)

Son Hoian Restaurant
177 Cua Dai
Cam Chau, Hội An
0989501400
http://www.sonhoian.com/

Quán Ăn Hai
06A Truong Minh Luong
Hội An
05103914406

 

 

Tuyết
Lô 3 – Biển An Bàng
Hội An
0905 599259

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