Street Food in Hoi An- A Complete Guide

Hoi An is a haven for street food. If you travel on a budget and wish to taste as many local special dishes as you can, the town is a perfect destination for you. We provided guides to the best street food in the city in previous stories but there are still more that you should spend time exploring. we would like to share a list of Street Food in Hoi An.

1. Cơm tấm (broken rice)

Photo by Kirk K

Located not too far from the town centre, Quán Cơm Tấm Ba Nghiền (Ba Nguyen Broken Rice Restaurant) becomes a popular dining spot for local people and tourists. Cơm tấm originates from the south and the food in HCM City is better than that in anywhere.

The restaurant offers the broken rice with a variety of items, such as sườn nướng (grilled pork chops), bì (shredded pork skin), chả trứng (a steamed pork and egg quiche) and omelet. They are served with vegetables, chayote soup or bitter melon soup.

• Address: No 47, Nguyen Cong Tru Street
• Opening time: early morning until 2 p.m.
• Price: from VND40,000

2. Ốc hút (snail sucking)

Photo by Hoianfootour

As one of typical food in Hoi An, ốc hút becomes a a favorite dish of many diners because of its unique flavour. The food is named based on the way local people eat it: place the mouth close to the opening of the shell, and suck the meat out. Although it is very spicy, people are addicted to its strong taste of lemongrass, chilli, and species.
Ly Thuong Kiet is now considered as a street snail at the town. We recommend you to dine at Quán Oanh (Oanh’s Restaurant) to have the best experience with the special food.

• Address: No 9/1, Tran Cao Van Street
• Opening time: 3 p.m.-10 p.m.
• Price: VND20,000 per plate

3. Bánh canh (Vietnamese thick noodle soup)

Photo by  Thanh Ly

While Banh My Phuong is widely known among tourists thanks to guidebooks and tourism websites, Bánh Canh bà Quýt (Mrs. Quyt’s Restaurant) on the same street is only popular among local people. However, it is an eating place that you should not miss out.

A bowl of bánh canh here consists of pork leg bones, grilled catfish satays, Vietnamese pork sausage, and soft and chewy noodles. Ingredients to cook the dish are similar to those in other places, but the sweetness and the fat of the bone broth make the difference. Remember to squeeze melons and add chili to the bowl to make it be more flavorsome.

• Address: located at the end of Phan Chau Trinh Street
• Opening time: 3 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Price: VND20,000 per bowl

4. Kem ống (pipe ice creams)

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The ice creams have recently become the hottest street food in the ancient town, especially among young people. They bring them back to their childhood when they ran after ice cream bikes and save money to buy as many as they could.

Their ingredients include sugar, milk, water, salt and cream. Depending on what the ice cream bikes offer, you can choose three or four flavors such as chocolate, strawberry, coconut milk, and durian.

• Address: sold at food stalls and on bike food carts on Tran Phu Street.
• Opening time: from the morning until all are sold out
• Price: VND5,000 per skewer

5. Bánh kẹp (waffles)

Photo by Hoianfoodtour

Only with coal burning stoves, rice papers, butter, chili, and some small tables and chairs, street food stalls are always crowded with diners. The process of making pate is very important in making great waffles. Pork liver is cleaned, sliced and soaked in milk. It is ground and left to dry. Small slices of bread, peppers, and species are added to the mixture and then they are all ground until finely chopped. The mix is steamed for a few hours until pate is very well done. Rice papers are cut into small triangular pieces.

After receiving orders from customers, owners will spread a thin layer of butter on the triangular rice paper and then put pate, fried onions, and Vietnamese coriander. The process is complete when owners put another triangular rice paper on the top of the mixture, and lightly roll to make it remain the same shape.

• Address: Tran Cao Van Street, Phan Chau Trinh Street and near Hoai River square.
• Opening time: from the morning until they are sold out
• Price: VND10,000 per plate

6. Bánh ghẹ xanh (fried green crab cakes)

Photo by dulich.tuoitre.vn

Fresh green crabs, the main ingredient of the food, is caught near Cua Dai and An Bang beaches, and Cu Lao Cham islands. After being mixed with species, they are soaked in the corn flavor. They are then fried in about 4-5 minutes before being taken out of a pan. Diners can eat the cakes with chili.

• Address: sold on bike food carts on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Bach Dang Street, and Tran Phu Street
• Opening time: mostly in the afternoon and evening

You will feel like there is something missing when being home if you do not enjoy any street food in Hoi An. Therefore, when you are in the town, do not mind trying all special dishes listed above.

7. Thit xien nuong (grilled pork skewers)

Photo by Hoian FoodTour

When walking around the town, you can smell delicious aromas from grilled pork skewers at street stalls. Pork is chopped into small pieces and embalmed with spices about 3 or 4 hours before being skewered on bamboo sticks and cooked on a charcoal grill. Grilled pork is then rolled with rice paper and served with vegetables and sauces. Once you taste it, you will realize that there is nothing better than enjoying the spicy and flavorful food in the cold weather in the winter. Each skewer costs about 5,000 dongs so feel free to fill in your stomach with as much grill pork as you can.

8. Banh beo chen (steamed rice pancake with shrimps)

Photo by Hoianfoodtour

You can find banh beo everywhere, from restaurants to small food carts. Rice flour is soaked in the water for about 2-3 hours before being ground. Then the flour is poured into small cups and steamed in a few minutes. After that, it is cooled down and put in small plates. Meanwhile, shrimps, ground pork, and fried onions are mixed together. Chefs will sprinkle the plates with the mixture and all you need to do now is enjoying banh beo with chili and salty sauce.

You can try some to feel the taste of the food or eat until you are full. There are salt and sweet banh beo in Hoi An, and each plate costs about 2,000-3,000 dong.

9. Xi ma, or Che me den (black sesame seed and coconut sweet soup)

Photo by clumsyto

Many people in the old town are interested in xi ma, which is not only considered as a delicious dessert but also a good medicine. It is very good for digestive system.

At first, sesame seeds and nuts are grounded in a food processor. The mixture and sugar are then added to the boiling water and chefs have to stir until it gets thick. In the final stage, the coconut will be added into the pot and the soup will be ready after some minutes. Xi ma is poured into small bowls and served for diners and you only have to pay 5,000 per one.

10.  Che (Vietnamese sweet dessert soup)

Photo by  Nhung Nấm

Che ngot (sweet soup) is one of the most favorite desserts in Hoi An. Street stalls offer tourists many choices such as che bap (sweet corn pudding), che hat sen (lotus seeds sweet soup), che dau xanh (sweet mung bean soup) and che dau van (hyacinth bean sweet soup). All of che have a sweet flavor and are very good for health. Vendors will ladle the soups into small bowls and you can gradually eat them without worrying about being full.

A bowl of che or a plastic bag of che costs about 5,000 dong. You can sit down to eat at the stalls or take it away.

11. Diverse cakes

Photo by Chicz Chuot

Cakes sold here are diverse and colorful. On your way to visit cultural and historical sites of the town, you can taste banh chuoi (steamed banana cake), banh tieu (Vietnamese hollow doughnuts), banh xoai (Mango fruit leather, fruit roll-ups), banh da lon (steamed layer cake), banh khoai mi nuong (baked cassava cake) and banh phu the (mung bean and tapioca, also known as husband and wife cake because it is served at Vietnamese weddings). You can buy one for each kind of cakes so that you may enjoy all the taste. The price for one is very cheap. For example, you will be charge 5,000 dong for a banh khoai mi nuong and 3,000 dong for banh da lon.

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