Hoi An is a city about 45 minutes drive south of Da Nang, known for its historic ancient town, yellow painted colonial buildings, and picturesque bright green rice fields. It is also known for its many tailors offering custom pieces with a short turn around time. When we were having cold feet about committing to a whole month in Da Nang (which I talk about here), we thought about possibly splitting the month between Hoi An and Da Nang.
We read conflicting information, some indicating that Hoi An was quieter than Da Nang and a more laid back spot to stay, walking or riding bikes through rice fields and exploring the historic downtown. Other travelers felt the old town was extremely touristy, with pushy vendors trying to sell you something at every turn. Ultimately we decided Da Nang was the better option as we wanted to be on the beach. Hoi An, while close to the coast, is still about 4-5km from the beach, not within walking distance.
Our taxi driver, Tony, recommended a great place in Hoi An called Bahn Mi Queen to us and we sure are glad he did. In total, we ate there four times when visiting Hoi An. The price was right and it was soooo good. It ended up being our favorite bahn mi in all of Vietnam.
As you can see below, Bahn Mi Queen has a cart outside where they make all of their sandwiches and take away orders. Behind the cart, is a door to their dining area where one can go inside and enjoy the AC along with their Bahn Mi.
I’ve eaten Bahn Mi in the states and while usually always tasty, there are noticeable differences to the real thing, I now realize. In the U.S., I have only had Bahn Mi made with pork belly, but in Vietnam you can get pretty much any meat you want or egg or just veggies. Traditionally, it is a mix of cold cuts like Vietnamese ham and sausage and pork belly, though we often got the BBQ pork or char siu, when offered.
Bahn Mi also come with a healthy smear of [usually pork liver] paté (unless one requests it without) mayonnaise, pickled carrot and daikon and fresh herbs are added to cut the richness. Spicy chili is also added (in the U.S., it’s usually jalapeno, in Vietnam it’s usually bird’s eye chili or Thai chili). Another occasional add is pork floss, which is basically dried pork with the texture of cotton candy. We first encountered it in China, though we did not know what it was. We would see it mostly in bakeries and we learned we wanted to avoid the “fuzzy bread”, as the texture is initially a bit off-putting.
We first visited Hoi An for an afternoon during a day-trip, and later ended up going back for a two night stay at a boutique hotel called Secret House. The owner and her husband are both artists and have a gallery onsite. They also have a very cute cafe that served one of the best Cafe Americanos I have ever had.
The gallery:
The Secret House is located just outside of the ancient town and overlooks beautiful, green rice fields. It was lovely to sit at breakfast, looking out over them.
Another bonus of Secret House was that it was a less than five minute walk to Om Day Yoga. I hadn’t taken a group yoga class since we left the states, so I was very excited to go. The studio was lovely and the class was fantastic. The studio was open air, so whether or not you enjoy “hot yoga” or not, that’s what you’re going to get!
We took several very hot walks through the rice fields and even rode bikes for a bit. The bikes weren’t in great shape and the steering was wonky, and riding them when a motorbike whizzed by on the narrow path was nerve-racking since a sharp drop with open sewer was on the other side. I still enjoyed the bike riding as I hadn’t ridden a bike since I was a kid. I hope to enjoy some more during our Asian adventure.
We enjoyed our time in the Hoi An old town, just walking around,
taking a boat ride down the The Bon River, which offered a welcome breeze,
and checking out the very cool Precious Heritage Art Gallery and Museum (Phil writes more about these activities here).
We also went to Uncle Huan’s coffee where we tried the famous Vietnamese salt coffee for the first time. It was amazing and maybe my favorite salt coffee of the whole trip, which is really saying something because I had many.
Salt coffee consists of a base of strong coffee made with robusta coffee beans. Robusta beans are different from Arabica coffee beans, which are what is traditionally used in the U.S. and other western countries. Robusta beans have a stronger, more bitter, coffee flavor than Arabica beans and also contain more caffeine (yes please to both!).
They make a salt coffee by pouring a bit of strong coffee into the cup, then a layer of sweetened condensed milk is poured on top, followed by a layer of salt foam made from adding salt to heavy whipping cream or liquid non-dairy creamer and whipping until thickened into foam. We were instructed to start with your straw on the bottom layer, moving through each one for your first sip of coffee, then you stir it all together and enjoy! It is absolutely delicious and creates a flavor similar to salted caramel, with the salt mellowing out the super sweetness of the condensed milk nicely.
The reason I had most been looking forward to visiting Hoi An was because I wanted to visit one of the many, many tailors shops and have a few things made. I have seen so many TikTok and Instagram posts about people visiting and having custom wardrobes made that they then take or ship back home, for a fraction of the price it would cost to have handmade clothes at home. Unfortunately, I would not be able to get a whole wardrobe, but I wanted a few pieces that would work well for our hot weather travels, but still feel fashionable.
I had bookmarked several tailors that I saw videos on and made an appointment with one, the An Bang shop, which is run by two sisters. I messaged with the shop on WhatsApp prior to the appointment to ensure they could make what I wanted. They could, and on our first day in Hoi An, Phil and I stopped in and I selected the material I wanted and they took my measurements. The whole process took less than 20 minutes. It was a Monday and she said I could return on Wednesday at noon to try on the pieces. Then, they would make any needed adjustments, and deliver the final pieces to our hotel in Da Nang. That sounded great to me.
I returned and we talked about the few tweaks required. I even got a free skirt out of the deal since I had wanted a skort, which they indicated they would do. She had already made the skirt, so said I could have it too. I selected a different color for the would-be skort and she said it would be delivered with the other items to our hotel.
On Thursday, they delivered the items as promised. I didn’t even have to pay extra for the delivery. Score! In total, I purchased; one pair of linen pants, a linen skort (plus one free skirt), a halter top, and a white linen top.
I was very pleased with the purchases. I am curious to see how they hold up to frequent washing and drying (at super high heat). Since leaving China, we haven’t had the opportunity to do our own laundry (the hotels there often had complimentary, self service machines). In Indonesia and Vietnam, typically, the least expensive route is to have a local laundry wash it. They charge by the kilo and boy oh boy do they dry things on a high heat, we’re talking my loose pants become my tight pants after drying high heat.
So far, a month and half after leaving Da Nang, everything is holding up. I have most often worn the pants and skort. The halter top is very cute, but not super practical for regular wearing. I am scared of getting food on the white linen shirt, so haven’t worn it as often as I could for that reason. I need to just say screw it and wear the darn thing more often. I bought them for regular wear. All in all, I am very pleased with my purchases and the process and would recommend it to anyone visiting Hoi An. There are even leather goods craftsman who make belts, purses, and shoes. If we had been going right home after Da Nang, you better believe I would have hit them up too.
Next up, our travels in Vietnam continue in Saigon!
Jess Barrington Travels 