Best Places to Eat in Hoi An: Odd Picks
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Hoi An earns its reputation as one of Vietnam’s food towns on the strength of a handful of dishes that barely exist anywhere else, plus two sandwich shops famous enough to have their own reputations abroad. Skip trying to rank restaurants here and just chase the dishes: cao lau, the white rose dumpling, and a banh mi that once got Anthony Bourdain to call it a “symphony.” Below are 8 specific things to eat and where the dossier of local knowledge points for each.
Where to eat cao lau, the noodle that supposedly can’t travel
Cao lau is Hoi An’s signature: thick, chewy rice noodles treated with lye and ash, topped with char-siu pork, greens, and crisp croutons, in a small pool of broth rather than a full soup. Local legend insists it needs water from the Ba Le well and ash from the Cham Islands to taste right, which is the excuse everyone gives for why it doesn’t quite work the same way once you leave town. Order it early in the day, when the noodles are freshest.
The two banh mi shops worth the walk
Hoi An’s banh mi has an international reputation, and two names carry most of it. Banh Mi Phuong, at 2B Phan Chau Trinh, is the shop Bourdain filmed and praised; expect a queue and a sandwich in the 25,000-50,000 VND range. Madam Khanh, known locally as the “Banh Mi Queen,” runs a smaller stall at 115 Tran Cao Van with a similarly loyal following. Both do a version stuffed with pate, cold cuts, pickled vegetables, and herbs; neither needs a menu, just point at what’s on the counter.
Com ga, Hoi An’s other must-order plate
Com Ga Ba Buoi, at 22 Phan Chu Trinh, has been serving Hoi An’s turmeric chicken rice since the 1950s. The chicken is shredded, the rice cooked in chicken fat and turmeric, and the whole plate comes with pickled papaya and a herb-heavy side salad.
Is the white rose dumpling worth seeking out?
Yes. Banh bao vac, known on menus as “white rose,” is a translucent rice-flour dumpling filled with shrimp or pork, folded to look like a small flower, and steamed. A single family recipe reportedly supplies most of the white rose served across town, which is part of why it tastes the same wherever you order it.
Rounding out the plate: mi quang, banh xeo, and the drinks
Mi quang, the turmeric noodle from Quang Nam province, comes with a shallow, intensely flavoured broth rather than a full bowl of soup, plus pork, shrimp, and a rice cracker for scooping. Banh xeo, a crispy mung-bean pancake, is usually ordered alongside fresh spring rolls for wrapping. For drinks, the riverside cafes along the Thu Bon serve egg coffee and coconut coffee, and bia hoi, cheap draft beer poured fresh daily, runs around 30,000 VND a glass.
Do you need to book a cooking class to eat well here?
No, but it helps. A half-day cooking class usually opens with a guided walk through a local market, which is the fastest way to learn which stalls sell the freshest herbs and produce before you start ordering off menus on your own.
| Dish | Where | Rough price |
|---|---|---|
| Cao lau | any noodle stall in the Old Town | ~30,000-50,000 VND |
| Banh mi | Banh Mi Phuong, 2B Phan Chau Trinh | ~25,000-50,000 VND |
| Banh mi | Madam Khanh, 115 Tran Cao Van | ~25,000-50,000 VND |
| Com ga | Com Ga Ba Buoi, 22 Phan Chu Trinh | ~30,000-50,000 VND |
| White rose dumplings | most Old Town restaurants | ~50,000-80,000 VND |
For more on what to do between meals, see things to do in Hoi An and the hidden gems guide , or start from the main Hoi An guide . If you’re building out a full trip, the 4-day itinerary has a food-focused day built in.
Book a Hoi An cooking class and market tour ahead of a trip, since good ones fill up in high season. For the practical basics that get you here in the first place, the Vietnam e-visa portal and UNESCO’s listing for Hoi An Ancient Town are the official sources worth bookmarking.
Order cao lau before noon, chase down both banh mi shops on the same day if you can manage two sandwiches, and don’t leave without a plate of white rose dumplings.