We loved Hoi An. It is a foodie’s paradise. It is bordered on one side with beaches that are clean. The town is small and can walk the entire area…great exercise and every turn, there is a foodie’s place to discover or try. The first evening we went to a restaurant that was 20 minutes to the beach by taxi. We literally sat at a table on the beach, sand our floor. We had food that was heavenly. Abraham had a French burger and my cynical side, “what, we came here for you to have a burger?” He replied, “Mom, it is a French burger.” It finally arrived and it looked sumptuous. It was minced sirloin, sitting on a small French bread, with cheese and a soft fried egg that oozed with each bite. He said it was the best burger he had ever eaten. I had baked camembert with different herbs. That was so delicious and it was also the owner’s favorite dish. The balmy sea air, lovely food and the setting made a perfect introduction to a foodies adventure for the next few days.
Early the next day we embarked on a foodie tour: Taste of Hoi An Street Food Tour with Neville Dean, an Aussie who retired in Hoi An. This was the highlight of Vietnam. Neville was a fantastic guide and storyteller. His wife was so nice to all of us. We ate so much and visited some incredible places. Abraham found the place where Anthony Bourdain ate Banh Mi Xa Xiu. He must have devoured at least 10 of these during the time we were there..why not, it was like 50 cents each.
Our tour group had people from Lat Am, Europe and the U.S. The couple from the U.S. had sold everything they had to take a year off and travel around the world, one foodie restaurant or event at a time. Everyone had such interesting backgrounds and passions. The couple that we endeared to our hearts came from Argentina. They have a restaurant Buenos Aires and Christina does all the cooking. They also have a very romantic story of how they met. They are serious foodies. Christina travels Southeast Asia in search of new ideas she can use in her cooking for the restaurant. Check out their blog and story, Cocina Sunae and the local tours, BAlocl.com. Abraham and I plan on visiting them in the near future.
One evening Christina, Franco, Abraham and I headed off to find a restaurant called The End of the World…it could have been the end of the world as it was difficult to find and the taxi had to back up to it so he could get out. This restaurant is famous for it’s stuffed squid. Many Michelin star chefs go there to eat. It really was fabulous. We had other seafood that evening and we couldn’t believe how inexpensive it was. It was a lovely way to close the day.
It was very hard to leave Hoi An. It was perfect weather, people very nice and no matter where you ate, food was good. We will go back…thanks to my friend Marion and Haney for insisting we visit the place.
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