Hoi An 2016 - Street Food

As a destination now catering mostly to tourists, it is not surprising that you find lots of street hawkers in Hoi An. Most of them sell snacks and not really things that you can fill your tummy with. Surprisingly unlike in Hue where we saw Banh Mi stalls on every corner, here we hardly saw any - even though Anthony Bourdain had declared that he had the best Banh Mi in Hoi An.

The most common street food are deep fried stuff - like bananas and seafood. Unlike back home where bananas are usually deep-fried whole or halved, or in thick slices - here the bananas are cut into thin slices and deep-fried in batter like a pancake. They are quite crispy and delicious.

The seafood pancakes are also very nice if you buy from the right stall. Make sure they look crispy and not soggy.

The biggest concentration of street food stalls is on the Western side of the old town. Here you will find stalls selling fresh fruits, grilled meat and sweet desserts. Sweet desserts are a specialty in Vietnam and one of our favourites. Locally they are called "Che" - and there are many varieties such as sweet corn pudding, banana in sago pearls, longan and lotus seed, yam and sweet potato, etc. You can either have them separately or mixed together - warm or cold.

One of the things you don't see often in other places are the dried squid snacks. These are really delicious - depending on whether you like the strong and fishy squid taste. 

Just like in Hanoi, the street food ladies will even bring the goodies right up to your doorstep.