Page 60 - Taste_and_Travel_International

DESTINATIONS TASTES OF HOI AN

storefronts, and boutiques selling Vietnamese lacquerware,
clever cut-paper designs and silk lanterns.
Motorized transport is banned in the cobbled streets of
Hoi An. Bicycles are a popular way to get around but I like
to wander and the district is compact enough to explore
on foot. After getting measured for a pair of silk lounge
pants and banana-print shirt that will turn heads at my
VIETNAM
next luau, I focused my attention on the places marked on
my walking map by the concierge at my hotel (after his
cousin’s tailoring shop). These were not museums or
historic sites but the best places to taste Hoi An’s signature
street foods — Cao Lau, Bánh Mi and Bánh Xèo.
Water from a thousand-year-old well is the key to Cao
Lau, a rice noodle dish that is unique to Hoi An. According
to legend, Ba Le Well water, plus ash from a tree grown on
the Cham Islands (eight kilometers off the coast of Hoi
An), provide the alkalinity that gives the rice noodles their
distinctive springy texture. They are served in a five-spice-
scented broth, garnished with smoky, charcoal-grilled pork,
fresh bean sprouts, herbs and local greens, deep-fried
croutons and wedges of lime. You’ll see Cao Lau on menus
all over Hoi An. I’m no expert but the version I had in the
leafy courtyard garden of a centuries-old shophouse, now
home to a restaurant called Bazar, was delicious.
Ba Le Well itself turned out to be an underwhelming
hole-in-the-ground in a weed-filled vacant lot but if I
hadn’t gone looking for the mystical water source I’d have
missed its excellent namesake restaurant. Ba Le Well (the
eatery) is a no-frills place tucked away down a twisting
alley. It was empty when I stumbled upon it mid-afternoon
but I returned in the evening to find the spare, back-alley
space transformed into a busy streetside kitchen with a
fairy-lit garden filled with Vietnamese families tucking into
huge platters of food.
Ba Le Well is famous for a do-it-yourself meal of rice
rolls and there’s a strict protocol for their construction. A
grandmotherly server demonstrated, supervising my
efforts until satisfied that I could be left alone. This is how
it goes: Take two triangles of rice paper and arrange them
like the wings of a butterfly. Top with shredded pickles,
cucumber spears, lettuce and fresh herbs; lay an omelette
down, followed by a crispy little spring roll and a piece of
charcoal-grilled pork. Roll the whole shebang up, dip it in
nuoc cham, and cram it in your mouth before it
disintegrates. Rinse and repeat until the heaping plates of
food in front of you are demolished. The cost of this very
generous meal, plus an evening’s worth of beer — about
US$3.50.
Bánh Mi may just be the world’s greatest fusion
sandwich and it’s a hot topic in Hoi An. Since Anthony
Bourdain raved about the Bánh Mi at Phuong Bread this
sandwich shop on the edge of Old Town is packed. If you
can snag a seat on the airy upper floor, it is a fine place to

58 TASTE;5TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL5 JANUARY–MARCH 2018