Things To Do Hoi An: Vietnam’s Ancient Village
The Espresso Station
We arrived from Da Nang early in the morning, and our first stop in Hoi An was coffee. We checked out a shop I found on Instagram called The Espresso Station. This bright yellow cafe is near the old town. It’s so beautiful and feels tropical with its wooden interior, plants everywhere, and the bright colors. We wanted to try one of Vietnam’s famous coffee items: egg coffee. This iconic drink is made with condensed milk, coffee, sugar, and egg yolks. It was created in the 1940s because of a milk shortage due to the French War. Even though there is milk now, it’s still a popular drink for locals and tourists.
Since I don’t drink coffee, I took a sip of Michael’s egg coffee. It was fine for me, but I’m not a coffee person so I felt indifferent. Michael enjoyed the egg coffee as it was a lot less eggy than he thought it would be. It has a thick texture, is quite sweet, and more of a custardy taste than scrambled eggs. I had the butterfly bee which is butterfly pea flower with lemon juice. It was really pretty watching the color change because of the acidity, and it was just what I needed because it was REALLY hot in Hoi An.
Be Be Tailor
Originally, I was planning to buy an ao dai at one of the small shops in Hoi An. Since I am very tall, the pants were an awkward length for me. Hoi An is one of the cities known for custom made clothing. So we decided to get matching ao dais. We visited in May which is offseason in Vietnam, so there wasn’t many people there. The staff were very friendly and sat down with us and discussed what we would like. As we were discussing, she drew out a sketch, took our measurements, and we picked colors and fabrics. We only had one day in Hoi AN, and they were very helpful and generous to us as we would get our clothes before the shop closed. As we were waiting for our clothes we continued with the rest of our schedule.
When we went back, we tried on our ao dai but the fit wasn’t perfect. So they pinned and marked what needed adjustments until it was perfect. Once the adjustments were finished, we wore our clothes right away. I really loved the colors, floral pattern, and how comfortable it was. It is my favorite traditional clothing I have ever worn, and the first traditional outfit I bought to keep. In the future, I would love to go back and get more custom made clothes. This area is also famous for tailored suits and gowns and amazing prices, making it the perfect place to visit to refresh your wardrobe.
Quan Cong Temple
Quan Cong Temple is a place of worship made by the Chinese to honor general Quan Cong in 1653. This ancient site has been a place of folk religion and Taoist worship in the heart of the town. Hoi An does not have any large temples, so it was nice to find a small religious site among the quiet streets. I was surprised to find that the temple isn’t strictly Buddhist or Confucian, but rather dedicated to a single person. At the time we visited, I was unexperienced with Chinese folk religion.
It is common for great Chinese emperors, leaders, and generals to be deified and honored in a temple like this. We have seen many similar small temples in places like Hong Kong. To be honest, it was a very small area and only takes a short time to explore fully. However, it’s a very nice temple and is a nice place to get some quiet rest.
MÓT
MÓT is a famous herbal tea shop in the Old Town. Besides tea, they offer other beverages and even food. But they are know especially known for their nuoc mot (herbal tea). The tea consist of lotus leave , lemongrass, rick sugar, ginger, lemon, and cinnamon sticks. This is the best spot in Hoi An to try this drink. At the time, the tea was only 60 cents a cup, making it an absolute no brainer on such a scorcher of a day. When we ordered we received our drinks quickly as they already have batches of tea prepared.
At the time, it was one of the hottest months in Vietnam, so we escaped the heat and sat inside of the shop. The shop is really small and luckily it was just the two of us as it could be difficult to accommodate large groups. We were drenched in sweat and sitting in the shade and took a sip. Wow! It tasted amazing on its own, but in our state it was like heaven. Their nuoc mot didn’t have a strong medicinal taste, rather it was more like an herbal tea with a slightly fruity and sweet taste. It wasn’t too strong and really refreshing. I can understand why MÓT is frequently visited.
Hoi An Food Market
Hoi An Market is the best place to get souvenirs, produce, and especially food. We visited the market to try Hai Chiến Cao Lầu, a shop Anthony Bourdain went to during his visit in Hoi An. When we first approached the stand, the lights were off but the lady turned them on and had us take a seat. I didn’t know much about Vietnamese food, but I knew that the things to try there were mi quang and cao lau.
A few minutes later at this quiet small stall, the lady presented noodles that literally changed my life. Mi quang is rice noodles topped with pork and shrimp, some veggies, and light broth. Cao lau is also another rice noodle dish with braised pork, herbs, and crispy croutons. Both of these noodle dishes are local to the central region of Vietnam. My favorite between the two was the cao lau as I love the texture of the tender meat with the crispy croutons. We also had a different style of mi quang in Da Nang, but I realized that cao lau is more to my taste. The flavor was unbelievably good, and the price was so low I was in shock. To this day, we still talk about this stall, and how amazing our experience was.
Precious Heritage Museum
The Precious Heritage Museum is a free art museum located in the main streets of Hoi An. We love art and especially to see pieces that reflect the diversity of groups in Vietnam. This museum was opened in 2017 by the French photographer Réhahn. The museum is heavily focused on his work documenting traditional dress, customs, and rituals of Vietnam. There are exquisite photographs of women in their traditional dress, as well as historical clothing on display.
Precious Heritage has so much history, with relics and replicas donated by the local groups. I really admire his style of photography, as the main focus is realistic portraits. The natural expressions on people’s faces and the simplistic of the backgrounds are very moving. We took our time here as everything had so much detail and history.
Banh Mi Phuong
One of the most famous dishes in Vietnam is banh mi. This is a Vietnamese sandwich that is filled with meat, herbs, and vegetables. I’d never eaten this before coming to Vietnam, and I was really excited to give it a try. Banh Mi Phuong is another restaurant Anthony Bourdain visited, and is said to have one of the best banh mi in Hoi An. We tried their most popular sandwich, banh mi thap cam, which has various cuts of pork, vegetables, and sauce.
What really surprised me about the sandwich that the bread was a baguette. At the time I didn’t know much about the French colonization in Vietnam, and how baguettes came into the country. It was a really great sandwich although it was surprisingly dry. Even though it’s filled with many ingredients, the dry baguette keeps it from getting soggy. This was the perfect introduction into bahn mi for us.
White Rose Restaurant
As our day trip turned into a food tour, we braced ourselves to try two more dishes. In Hoi An, there is a regional dumpling called bánh bao bánh vạc also known as white rose dumplings. We wanted to try them at the family owned restaurant “The White Rose Restaurant”, which has a famous secret recipe. These dumplings are filled with shrimp and meat, topped with toasted garlic. It is said because of the color and appearance it resembles white roses. I’m not the greatest chopstick user, and the sticky rice paper made them difficult to grab. When I finally got a hold of one, the juicy flavor burst in my mouth as the dumpling tore open.
It doesn’t have a strong flavor compared to other Vietnamese dishes, but it was really satisfying. It is a rather simple dish, but I’m glad this family decided to let others experience the flavor of their dumplings with the people of Hoi An. White Rose Restaurant has two menu items which are the white rose dumplings and the fried wanton. They call the fried wanton Hoi An style pizza. It is topped with tomatoes, onions, shrimp, pineapple, black mushroom, and lots of sauce. I like the texture and flavors of it because it feels like a Vietnamese style of nachos, especially with the crispy wantons. It wasn’t our best meal in Hoi An, but this local restaurant really emphasizes on some local flavors of Hoi An.
Hoi An Night Market
Every night, the Hoi An Night Market takes place on Nguyen Hoang Street. Filled with local vendors selling food, souvenirs, and lanterns, making it the place to be. Even though we ate a lot of food, we had room to try our last dessert, banana pancakes. There are so many stalls that offer these, so we went with the one that looked best to us. These pancakes are different compared to Western style pancakes, since they are a thinly folded crepe filled with banana, cocoa spread, condensed milk, and chocolate sauce. It tasted rich and sweet as the condensed milk and chocolate sauce were mixing together.
The market is located on the Haoi River which has paid boat rides to go down the river. There are many vendors making it easy to find a boat to ride. Separately, there are people selling lanterns which can be brought on the boat to make a wish as you release it into the water. Even though it is rather touristy, what are we if not tourists? The boat ride is about 20 minutes on the river. I felt like I was in Asian style Tangled surrounded by lights and people. I zoned out as I became mesmerized by the lanterns floating down the river. Before I put my lantern down, I thought hard about my wish, and luckily a few months later it came true. This boat ride is very affordable and is so beautiful at night with the colorful lanterns gracefully floating down the river. It is a must do in this ancient town.
Final Thoughts
Hoi An, isn’t an average city made for tourists. It’s a city that is full of architecture, history, food, and culture from different regions that blend together. Hoi An was my first introduction to Vietnam, and it’s beautiful views and flavorful of food are something I still talk about to this day. I’m dreaming of the day when I can go back.
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