mi quang | Fridge Magnet Tales

If there is one and only one reason to go to Vietnam – it would be the FOOD! With a variety of dishes as you move from the north to the south, Vietnam is definitely a foodie’s paradise. You would have got an idea of how much we loved the food in Hanoi, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City in our other blogs with our detailed city itineraries. If you only want to know what the best foods of Vietnam are and where you can find them, you are at the right place! Without further ado, let’s begin!

Pho: No Vietnamese food journey is complete without Pho! Rice noodles served with beef (sometimes chicken), herbs and delicious broth, it can be had as breakfast, lunch or (and) dinner. We had many versions of Pho – the ones we liked most were differentiated by the depth of flavour in the broth. The best bowl of Pho we had was in Hanoi at Pho Gia Truyen at 49, Bat Dan. This place is forever crowded, so make sure you reach there early in the morning (before 8am). We had to try twice before we got a seat!

We also had some really good Pho at Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su.

Attempt 1: There was a line so long that it would take atleast an hour to get to the end of it. This was at 9am!

We also had some really good Pho at Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su.

Bun Bo Nam Bo: Bun Bo Nam Bo is beef noodle salad. At first glance, it looks like a dry salad, but hidden below the delicious surface is an even yummier broth in the depths of the bowl. We had the one at 67 Hang Dieu – it was so delicious that we ordered an extra bowl and cleaned it up. The beef was tender and melt-in-the-mouth, the broth was delicious, and the herbs and noodles made it a nice round meal. We also tried one each of all the items on the menu (about 6 other items) – most of which were really good too. Highly recommend!

Bun Bo Nam Bo in Hanoi along with a Banh Bao (Dumpling cake)

In HCMC, we had it at Bun Bo Nam Bo Ba Ba – it was really good, but once you have been to Hanoi, your standards are set really high! We also had a version of it at Vo Roof Garden in HCMC – we absolutely loved the ambiance, service and view from this restaurant – it is right next to the crazy building on Nguyen Hue Boulevard.

Beef Noodle Salad at Vo Roof Garden, HCMC

Banh Mi: Another iconic Vietnamese item, the Banh Mi is a baguette stuffed with meat, eggs, veggies or anything you like. While we had some amazing Banh Mis, we also had some really bad Banh Mi during our trip (one of which left me sweating and nauseous for half a day). Here are some options where you won’t go wrong with your Banh Mi:

Banh Mi 25, Han Ca, Hanoi: This is a café like setting serving up some tasty Banh Mi – try out the beef and cheese one.

Banh Mi Phuong, Hoi An: The one you will find in every travel blog and suggestion – it was good but not worth the hype. Time your visit before the day trip crowds reach Hoi An so that you don’t have to stand in a long line.

The famous Banh Mi Phuong at Hoi An. So many people have left behind their pics here!

Madam Khanh – The Banh Mi Queen, Hoi An: Yes, you read that right! Of the two famous Banh Mi places in Hoi An, we liked this one better. This one ranks slightly above the one we had in Hanoi.

Banh Mi Hong Hoa, 54 Nguyễn Văn Tráng, HCMC: The best out of the three Banh Mi places we tried in HCMC. This is slightly away from the city centre, so you can always order on Grab.

Xoi Xeo: Sticky rice with turmeric and a variety of toppings – we loved the ones with pork floss, chicken and fried shallots! This is a good option when you are on-the-go as it doesn’t have any broth or sauce (like most other dishes). We had some really good variety at Xoi Yen (35b Nguyen Huu Huan) in Hanoi. We also found a lady selling it on Hang Hom street in front of 44, Hang Hom. She sits in front of a shop early in the morning and sells out everything before it opens (be there before 8am). It was one of the simplest meals we had in the whole trip – turmeric rice topped with fried onions and pork floss – nothing fancy. We are not exaggerating when we say that it was one of the most satisfying comfort foods we had in the trip!

Make sure you get here before 8 or the shop will disappear!

Egg Coffee: We had egg coffee at the famous Giang café on Nguyen Huu Huan (close to Xoi Yen). Now, we know there is a lot of debate around who serves the best egg coffee – without getting into that, we can assure you that the one served here is lip-smacking good! We ended up going here thrice in 2 days!

Cup full of goodness – don’t miss the egg coffee in Hanoi!

Bun Cha: It’s made of chargrilled pork balls served with spring rolls, vermicelli noodles and salad. The one of 74 Hang Quat, Hanoi is famous and that’s where we headed. It is more of a narrow alleyway than anything else, with people sitting all along both sides waiting for their bowl. It was good but we are not big fans of the extra char on the meat.

Mi Quang: A noodle dish with prawns, pork, quail eggs and rice crackers – this is simply a bowl of goodness! The best of this we had was at Mi Quang Ong Hai (6A, Truong Minh Luong, Hoi An). We were wandering about at night battered by heavy rain when we walked in here. The lady of the house was watching an Indian series dubbed in Vietnamese (Chanakya). She walked in and brought us piping hot bowls of Mi Quang and Cau Lau. It was tasty and homely and exactly what we needed!

Cau Lau: A noodle dish with pork, broth, crispy noodle squares and crackers. Try this out if you visit Mi Quang Ong Hai (6A, Truong Minh Luong, Hoi An). Rain + Cool Breeze + Hot bowl of Cau Lau = bliss!

The bowl on the left is Cau Lau, the one on top is Mi Quang

Che: One thing that has been missed so far is dessert! The most popular one is different forms of Che – it typically has jellies, fruits, beans, coconut cream or milk, tapioca and some syrups. Sadly, it didn’t float our boat as it felt like a watered-down version of a kheer/payasam.

There are other foods which we liked but did not feature above in detail like the Banh Xeo (pancakes), Com Ga (chicken rice), Vietnamese coffee (black coffee with condensed milk) and spring rolls – do check them out if you have time and space in your stomach.

Vietnamese Coffee – black coffee + condensed milk with a cup of rice tea!

You will find many other hole-in-the-wall places with people sitting out on the road on tiny stools with bowls in hand. Some of these may not go easy on your stomach – so check out reviews before you go and take a seat (we had a few bad experiences, hence the warning).

Didn’t wake up too well the next morning

We have visited about 20 countries together and this was the most food-crazy yet! One big reason why we want to go back to Vietnam. You can check out our other blogs on travelling around Vietnam and how to make the most of it.

Hope this helps you plan your trip better – do let us know in the comments below. If you like our blog, do share it on your social pages – the more the merrier! Follow us on Instagram for more pictures, videos and our latest travels at @fridgemagnet.tales

The second leg of our trip to Vietnam took us to the central part of the country. We had heard and read a lot about this quaint little town and many called it the best part of their trip! Though we were filled with the anticipation, we were also dreading the weather – Hoi An has storms and even floods in November and the previous year was exceptionally bad (Check out our guide to the best time visit each part of Vietnam here). Our evening flight from Hanoi had to navigate through some really turbulent weather to land us in Da Nang – the largest city of the region. We took a taxi to Hoi An – a 45 min drive – and reached our home-stay.

It had stopped raining by now, but it was quite windy. After a quick check-in, we borrowed an umbrella and headed out to the night market! As we walked around looking at the stalls selling food, souvenirs and lanterns, the rain picked up, leaving the hawkers scrambling. Luckily, we had our big umbrella. The river was swelling and almost starting to overflow – we quickly crossed the bridge into the Old Town heritage area and started looking for a place to eat. The entire town was beautifully decorated with lanterns of all colours – it felt like a dream!

The memory of this place still brings a smile to our faces!

We found a small home whose hall had been opened up into a tiny restaurant where we had some amazing Mi Quang and Cau Lau (both belonging to this region). The rain continued to batter down and we sat there happily eating the hot bowls of noodles.

Things turned better for us the next day with regards to the weather. It was a pleasant day with no rain which made it ideal to walk around and explore the town!

Here are the things which, according to us, make Hoi An a magical town and an experience worth remembering.

History and Heritage

Hoi An was a trading port from the 15^th to 19^th century. It was a hub in South-East Asia for trade routes connecting China, Japan, India, Portugal and the Dutch. There is a strong Japanese connection and you can still spot the Japanese covered bridge with a temple inside it.

The entire Old Town of Hoi An is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can buy a ticket to visit the sites to learn more about life here in the 18^th century. One ticket (costing only 120,000 VND – relax, that’s $5!) enables you to visit 5 heritage sites. You can choose from a number of historic buildings, private homes, museums, temples and assembly halls. We picked one of each to get a flavour of the traditions of this ancient port town.

Inside the home of one of the locals. The family has been living here for over 6 generations!

You can skip the ticket if you do not want to enter these sites and just walk around the roads.

Culture

You can get a taste of the traditional music and dance of the region at the Hoi An Traditional Art Performance Theatre. You can use one of your five tickets to gain entry here and there are usually 3 shows every day.

We enjoyed the music and performances and also got to know about the traditional game of “Bai Choi”. It is very similar to bingo but is played along with some folk songs. We learnt that there would be a few rounds of it being played on the riverbank later in the evening. You can guess what we did that evening! After observing one round, we took our seats on one of the stilt house-seats and were handed one paddle each which had three words. The organizers would sing a folk song and randomly select one of the words while incorporating it into the song!

We both got 2 flags out of 3. Just missed out!

It was super fun and we ended up playing two rounds!

Shopping

Hoi An is known for tailoring and you will find dozens of shops selling tailor-made suits, shirts and dresses. It costs much less than what a similar branded piece would cost you back home and it is also of very good quality. We aren’t very big on shopping during our trips, so we decided to give it a skip. But if you are, we would definitely recommend heading to one of these as soon as you arrive in Hoi An – you can avoid the stress of whether the suit will be ready in time for your departure.

We picked up one of the lanterns for our home

The Central Market on the banks of the river is also worth a visit. Go there in the morning to see all the fresh produce. If you are just window shopping, just smile and keep moving.

You can also check out the night market which is on a small island connected to the Old Town (map here). You can get your own lanterns and souvenirs here as well as some tasty street food.

Food

Any Vietnamese story is incomplete without the food! The specialities of Hoi An and the Quang Nam Province that you must not miss are

Mi Quang – a noodle dish with prawns, pork, quail eggs and rice crackers
Cau Lau – a noodle dish with pork, broth, crispy noodle squares and crackers
Com Ga – chicken rice
Banh Mi – this is what Hoi An is really famous for – the legendary Vietnamese baguette stuffed with a bunch of delicious stuff you can choose from

More details on where to get these are part of our extensive blog on Fantastic Vietnamese Food and Where You Can Find Them!

Other Ideas and Tips

Start the day as early as you can, to wander around the beautiful streets without having to deal with crowds. There are a lot of day-tours which come in from Da Nang and you’ll be stuck with the extra tourists if you start late.

If you have an extra day, you can rent a cycle and head to the nearest beach. If you have 3-4 extra days, spend them in Da Nang and go on excursions to nearby places like the Ba Na Hills (the Golden Bridge) and Hue.

Hoi An is indeed a magical place and one that we would definitely recommend! After spending a day and a half here, we headed to Ho Chi Minh City. Check out our guide on how to travel around Vietnam for the best options.

Have you visited Hoi An and central Vietnam? Do let us know in the comments below. Check out our latest travels on Instagram at @fridgemagnet.tales

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Tag Archives: mi quang

Fantastic Vietnamese Food and Where to Find Them

The Magical Town of Hoi An