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Hoi An Food
March 2015
Scenes from the Taste of Hoi An Food Tour that we took in Hoi An. It included a visit to a typical street market, stops to sample the specialities at notable restaurants and roadside food stands, and then a big multi-course sit-down lunch. In all, we were introduced to 43 local dishes and gained a new appreciation for the food of central Vietnam. Our friend AJ’s baby, Francesca, won acclaim for trying everything on the tour.
A food vendor's cart in Hoi An
Chris and AJ (center) and other participants in the Taste of Hoi An Food Tour sample juice before the tour gets under way
The tour began with a visit to a neighborhood street market to learn about local ingredients
Fresh noodles for sale in the market
Vietnamese food features a lot of fresh greens and herbs, much more so than elsewhere in Southeast Asia
Pork also features prominently in Hoi An cooking
Hoi An is near the coast, so seafood is plentiful too
Small snails with lemongrass and fried shallots
At a stall in the market, we ate thin, crispy omelets filled with bean sprouts, one of 43 foods we tasted on our tour
Many vendors seemed to appreciate seeing AJ's baby, Francesca, on the tour
Francesca sampled everything we ate on the tour . . .
. . . including black sesame paste, which the Vietnamese consider very therapeutic
The black sesame vendor
A cart selling long, thin sticks of chocolate ice cream
The ice cream was a big hit with Francesca
Bird cages for sale in the market
The shop of the woman who calls herself the queen of banh mi (sandwiches of meat, vegetables, herbs, and sauce in baguettes). Hers were very good.
A dish of chewy handmade cao lau noodles
Noodles of various shapes drying in the sun
Wilted morning glory with garlic, a staple vegetable in Southeast Asia
Caramelized eggplant
Hoi An specialties: fried wontons, White Rose dumplings stuffed with shrimp, and rice paper summer rolls
The tour ended with a sit-down lunch with tour organizer Neville Dean
Neaville was so taken with Francesca's willingness to try everything that he gave her a card declaring her a Food Tour Legend, eligible to take the tour again for free for the rest of her life
