Places to eat in Hoi An

If you want to go to travel in Hoi An, there’re some recommendations about places where you can find a good food as well as nice space for relaxing. Hoi An has some excellent places to eat and drink — on the riverfront, scattered throughout town, across the water on An Hoi islet and lining both Cua Dai and An Bang beaches.

Hoi An flourished thanks to its port, attracting traders from China, Japan and the Mediterranean. Out of this mixture of cultures, a unique style of Vietnamese cooking developed, drawing upon a wide range of flavours, influences and cooking techniques. Hoi An is home to a number of specialty dishes, many of which can be traced to foreign origins. The most famous is “Cao Lầu”, a combination of thick wheat noodles, roasted pork, bean sprouts and herbs in a thick gravy. Local lore says that the dish must be made from the water of a specific well — others argue that it is simply the distinctive noodles that make it unique. A dryer version of the dish, “Mì Quảng”, is also widely available. Chinese influenced rice-flower dumplings called “Bánh Bèo” and “Bánh tai vạc” are also common. Much less publicised is “Cơm gà”, a tasty stir-fry of rice, chicken, garlic and vegetables.

If you’re after the real deal, try hunting down more local options. Cao Lầu is available at street stalls around town; try the stalls in the central market food hall where Tran Phu meets Nguyen Duy Hieu or one of the local one-dish restaurants that line the northern end of Phan Chau Trinh Street. A good tip is to look out for vendors with a black and gold sign which are awarded to families with the best examples of these dishes, which generally means they have been producing that one dish for generations.

That said, the long-running Cafe Des Amis continues to dish out excellent and huge meals — the five-course meal will leave you bursting at the seams. The menu is set — you can choose from vegetarian, meat or fish and head chef Mr Kim will dish out whatever he happens to feel like cooking that day. Mr Kim is quite a character, chatting up his guests in French and English, and if you eat lunch he’ll invite you back for an excellent dinner and guarantee a different menu — as if you’d actually need to eat again so soon. Get there early if you want one of the two riverside tables on the upstairs balcony. It’s a popular place, and a guidebook sweetie, but still fun and friendly.

The drink stalls along the riverfront on Bach Dang are another old favourite among the gaggle of cafes that line the street – sip on a cold beer or “Nước mía” (sugarcane juice) while watching the locals pile their bikes onto unimaginably small boats back to their homes on the surrounding islands. Mobile street food vendors selling delicious cheap snacks like “Bánh bao” (pork stuffed steamed buns), fermented sausage in banana leaf (delicious), and sugar-dusted dried ginger parade past, giving you the opportunity to sample some cheap local dishes.

For a more upmarket local taste experience, check out Lantern Town. An airy place stretching from streetfront to riverfront in length, it has three different areas for eating — two indoors and one outdoor courtyard area. With pale yellow walls decorated with contemporary local artwork and hand-painted silk lanterns, the courtyard is the perfect place for a cocktail or a meal in the sultry evening air. Their take on “Mì quảng” and the pizza in a clay pot are particularly good; they also offer barbecued fish, seafood and meat at any time of day. It’s a good spot to retreat to if you can’t take the peddlers any longer.

Morning Glory, from Ms Vy of Cargo Club, Mermaid and more recently Market Kitchen fame, comes highly recommended, both for its restaurant and cookery courses. The restaurant is simply decorated and airy, with an open kitchen in the centre of the dining area. A non-smoking dining room is available upstairs but in the summer months it can get uncomfortably hot due to restrictions on installing air-con in the traditional buildings in town. Food is inspired from various places around Vietnam — their cinnamon beef curry is one of the most raved about on the menu and definitely worth trying here. It’s frequently full so book or arrive early.

The Cargo Club is probably the best place in town for a really delicious leisurely breakfast, an afternoon cake and coffee, or a late-night dessert. Downstairs seating is more tailored to snacking and drinking while upstairs, with views over the river from terrace tables, has more of an evening meal set up. Sample their passionfruit pavlova once and you might find yourself returning for every day of your visit. The ice cream is also top-notch and set breakfasts are good value — enough to set you up for hours of shopping.

3 Dragons is located in a stunning two-storey, ancient colonial family house, in one of the most appealing riverside locations in town. Offering a comprehensive cocktail menu, cheery service and a well honed Vietnamese/Western menu, the proprietors Simon (sports-mad Aussie) and Chung (ever-patient Vietnamese) run a well balanced bar/restaurant with widescreen TVs (for sports) and beautiful riverside dining (for patience).

Re-Treats Cafe on Tran Hung Dao is a popular backpacker spot, mostly because of its proximity to the backpacker quarters and the fact that most of the adventure tour guides use it as a meeting spot for their groups while in town. It’s a great place to hangout during the day and early evening and serves cheap drinks. The food here is not exactly great, but seems to attract an unusually large population of cockroaches. Still, there are plenty of cheap dining options nearby including a great bun thit heo (five-spice pork noodle in a satay sauce) stall directly opposite on Tran Cao Van.

For pizza and pasta, head to Good Morning Vietnam on Nguyen Thai Hoc. The food is great, though we heard reports of slow service. It can get busy in high season so call ahead or be prepared for a wait. A very good beachside alternative is Luna D’Atunno on An Bang beach, which serves delicious wood-oven pizza and house-made pasta dishes on comfortable, shaded beachside loungers.

There is really only one place in town to eat Indian food — Ganesh – and luckily it’s excellent. It offers up standard curries, masalas, thalis and whatnot, but the quality is high and some people find themselves eating here every night. Like all good curry houses, Ganesh also offers take-away and a delivery service, a good option after a long day touring or if you’ve got a bit too comfortable at the beach.

Mango Rooms is another place spanning Bach Dang and Nguyen Thai Hoc Streets. It’s done up in colourful, Caribbean-style decor with Turkish-style cushion seating and a Latin-influenced fusion menu. It’s a bit pricey but a great place to hang out — go for a pitcher of sangria with some friends. Its more recent sister restaurant, Mango Mango, is over the bridge on An Hoi islet and offers a similar menu in a very smart riverside set-up.

 

Green Mango on Nguyen Thai Hoc in the centre of town is a much celebrated, classy dining option with two successful sister restaurants in Hanoi and on Cat Ba island. The sumptuously renovated wooden traders house provides a stunning backdrop for romantic dinners or early evening cocktails — it’s one of the most beautiful restaurants in town — menu prices are on the high side.

Over on An Hoi there’s a whole swathe of cheap Vietnamese restaurants offering menus incorporating a few Western dishes; stick to Vietnamese food and they are generally consistently good. If you can grab a riverside or balcony table you get some of the best views across to the old town.

 

Bale Well serves “Bánh xèo” (Hoi An crispy pancake with pork skewers and spring rolls) and should be on your list of places to eat if you are looking for a memorable experience that’s also a hit with local diners. Located down an alley off Tran Phu Street, they serve up an all-you-can-eat feast with full instructions (down to chewing) on how to manage your food.

Places to eat in Hoi An

Places to stay in Hanoi

Hanoi is not as busy as Ho Chi Minh City, but more of a quiet, calm city. But that doesn’t means your trips to the capital of Vietnam will be boring. Other than visiting here and there, the hotels here are not only a place to sleep, but also unique in their own ways.

Maison d’Orient

Though stuck in a tiny blind alley south of Hanoi’s Old Quarter, this amazing architect-designed hotel is full of handcrafted furniture, and beautiful propaganda-style prints. The 12 rooms, named after spices (ginger, cinnamon, anise), are decorated with bamboo furniture, red lacquer lamps and bamboo shades, as well as alluring corners with French colonial armchairs and mismatched pretty cups and saucers. Breakfasts are prepared at smart lacquered square tables, while ginger tea is served on the ground floor terrace filled with scattering of bright floral cushions. Furthermore, the hotel is surrounded by some of the best restaurants in Hanoi

La Maison Hai Ly

This house placing along the Red River can’t be mistaken thanks to the exquisite 19^th century design. Although it is near Hanoi’s Old Quarter (only 15 minutes away), but a tranquil atmosphere descends on La Maison Hai Ly and its garden of orchids, banana and guava. The house’s designed: low, tiled roof tipped with circular blue ceramics was transplanted from Hoi An, a former Chinese mercantile port in the central Vietnam. The hotel alsohas an open-plan living room and kitchen facing the private garden to offer. In winter, keep cozy with the cottage wood burner; in summer, light the barbecue in the walled garden. Breakfast is included and Vietnamese meals, cooked with herbs and seasonal vegetables from a nearby market, can also be requested for supper.

St Joseph’s Hang Da

Though the size is modest, this modern nine-room hotel is a great place to meet fellow travelers. The lobby, use as breakfast room and reception, looks out to the bustling Duong Thanh Street. The hotel also offers ample breakfast: cereals, fruit, pancakes, French toast and, of course, pho (Vietnamese noodle soup). They are all served in delicate ceramics, and a fully stocked mag rack invites lounging and lingering. If you want more Vietnamese food, you can find one of Hanoi’s best cha ca (pan-fried fish with turmeric and dill) restaurant, Cha Ca Thang Long, across the street

Le Hong Thai Homestay

Hanoi artist Le Hong Thai fashioned this homestay, which used to be an old stilted house in Long Bien district. A central open fireplace takes most of the space of the huge open-plan living room, dining room, and kitchen, all supported by ancient columns. The walls are hung with artist Le Hong Thai’s abstract paintings and, there’s an artfully placed object behind every column. If you go upstairs, you’ll find a grand piano and a freestanding bath, while at the other opposite side of the room is two double mattresses on raised platforms facing each other. Climb further and you’ll find another two bedrooms, other bathrooms, stairs to a private courtyard and, carefully nurtured in the rafters, the ancestor altar reflecting on all that happens below.

Golden Silk

Spacious, comfortable rooms with huge beds make this Old Quarter hotel different from other Hanoi hotels. If you love shopping, the location of this hotel is perfect, right in the middle of busy Hang Gai (Silk Street). But most of the rooms are set back off the busy shopping route to prevent noise. It also decorated with luxurious things as well: rosewood floors, brushed silver velvet armchairs, lacquer-and-shell bedside lamps and silvery wallpaper. Finally, a tub in the bathroom to seal the deal.

6 on Sixteen

This six-room hotel was founded by an anthropologist Pete Wilkes. Bold bamboo beds with Hmong indigo fabric cushions, and handmade ceramic lamps decorate the six rooms, two of which have white curlicued balconies. You’ll find elephant trunk lamps covered with Hmong fabrics, with light bulbs blinking out of snouts. Breakfasts (sweetcorn fritters, lemon soufflé pancakes, and roasted vegetable omelets) are served in the communal dining room, with decorations of arts, crafts and clothes.

Anise Hotel

In a bundle of streets between the tip of the Old Quarter and West Lake, facing Hang Dau Park, is the friendly Anise Hotel. At dusk, you can join the local for aerobics, or tai chi lessons at dawn in the park. You can feel a genuinely warm welcome from Anise from the comfortable lobby with blue, aubergine and silver velvets and cottons wrapped around funky furniture. The smart, modern rooms come with beds made from water hyacinth rope, tasteful lacquer art on the walls, and mostly sleek bathrooms. This northern corner of Hanoi is resurgent. You can find quite a few places to visit here, such as the new art gallery Manzi, or 54 Traditions Gallery, which exhibits authentic arts and crafts of 54 ethnic groups around Vietnam

 

Places to stay in Hanoi

Travel guide to Barcelona

Barcelona is the capital and largest city of Catalonia and Spain’s second largest city, with a population of over one and half million people (over five million in the whole province). This city, located directly on the northeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain, has a rich history, having been under Roman, then Frank law before declaring its independence.

The capital of Catalonia is a banquet for the senses, with its beguiling mix of ancient and modern architecture, tempting cafés and markets, and sun-drenched Mediterranean beaches. A stroll along La Rambla and through waterfront Barceloneta, as well as a tour of Gaudí’s majestic Sagrada Família and his other unique creations, are part of a visit to Spain’s second-largest city. Modern art museums and chic shops call for attention, too. Barcelona’s vibe stays lively well into the night, when you can linger over regional wine and cuisine at buzzing tapas bars.

• WHAT TO SEE

+ AJUNTAMENT DE BARCELONA

The 15th-century city hall on Plaça Sant Jaume faces the Palau de la Generalitat, with its mid-18th-century neoclassical facade, across the square once occupied by the Roman Forum. The Ajuntament is a rich repository of sculpture and painting by the great Catalan masters, from Marès to Gargallo to Clarà, from Subirachs to Miró and Llimona. Inside is the famous Saló de Cent, from which the Consell de Cent, Europe’s oldest democratic parliament, governed Barcelona between 1373 and 1714. The Saló de les Croniques (Hall of Chronicles) is decorated with Josep Maria Sert’s immense black-and-burnished-gold murals (1928) depicting the early-14th-century Catalan campaign in Byzantium and Greece under the command of Roger de Flor. Sert’s perspective technique makes the paintings seem to follow you around the room. The city hall is open (admission free) to visitors on Sunday morning, with guided visits in English at 11; on local holidays; and for occasional concerts or events in the Saló de Cent.

+ ARC DEL TRIOMF

This imposing, exposed-redbrick arch was built by Josep Vilaseca as the grand entrance for the 1888 Universal Exhibition. Similar in size and sense to the traditional triumphal arches of ancient Rome, this one refers to no specific military triumph anyone can recall. In fact, Catalunya’s last military triumph of note may have been Jaume I el Conqueridor’s 1229 conquest of the Moors in Mallorca—as suggested by the bats (always part of Jaume I’s coat of arms) on either side of the arch itself. The Josep Reynés sculptures adorning the structure represent Barcelona hosting visitors to the exhibition on the west (front) side, while the Josep Llimona sculptures on the east side depict the prizes being given to its outstanding contributors.

+ CENTRE DE CULTURA CONTEMPORÀNEA DE BARCELONA (CCCB)

Just next door to the MACBA, this multidisciplinary gallery, lecture hall, and concert and exhibition space offers a year-round program of cultural events and projects, well worth checking out. The center also has a remarkable film archive of historic shorts and documentary, free to the public. Housed in the restored and renovated Casa de la Caritat, a former medieval convent and hospital, the CCCB is, like the Palau de la Música Catalana, one of Barcelona’s shining examples of how a much-needed contemporary addition can be wedded to traditional architecture and design. A smoked-glass wall on the right side of the patio, designed by architects Albert Villaplana and Helio Piñon, reflects out over the rooftops of El Raval to Montjuïc and the Mediterranean beyond.

+ CASA CALVET

This exquisite but more conventional town house (for Gaudí, anyway) was the architect’s first commission in the Eixample (the second was the dragonlike Casa Batlló, and the third, and last—he was never asked to do another—was the stone quarry–esque Casa Milà). Peaked with baroque scroll gables over the unadorned (no ceramics, no color, no sculpted ripples) Montjuïc sandstone facade, Casa Calvet compensates for its structural conservatism with its Art Nouveau details, from the door handles to the benches, chairs, vestibule, and spectacular glass-and-wood elevator. Built in 1900 for the textile baron Pere Calvet, the house includes symbolic elements on the facade, ranging from the owner’s stylized letter “C” over the door to the cypress, symbol of hospitality, above. The wild mushrooms on the main (second) floor reflect Pere Calvet’s (and perhaps Gaudí’s) passion for mycology, while the busts at the top of the facade represent St. Peter, the owner’s patron saint; and St. Genis of Arles and St. Genis of Rome, patron saints of Vilassar, the Calvet family’s hometown in the coastal Maresme north of Barcelona. For an even more sensorial taste of Gaudí, dine in the building’s Casa Calvet restaurant,originally the suite of offices for Calvet’s textile company, with its exuberant Moderniste decor.

+ CASA DE LA PIA ALMOINA–MUSEU DIOCESÀ (DIOCESAN MUSEUM)

This 11th-century Gothic building, now a museum, once served soup to the city’s poor; hence its popular name, the “House of Pious Alms”. The museum houses a permanent collection of religious sculpture and liturgical paraphernalia, from monstrances to chalices to the 12th-century paintings from the apse of the Sant Salvador de Polinyà chapel; there are also occasional temporary art exhibits. Anyone contemplating a tour of the Roman walls should consult the excellent relief map/scale model of Roman Barcelona in the vestibule (copies of the map and model are for sale in the nearbyMuseu d’Història de la Ciutat, the Museum of the History of the City). Inside, Roman stones are clearly visible in this much-restored structure, the only octagonal tower of the 82 that ringed 4th-century Barcino. Look for the Romanesque Mares de Deu (Mothers of God) wood sculptures, such as the one from Sant Pau del Camp church in Barcelona’s El Raval. The museum is behind the massive floral iron grate in the octagonal Roman watchtower to the left of the stairs of the Catedral de la Seu.

• WHAT TO EAT

+ CALÇOTS: One of Catalonia’s most beloved and authentic feasts is the winter calçotada: a celebration of the sweet, long-stemmed, twice-planted spring onions called calçots. These delicacies were originally credited to a 19th-century farmer named Xat Benaiges who discovered a technique for extending the scallions’ edible portions by packing soil around the base, giving them stockings or shoes (calçat), so to speak. Valls and the surrounding region now produce upward of 5 million calçots annually. Calçot feasts take place in restaurants and homes between January and March, though the season is getting longer on both ends. On the last weekend of January, the town of Valls itself holds a public calçotada, hosting as many as 30,000 people who come to gorge on onions, sausage, lamb chops, and young red wine.

During the festival, you can learn how to grow calçots, how to make the accompanying salbitxada sauce (romescu) and, most important, how to eat them. The culminating event is the calçot-eating competition, when burly competitors from all over Catalunya swallow as many as 300 calçots in a 40-minute contest as the crowd cheers them on. Once the winner is decided, large grills set up all over town roast calçots over sarmientos (grape vine clippings), as red wine and Cava are splashed from long-spouted porrons.

+ CAVA

Catalan sparkling wine, called cava, is produced mainly in the Penedès region, 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Barcelona. Cava was created in 1872 by local winemaker Josep Raventós after the Penedès vineyards had been devastated by the phylloxera plague and the predominantly red varietals were being replaced by vines producing white grapes. Impressed with the success of the Champagne region, Raventós decided to make his own dry sparkling wine, which has since become the region’s runaway success story. Cava comes in different degrees of dryness: brut nature, brut (extra dry), seco (dry),semiseco (medium), and dulce (sweet). The soil and microclimate of the Penedès region, along with the local grape varietals, give cava a slightly earthier, darker taste than its French counterpart, with larger and zestier bubbles. Under Spanish Denominación de Origen laws, Cava can be produced in six wine regions and must be made according to the Traditional Method with second fermentation in the bottle using a selection of Macabeo, Parellada, Xarel-lo, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Subirat grapes.

+ IBÉRICO HAM

Jamón ibérico de bellota, or ham from free-range acorn-fed Ibérico pig, descendant from the Sus mediterraneus that once roamed the Iberian Peninsula, has become Spain’s modern-day caviar. The meat is dark, red, and tastes of the roots, herbs, spices, tubers, and wild mushrooms of southwestern Spain. The defining characteristic of this free-range pig is its ability to store monounsaturated fats from acorns in streaks or marbled layers that run through its muscle tissue. This is one of the few animal fats scientifically proven to fight the cholesterol that clogs arteries. The tastes and aromas, after two years of aging, are so complex—so nutty, buttery, earthy, and floral—that Japanese enthusiasts have declared Ibérico ham umami, a word used to describe a fifth dimension in taste, in a realm somewhere beyond delicious. In addition, jamón ibérico de bellota liquefies at room temperature, so it literally melts in your mouth.

+ SAUSAGE

Catalonia’s variations on this ancient staple cover a wide range of delicacies. Typically ground pork is mixed with black pepper and other spices, stuffed into casings, and dried to create a protein-rich, easily conservable meat product. If Castile is the land of roasts and Valencia is the Iberian rice bowl and vegetable garden, Catalonia may produce the greatest variety of sausages.

+ WILD MUSHROOMS

Wild mushrooms are a fundamental taste experience in Catalan cuisine: the better the restaurant, the more chanterelles, morels, black trumpets, or ’shrooms of a dozen standard varieties are likely to appear on the menu. Wild mushrooms (in Spanishsetas, in Catalan bolets) are valued for their aromatic contribution to gastronomy; they impart a musty, slightly gamey taste of the forest floor, a dark flavor of decay, to the raw materials such as meat or eggs with which they are typically cooked. Many barcelonins are proficient wild-mushroom stalkers and know how to find, identify, and prepare up to half a dozen kinds of bolets, from rovellones (Lactarius deliciosus) sautéed with parsley, olive oil, and a little garlic, to camagrocs(Cantharellus lutescens) scrambled with eggs. Wild mushrooms flourish in the fall, but different varieties appear in the spring and summer, and dried and reconstituted mushrooms are available year-round. Panlike Llorenç Petràs retired in 2010, but his Fruits del Bosc (Forest Fruits) stall at the back of the Boqueria market is still the place to go for a not-so-short course in mycology. Petràs and his sons supply the most prestigious chefs in Barcelona and around Spain with whatever they need; if morels are scarce this year in Catalonia but abundant in, say, Wisconsin, the Petràs family will dial them in.

Travel guide to Barcelona

Travel Guide to Hoi An

Being an ancient and peaceful cite in Viet Nam, Hoi An is one of the most popular destinations that caters to travelers of all tastes and across the continents. The little town is just the perfect candidate of what Vietnam tourism ministry is aiming to show to the world. Warm-hearted, welcoming and traditional, but never out of touch with the outside world, the people of Hoi An are in overdrive mode trying to catch up to the opportunities their new found fame has recently given them.

Hoi An is an ancient town located in the lower section of Thu Bon River, Quang Nam Province, about 30 kilometers south of Da Nang city. Hoi An was a bustling international trading port,a meeting place of the trading ships of Japan, China and the West during the 17th and 18th centuries. Before this period, there was here also traces of Champa port which was known as a site on Silk Road along the sea. Hoi An ancient town today is a special example of a traditional port city in Southeast Asia which has been well preserved. Most houses here are of traditional architecture dating from the 17th to the 19th century, and are along the narrow main streets. Hoi An is also a land mark recorded much of the mixture of acculturation. The architecture of the city reflects the influence of Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, french and British traders. Hoi An still maintained an intangible cultural diversity and richness. Hoi An is considered as a living museum of architecture and urban lifestyle.

Hoi An earned UNESCO recognition since as early as 1999

A slow stroll through town reveals its gems. Hoi An has to this days well preserved its most sacred treasure, the centuries-old architecture. The town used to harbor foreign traders back in the 17-18th, and once is an important heavily-frequented trading port in Southeast Asia. The foreigners come from all corners of the world, but mostly are Chinese and Japanese nationalities. Some come and go, but many settle in permanently and etch their marks into the history of Hoi An.

Phuc Kien Gathering Place in Hoi An

Phuc Kien Gathering Place in Hoi An – Typical Chinese Influence since the old days

Mixing together with Vietnamese design, Chinese and Japanese accents melt and create a picture-perfect Hoi An of the late 19th century, which it has somehow remained mostly intact since. The end product is an oddly strange-yet-familiar sight that exists nowhere else in the world. To this day, few descendants of the foreign traders remain but the architectural setting manages to survive the damage of time.

Little town gathers world fame

In 1999, UNESCO formally recognizes Hoi An as a World Heritage Site. There are the things that make up the reputation. Hoi An is home to many temples, pagodas and the ancient homes that bear its very unique mark. The density of such sites is unlike any other in Vietnam. These places carry with them the history of Hoi An itself. The depiction of its formation, its once-prosperous merchant past, its progress and how it manages to become one of today are all well documented, in words and in priceless relics.

Hoi An – Phuc Kien Temple

Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An earned UNESCO recognition since as early as 1999

The town is not just reminiscent of the past, it truly takes one for a slow enlightening journey to the past. Such journey is simply unthinkable most elsewhere in Vietnam. It is only possible because of the careful and dedicated works that have gone into preserving and presenting its way – efforts that have come as the result of the UNESCO recognition. Enjoying the spotlight and catering to the increasing number of tourists flooding its narrow streets hoping to catch a glimpse of the past, hotels and resorts are now sprouting up all over town.

Hoi An retains a sense of history that envelops you as you explore it.

Hoi An Accommodation and Shopping

One shall find his accommodation options ranging from lowly affordable motel rooms as low as $8 per day to the world-class 6-star top-of-the-line allegedly-best-in Southeast-Asia Nam Hai resort nearby, which starts at a whooping $600. Vietnam may be small, but there will always be an extra bedroom for the staying- over guest. These days, the guests may well outnumber the homeowners however. True to its origin, Hoi An today still boasts a booming trade.

Nam Hai Resort amongst the most luxury in the world’s hotel industry

Of the things sold in town, there are only 3 different categories. First is souvenir, the second being clothing and the last is food, both western and Vietnamese. The souvenir is not something to write home about, since offerings are limited in diversity throughout the country. Hoi An is better known for its tailor shops, which mostly service personal bespoke orders. Tourists circulate rumor that people stay in this little sleepy town for entire weeks doing nothing, waiting just to have their shirts made to the perfect fit. Most designs are traditional Vietnamese in nature, with some offer contemporary twists and touches of foreign taste as well.
Hoi An Lantern

Hoi An lantern makes a perfect house deco – and inexpensive

Coupled with the right prices, Hoi An is truly a shoppers’ paradise, one that dictates its western customers on a unique oriental sense of style. Paradox does not end. One imagines never being able to find western food in such a hardcore Vietnamese setting. That turns out not the case. Hoi An is home to multiple restaurants that serve big hearty American meals with only a small portion of the menu dedicated to local food. The locals prefer their sidewalk vendors to the many re-innovated house-turned-restaurants out there.
Food and Cuisines

There is no shortage of bacon in town, but cao lầu is the dish that one simply can not miss. Prices and service are rightfully on par with the latest venues in major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. Yet in the face of all the hurrying capitalist business going on, for some reason, somehow, Hoi An retains its quite serenity. Life just seems to flow by at an uneventful rate. People seem to slowly enjoy things as they are. While foreigners come to experience the old way, natives also come to Hoi An for a break in the hustling busy path of life.

Chicken rice

You can also eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at street-side stalls nearly every day.

Hoi An Chicken Rice – A must try of Hoi An

And it is in Hoi An that their inner peace shall be found, paradoxically in the face of all the money being changed hand. As for a fitting end to a story of many extremes, Hoi An is, sadly, situated in one of the poorest provinces in the country. Apart from the glamour of the tourism-enriching little town, Quang Nam’s population generally lives at the poverty line level. A typical drive from Danang’s airport or train station to Hoi An soon enough will reveal all the stories that are silently told.

Moreover, don’t forget to spend a very enjoyable afternoon at one of the riverside restaurants, taking advantage of the very cheap fresh beer, less then 10p a glass! It’s cold, light, refreshing and very drinkable.

Get something tailored

Hoi An is the tailoring capital of Asia and every second shop wants to measure you up! It can be scary but once you take the plunge, you’ll find it addictive. There are a lot of things made, split between three different tailoring shops.

Happy feet

In addition to all the tailoring shops, there are also loads of places selling custom-made shoes to any size and design. The range is incredible and there’s unlimited scope for the imagination to run wild.

Take a boat ride

Best done at night, ideally on the full moon celebration so you can admire all the lanterns and floating candles. It’s a magical way to get a different perspective of Hoi An.

 

Travel Guide to Hoi An

Places to shop in Ha noi

If you’re particularly enthusiastic about quality textiles, clothes and handicrafts, shopping in Ha noi will not disappoint. The city also has a good range of day and night markets, both indoors and outdoors and you’ll find that night markets are more of a social than shopping occasion but that doesn’t preclude finding bargains at night.

Savico Megamall

The largest of Vietnam shopping centre is called Savico Megamall, situated in the area of expansion of Hanoi, 7 kilometroas on the outskirts, on the East side of the city.

These two buildings 30.000m2 each have many shops where top brand, as well as supermarkets, restaurants and entertainment area.

Inside this shopping mall officials have almost all international brands: Levi’s, Lacoste, Adidas, Nike, Prada, Burberry, Cartier, etc… addition also has many electronics stores, computer and technology.

Pico Square Mall

On the way to the skyscraper in Hanoi we have the peak Plaza shopping center where his strong point are stores of computer science, electronics and technology. The entertainment area, as well as restaurants and international chains such as KFC, also has movie theaters.

Vincom City Towers Mall

VinCom shopping center belongs to the same corporate group as the waterpark Vinpearl Nha Trang. In its interior we have stores brands (Lacoste, Burberry, Ralph Lauren baby, etc.) but unfortunately the prices are not as advantageous as in any of the city’s markets.

Stores Handbags, belts, watches, sunglasses and accessories

If we want to buy an imitation of Louis Vuitton, Prada bag or Carolina Herrera will be attending any of the markets of Hanoi, we recommend Dong Xuan market and both Hang Da market to buy bags like belts.

One of the best shops of fashion fashion Accessories is the Trang Tien Plaza shopping center, located a few streets South of the Lake in Hanoi. Ruby Plaza shopping center stores we recommend to buy a good Watch.

 

The neighborhood Silk

To buy the best silk of all Hanoi you should go to the Van Phuc district, or what is the same, to the neighborhood of silk. Located 10 kilometers southwest of Hanoi, which makes necessary to go by taxi.

In this neighborhood, filled with silk artisans with a tradition of more than a century, we have over 100 stores to buy silks, dresses, embroidery, etc…

Shoe Stores

In Hanoi, it is fairly easy to find shoe stores, above all footwear sports brands like Nike. The vast majority of the Hanoi center shoe stores are located in the Dinh Tien Hoang Street, on the East side of Hoan Kiem Lake and very close to the water puppet theatre.

All shoes are fakes sold there (except numbered models), the price is quite cheap and the quality is good, but if your Nike 6€ hurt you do not protest.

Women’s shoes shops are widely dispersed through the narrow streets of the old quarter of Hanoi. The best place to buy women shoes (dancers, high heel shoes, party shoes, etc…) is the Hanoi night market.

Jewelry

The jewels in Vietnam have a lower price to Spain by issues of taxes and import costs. Although there are many shops around the old quarter of Hanoi, the reference in the jewelry sector is the centro commercial Ruby plaza, street Le Ngoc have 44 (1 kilometer South of the Lake), where there are lots of precious stones, diamonds, gold and jewelry specialty shops.
Pottery and pottery stores

With an area of 5000m2 Bat Trang village has earned the reputation as the pottery village of Hanoi. Located 10 kilometres to the southeast of Hanoi in addition to buying pieces in clay and ceramics, we can contemplate how potters creating clay unique pieces using the TECHNIC traditions. It is essential to take a taxi.

Food stores and Gourmet Products

The reference in Hanoi to buy power and above all gourmet shops products is the Western market (market Tay). It is an atypical market opens only on Sundays from 9: 00 to 12: 00, where we find many shops and small stalls to buy Western food and gourmet products, all products and gender which is sold in this market is fresh and organic.

The western market or Tay Market was founded by an entrepreneur to promote French gourmet products. This market is where most expatriates living in Hanoi often turn to do the shopping. The price is in line with the quality and the prices are not negotiable, so forget about haggling. The Western market is located 3 miles northwest of downtown Hanoi.

For those who do not have time of approaching the market Tay, you have very close to the Cathedral of Hanoi several stores of wine and spirits in the Nha Tho Street.

Places to shop in Ha noi

Places to eat in Hanoi

As a city with a long history, diverse cultural traditions and the rich national character, Hanoi is not only one of the sites attracting more domestic and foreign tourists in Vietnam by ancient, thoughtful, peaceful appearance and the latent  beauty in the city of thousand-year civilization ..but also has rich culinary traditions. Many of Vietnam’s most famous dishes believed to have originated from Hanoi.

A list of most popular local foods that should not be missed in Hanoi, take a look and find out what are they

1. “Xôi xéo”

Located on the corner of Nguyen Huu Huan and Hang Bac streets at the edge of Hanoi’s Ancient Quarter.

Chances are you will encounter this dish in almost every outdoors market. There are even two restaurants dedicated fully to this dish in the Old Quarters. Xoi is a kind of Vietnamese sticky rice, topped traditionally with shavings of lotus root and roasted garlic. Sometimes it can be served with eggs or steamed chicken breast on request. The serving is really filling and it is good for any time of the day but most Vietnamese have it for breakfast or lunch

2. “Bánh cuốn”

Banh cuon Gia An – Ba Trieu street (opposite to Vincom tower) is a more upscale restaurants specializing in Banh cuon.

Vietnamese and particularly Hanoi people is proud of their steamed crepe from rice flour and water. A savoury meal, the inside stuffing contains ground pork, wood-ear and seasoning. Most street chefs make the dish right at door so look for a place that steams are coming up high. Banh cuon is served with nuoc mam, a mixture of fish sauce, sugar and lime.

3. “Phở “(Noodle soup)

Pho Bat Dan is a famous local restaurants famous for its Pho bo (beef rice noodle soup). Located in the Old quarter “jungle”, the store easily stands out for the long line of people waiting to be served.

Hanoi’s cuisine is famous nationwide with many specialties, but the most well known dish is Pho, a rice noodle soup often eaten as breakfast meal at home, food stalls, roadside inns, or in the restaurants.  Some is served with chicken and some with beef. Each type of meat entails a variety of sub-dish, using from beef tenderloin to beef brisket, chicken wing to chicken thigh.

4. “Bún thang”

Bun thang Ba Duc on Cau Go street is a great place to try the dish. Enjoy Bun thang in such a setting gives the meal enormous highlights in your trip to Hanoi.

If Pho is compatible to linguine in shape, Bun is more like spaghetti. Bun thang is one of the most popular yet hidden fares in Hanoi and one can hardly find it outside of the Old quarters or a few special restaurants scattering across the city. The chicken broth is artistically done and the dish is beautifully served. Bun thang is a harmonious blend of color- the yellow of sliced egg; the white of bun; the off-white of chicken and the green of onions and herbs.

5. “Bún mọc” 

A tiny Bun moc eatery on the west side of Ta Hien street, 4 or 5 doors north of the intersection with Luong Ngoc Quyen street.

6. “BBQ Chicken Street”

On Ly Van Phuc just off Nguyen Thai Hoc. Everything is delicious here!  The BBQ sauce is perhaps the best you’ll ever have!

So called ‘BBQ chicken street’ is hard to miss in the evening, as the plumes of smoke drift into the night sky and the smell of barbecuing drifts along the street.

Very distinct from the “BBQ Chicken” fast food joints that are rapidly springing up all over Hanoi, BBQ chicken street serves freshly barbecued chicken to patrons sitting on plastic stools in an environment that would certainly not pass health and safety standards anywhere else.

7. “Chả cá Lã Vọng”

Cha ca La Vong restaurant on 14 Cha Ca street is renowned nationally and internationally for its tradition and quality of serving the dish

 

 

Cha ca La Vong is listed as one of the top 100 things you gotta try before you die by many cuisine experts. Restaurant Cha ca La Vong recently featured in the New York Times in an article that talked about how variants of the same-named dish — a mixture of fish, turmeric, dill, shrimp paste, fish sauce, chilies, noodles and other herbs — are appearing on menus in the United States. Author Florence Fabricant notes that, despite her fond memories of a visit to Cha Ca La Vong 10 years ago, “Judging from many blog posts, recent visitors have had a more negative experience: touristy and expensive.”

8. “Bánh tôm Hồ Tây” (fried shrimp fritter in West Lake)

 

One of the specialties in the city of Hanoi is Banh tom Ho Tay (fried shrimp fritter in West Lake). Its way of processing is rather simple. Fresh shrimps caught in the West Lake is covered with wheat flour, then fried with oil. It is eaten with sweet, sour and spicy fish sauce, vegetable pickles for best taste. Besides, it can also be served with salads and vermicelli. The cake is brittle, soft and sweet-smelling; therefore, it is really an appropriate dish for drinking beer.

The restaurant on Thanh Nien Street has long been a familiar address for this special food

9. “Kem Hồ Tây” (West Lake Ice Cream)

If you drive north along Hanoi’s Duong Thanh Nien, which passes between Truc Bach Lake and West Lake, on a sunny weekend afternoon, be prepared to swerve around the crowds gathered outside of Kem Ho Tay: West Lake Ice Cream.

 

Hope that you truly have a wonderful and interesting trip in Hanoi as well as enjoy the various delicious dishes here.

Places to eat in Hanoi