Best street food in Hoi An Old Town

Unknown to many foreign tourists, many famous street food actually originates from Hoi An. Other than the famous ones introduced by the late Anthony Bourdain, many locals from other cities actually travel to Hoi An just for the street food.

While many nice places (like seafood restaurants) are actually far, here are a couple of popular street food places that are a walking distance from Hoi An Ancient Town.

Address: 51/7 Phan Chu Trinh

When one think Vietnamese food, Pho immediately comes to mind. It’s an ultimate comfort food and all about the flavourful broth. Pho is the ultimate Vietnam National dish.

In good pho places, the soup is usually prepared with simmering beef, chicken bones, charred onions and spices such as cinnamon, star anise, ginger coriander and cloves. It is then boiled using charcoal overnight.

The broth is then added to flat white rice noodles and served with thinly sliced beef. Side dishes like bean sprouts, chilli sauce and Vietnamese basil will be served together.

Pho Tung is owned by 2 retired Teachers and is a local favourite especially for breakfast. They started off selling Pho in their neighbourhood but word of mouth grew and they ended up quitting their day jobs!

A typical bowl of Pho here costs 35k dong. I would recommend adding an egg for 5k dong which adds an extra kick in the soup broth!

Address: 51 Phan Chu Trinh

French inspired Baguette filled with sliced pork, pate, homemade mayonnaise and spicy sauces. My personal preference is the Banh My Op La, which is the baguette with omelette and fish sauce.

If you observe the queues, many locals actually do not frequent the so-called popular Banh My stores (like Banh My Phuong) these days. One, due to the touristy prices. Two, due to poorer value.

Banh Mi Bich is sandwiched between two shophouses in an alleyway and along the main road. A sandwich costs between 12k to 15k dong. While there are several others that are patronised by locals like Banh Mi Lanh, this is one of the better stores around Hoi An Ancient Town.

Address: 593 Hai Ba Trung

Com ga Hoi An (or Vietnamese Chicken rice) is one of the signature dishes of Hoi an. The tumeric rice is soaked in chicken stock while the shredded chicken is tossed with Vietnamese Coriander, Onions, and lime juice.

Many foreigners are not used to the taste of natural organic chicken which are a little on the drier side. But I will recommend ordering the chicken salad (Goi ga) and rice separately instead of just the chicken rice.

Com Ga Hien is opened in the evenings at around 5pm and is closed as early as 7pm at times. For lunch, I will suggest looking for Com Ga Xi who still sells his chicken rice at 20k dong.

Address: Thai Phien Street, near the cross junction of Thai Phien and Nguyen Truong To Street.

This is for the acquired taste. Bun mam is steamed rice vermicelli with fermented shrimp paste.

An unassuming street food store front, this little bowl of noodles pack a punch. I would compare this dish to a durian where if you can handle the smell, you will most likely love the dish.

A dish will normally cost 25,000dong here.

Address: 6A Truong Minh Luong

Mi Quang or Quang noodle is a dish that originates from Quang Nam. The main ingredients are rice noodles, meat, herbs, commonly served with a small amount of broth infused with Tumeric.

It is commonly garnished with peanuts and toasted sesame rice crackers called Banh trang me. Additional ingredients include hard boiled quail eggs, steamed pork sausage, shredded pork rinds and sprinkled with lime juice. Do note that herbs and vegetables are usually put in a separate plate are complimentary.