Top 10 Foods to Eat in Hoi An

The top 10 foods to eat in Hoian are one of the biggest attractionsto foodies when they visit this lovely city. Hoi An is not only famous for its heritage values recognized by UNESCO but for its food as well. Hoi An is known as a haven for food lovers to enjoy Vietnamese traditional dishes and discover its sophisticated culinary art. A trip to the ancient town is not complete without sitting side by side on little chairs with local people and other tourists and enjoy its street food.

Here is the top 10 foods to eat in Hoian that tourists should not miss:

1. Cơm Gà (Chicken Rice)

Photo by Thy Khue Ly

One of the top 10 foods to eat in Hoian is Chicken Rice. Hoi An is not the only home to chicken rice in Vietnam but local people have developed its recipe and built up a reputation for the dish. Locals carefully select the ingredients, including jasmine rice, a chicken, onions and sauce. The boiled chicken is cut into small pieces and then mashed with crushed onions, Vietnamese coriander and other spices to absorb the flavours. Rice is cooked with spices and boiled with chicken broth.

A bowl of chicken rice comes with shredded chicken, sliced onions, sour papaya, vegetables from nearby Tra Que village and sauce.
Recommended restaurants: Cơm Gà Bà Buội (Ba Buoi chicken rice) at No 26, Phan Chau Trinh Street; Cơm Gà Hương (Kiệt Sica) (Huong chicken rice) at No 60, Le Loi Street and Cơm Gà Bà Ty (Ba Ty chicken rice) at No 23, Phan Chau Trinh Street.

Price: VND30,000-35,000 per person for plate

2. Cao Lầu (Wooden Noodle)

Photo by Joe Collver

 One of the top 10 foods to eat in Hoian is Cao Lau. Tourists should not leave Hoi An without eating Cao Lau because it is the foremost traditional dish of the town. Cao Lầu involves chewy noodles, smoky pork, crisp greens and bean sprouts. Diners can substitute pork with chicken, beef or seafood.

The locals believed that this dish appeared in the 17th century when Hoi An became an important trading port. This explains why the Cao Lầu noodle is similar to Japanese udon noodles more so than those in Vietnamese noodles dishes such as pho. Cao Lầu in Hoi An has a unique flavour which is only found here.

Recommended restaurants: Cao Lầu Bà Bé in a market on Tran Phu Street, Cao Lầu Trung Bac (Trung Bac cao lau restaurant) at No 87, Tran Phu Street and Thanh Cao Lầu at No 26, Thai Phien Street

Price: VND20,000-50,000 per person for plate

3. Bánh Bao and Bánh Vạc (White Rose Dumplings)

Photo by Hoi An Food Tour

 You will not have a total experience with Hoi An’s food if you do not taste local specialties Bánh Bao and Bánh Vạc. Rice is the main ingredient for making the two kinds of dumplings and both are always served on the same dish and share the same sauce. Bánh Vạc often comes with ground shrimps, crushed pepper, garlic, onions, lemongrass and esoteric spices. Bánh Bao filling go with pork, mushroom and thinly sliced onions stir-fried with the esoteric spices. Perhaps the spices are the reason why the dumplings are so delicious in Hoi An.

Recommended restaurants: Bông Hồng Trắng (White Rose Restaurant) at No 533, Hai Ba Trung Street and Morning Glory Restaurant at No 106, Nguyen Thai Hoc Street.

Price: VND90,000 per person for plate

4. Bánh Dập Hến Xào (Clams with Smashing Rice Paper)

Photo by Tran Lan

Bánh Dập is a very famous food for tourists in the ancient town but the way you eat it with minced clams is quite new . It usually comes with two pieces of crispy rice paper and wet rice paper combined together. The people smashed the papers on the table before enjoying them with special sauce from chilli and fish caught in Cua Dai beach. Bánh Dập Hến Xào is a combination of minced clams and smashing rice paper. Clams are fished from Hoai river which flows through Cam Nam village. The chef usually boils and then fries the clams with various vegetables and spices, including onions, peppers, chilli, ginger and peanuts.

Recommended restaurants: Quán Bánh Dập Bà Già (Ba Gia Restaurant) on Nguyen Tri Phuong Street

Price: VND8,000 for a Bánh Dập plate and VND20,000 for a Hến Xào plate

5. Chè Bắp (Sweet Corn Soup)

Photo by Hoianfoodtour

There is nothing better than sitting down and enjoying Chè Bắp one of the favourite desserts after a few hours walking around the ancient town. When the natural sweet taste of corn planted in Cam Nam village and coconut milk melt in your mouth the tiredness will go away. e, It It can be eaten hot or cold. What a nice combination. Young corn and coconut milk,.

Recommended places: Quán Bánh Dập Bà Già (Ba Gia Restaurant) on Nguyen Tri Phuong Street and many food stalls in Cam Nam village.

Price: VND5,000

6. Bánh Bèo (Steamed Rice Cake with Shrimps)

Photo by ★ Chicz Chuot ★

Hoi An’s Bánh Bèo is bigger and thicker than those in Hue city. It is a mixture of rice flour and water and has a special sauce that is made from fish sauce, sugar, garlic, chilli and small shrimps. Bánh Bèo usually comes in small bowls and diners have to use a “bamboo knife”, a bamboo shaped sharp blade. You can add more sauce or chilli depending on your taste.
Recommended restaurants: Bánh Bèo Rừng (Rung restaurant) at No 17, Dinh Tien Hoang Street; Bánh Bèo Cô Lan (Ms Lan’s steamed rice cake) at No 62, Phan Dinh Phung Street, and Bánh Bèo Bà Tý (Ms Ty’s steamed rice cake) on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, opposite to Phung Hung ancient house.

Price: VND15,000

7. Mỳ Quảng (Quang Noodles)

Photo by [ 117 Imagery ]

If you are in Hoi An do not forget to try Mỳ Quảng one of the unique dishes in Quang Nam Province. It is made with rice crackers, shrimps, pork, quail eggs and vegetables taken from nearby Tra Que village. Quang noodle soup tastes best when you try it with a variety of herbs such as mint leaves, houttuynia, cabbage, onion and coriander. For vegetarians, it comes with fried tofu, mushroom, taro, carrots, seitan- wheat gluten, peanuts and vegetables.
Recommended restaurants: Mỳ Quảng Bà Minh (Mrs. Minh’s Quang noodles) in Cam Ha Commune, and Ms Ha, a street vendor on Thai Phien Street

Price: VND25,000

8. Hoành Thánh ( Wonton)

Photo by Berni Delorenzo

When Hoi An became a major trading port in Southeast Asia, many Chinese traders settled in the port city and brought their food to the city. At a result local people made changes to the dishes to satisfy local tastes. Hoành Thánh is one of them.

The locals made wontons from wheat flour and other ingredients such as shrimps, pork, eggs and spices. There are three types of Hoành Thánh: fried wonton, wonton soup and wonton noodle soup. People try them  with vegetables, mainly bean sprouts and coriander. When eating you can add soy sauce and chilli.

Recommended restaurants: Quán Vạn Lộc (Van Loc Restaurant) on No 27, Tran Phu Street and Quán Anh Dũng (Anh Dung Restaurant) at No 14, Ba Trieu Street

Price: VND25,000-30,000

9. Bánh Tráng (Rice Paper) – Bánh Cuốn (Steamed Rice Rolls with Minced Pork Filling) – Bánh Uớt (Wet Rice Cake)

Photo by Tu Cong Van

In order to get an insight into popular cakes in Hoi An you should try Bánh Tráng, Bánh Cuốn and Bánh Uớt. Bánh Tráng is a popular Vietnamese food and is traditionally made from rice, water and salt. Bánh Cuốn in the ancient town is quite similar to Bánh Cuốn (steamed rice rolls) in Hanoi’s Thanh Tri District. Here it goes with shrimps and diners eat the cake with onions and Chả Lụa (Vietnamese ham). Bánh Uớt consists of rice noodle sheets served with fish sauce, fried shallot, vegetables and Vietnamese ham. In Hoi An Bánh Uớt with grilled pork is a favourite street food of many visitors.

Recommended places: You can try them at food stalls along the banks of Hoai River. It is cheap and delicious.

Price: VND15,000-VND20,000 per cake

10. Bánh Xèo (Rice Pancakes)

Photo by Thuy Nguyen

It is worth to try the Bánh Xèo, a Vietnamese style crepe which usually comes with shrimps rather than pork or beef. It can also have bean sprouts. People usually try Banh Xeo when it is hot with a bowl of fish sauce, chilli, garlic and vegetables.
Recommended restaurant: Quán Giếng Ba Lễ (Ba Le Well Restaurant) at No 45/51, Tran Hung Dao Street

Price: VND10,000 per cake

Discovering culinary art is a new and amazing experience for every tourist vising Hoi An. A trip in the ancient town is not complete if you have not tried all the top 10 foods to eat in Hoi An.