Hoi An food guide: 7 must-eat dishes in Hoi An
Hanoi, the capital, is without a doubt the country’s flagship for street food. However, generally speaking, I believe Hoi An is the foodie capital of Vietnam, with a fantastic and varied food scene, a lot of local delicacies and amazing restaurants scattered around the city. In order to help you navigate the complex food scene, here are a few of my favourite dishes in Hoi An.
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Top 7 dishes to try in Hoi An, Vietnam
1. Banh Mi
Banh Mi literaly means bread. The bread was introduced by the French and the Vietnamese version it has a similar consistancy as the baguette, with crunchy crust and fluffy and airy interior, although it is shorter than the French version.
Banh Mi is also used to refer to sandwiches, which use this French-style bread and filled with any number of ingredients. The most typical ingredients for Banh Mi in Vietnam are liver paté, cold cuts, pickled vegetables and fresh herbs and are usually accompanied by a sauce.
Banh Mi is one of the most known dishes in Hoi An (and in the country), so it is hard to miss. Make sure you eat the best one in one of these restaurants!
2. Cao Lau
Cao Lau is probably the most local of these dishes. It consists of locally sourced rice noodles with char siu pork, asorted fresh herbs and sprouts, rice crackers and deep-fried pork skins.
What makes it local is the noodles and the water they use to make them. They are made with alkaline water from the ancient Ba Le well, located in the city, and mixed with wood ashes from trees that grow in the Cham islands, giving the noodles their characteristic yellow hue and chewy texture.
3. Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese pancakes)
Báhn Xèo are Vietnamese rice pancakes that are quite widespread around Vietnam, but each region has its own way to cook them. In Central Vietnam, the size is smaller than in the south (but not as small as Banh Khot, see below). The pancakes tend to be filled with a wide variety of ingredients, typically herbs, vegetables and sprouts and even with something more meaty like shrimps (I love them!), mushrooms or tofu. The whole pancake is then wrapped in rice paper or in a lettuce leaf and eaten with your hands.
4. White Roses
White Roses (Bánh Bao Bánh Vac) are a type of dumplings invented by a local restaurants consisting of a translucent rice dough filled with minced shrimp, mushrooms, bean sprouts and spring onions, and topped with crunchy fried shallots, served with a dipping sauce. The name of the dish comes from the shape that the dumplings take after wraping them. It is said that the water to make this dumplings, like that for the Cao Lau, comes from the Ba Le well.
5. Mi Quang
Mi Quang is another popular noodle dish native of the same province where Hoi An is located. This dish is typically eaten in the summer, since it has little broth and is full of fresh greens. The toppings for Mi Quan vary from place to place, but common toppings include shrimps, pork and eggs. The broth is flavourful and turmeric-infused and it is often garnished with peanuts and roasted sesame rice crackers, giving it some extra textures.
Photo credit: SauceSupreme with CC BY 2.0
6. Banh Khot (small Vietnamese pancakes)
Bánh Khot have a similar recipe as Bánh Xèo, consisting of rice flour, turmeric and coconut milk, but they have a completely different shape and texture. In this case, they are much smaller and cooked in a griddle. Like their bigger sibling, they are typically topped with shrimps and chives, and served with fresh leafs and herbs.
7. Com Ga Hoi An
Com Ga is basically the Vietnamese go-to comfort food, but every region (and every family) prepares it differently. Com Ga literally means rice with chicken, and these are the basic ingredients. Whatever else you add to it, is an extra. And I thought that the Com Ga dishes they serve in Hoi An tend to be more elaborate and full of flavour, textures and color.
The dish consists of shredded chicken with herbs (especially Vietnamese coriander), onions and a lime juice dressing, and it is served on top of turmeric rice cooked in the chicken stock.
Photo credit: Travelling Planner with CC BY-SA 2.0
How to get to Hoi An
By plane
Hoi An is one of the main cities, together with Hue, that people visit in Central Vietnam. However, it is quite far away from the two main international airports: Hanoi (798 km) and Ho Chi Minh City (940 km) through SLOW roads.
There are several ways you can get there though. The fastest is by plane to Da Nang airport. This is the option we chose and it saved us a lot of time, since we were going directly from Hanoi. To find the best deals, get your plane tickets in advance on Skyscanner.
By land
Other options are by bus or train. Generally in Vietnam trains are slower and more expensive than buses, and the difference increases with longer journeys. Buses also tend to be more comfortable, so I suggest you choose the bus if you don’t plan to take a plane.
That being said, a bus ride from Hue will be around 6h, from Hanoi 17h and from Ho Chi Minh you will be looking at a 20h bus drive. The flights from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh are 1h 20′ more or less. The prices of plane tickets are not that expensive compared to western standards and, in most cases, not much more expensive than a bus or train ticket, so unless you have all the time in the world and can stop at different villages on the way, I suggest you take a fast and cheap plain ticket (choose Vietnam Airlines instead of Vietjet).
Where to stay in Hoi An
This is a more complex question, so I wrote a list of my favourite places to stay in Hoi An by budget and by neighborhood, so you can accurately choose what hotel would suit best your wallet and your traveling style:
→ Where to stay in Hoi An: best accommodation in Hoi An by neighborhood
Closing statement
In Hoi An, you go for the sights, you stay for the food. I think the dishes in Hoi An were some of the best I had during my trip. No wonder it is known for its amazing gastronomy. Make sure you don’t miss out on the extraordinary tastes by visiting some of my favourite restaurants in the city.
If you feel adventurous, try learning some Vietnamese recipes at the amazing Red Bridge Cooking School in Hoi An! And if you prefer to have someone teach you about local food and visit the best spots in town, check out these tours:
Make sure you are ready for your Hoi An trip by reading this guide. Also, get the best experience by choosing the perfect accommodation!
If you’re traveling in Vietnam, you’ll find my perfect Vietnam itinerary helpful, as well as these posts:
Perfect 3 days Ninh Binh itinerary
Halong Bay cruise with Cristina Diamond
Trekking in Sapa with Sapa Sisters
15 best things to do in Hanoi, Vietnam
What to do in Ho Chi Minh City: a quick guide to Saigon
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Pho Bo recipe (Vietnamese Cooking Series) | Feast of Travel · 30/09/2020 at 16:51
[…] and Banana Blossom Salad recipe (Vietnamese Cooking Series) → Thai food: Pad Thai → Hoi An food guide: 7 must-eat dishes in Hoi An → 10 Must-Try Hoi An Restaurants → Vietnamese Cooking Class in Hoi An with Red Bridge […]