hoi an - a day trip
our hotel had a complimentary shuttle to hoi an so we took advantage of it. it took less than an hour and i slept for most of the ride.
first stop: banh mi queen
hot tip: just blow right past the line. those are folks waiting to take it to go. there's a sitting area with service inside and if you sit down someone will bring you a menu.
two specials please
for a bev i ordered a "sữa bắp"--I knew sữa meant milk and used context clues to assume bắp meant corn. so creamy and sweet and light. perfect for this hot day.
hoi an was celebrating its liberation that day. im not sure if that's why the streets were decorated with all these flags and lanterns or if it's always like that.
second stop: white rose restaurant
it's called white rose not because it contains roses but because of the shape.
to be honest, i wasn't blown away by these. i think my expectations were to high. don't get me wrong it's a very delicious dumpling, but it wasn't mind-changingly delicious as all the other meals had been. i have been spoiled.
the other thing they had on their menu was this. it's almost like nachos. it's fried wonton wrappers with a sweet and sour kind of sauce that kinda reminded me of 깐풍기. fun!
third stop: xliii specialty coffee
it was unbearably hot outside, and we had an hour or two to kill before our ~ appointment~ so i wanted to go somewhere that was sure to have ac.
this coffee shop was perfect for that. it had a very cool atmosphere. perhaps too cool for me.
i'm not a huge coffee drinker. i only started drinking coffee about a year ago, so i happily jumped at their suggestion of their most "accessible" coffee. which was one of the only coffees they offered iced and also with milk. a got a classic pour over.
it was really nice to get to know our barista, thanh. she was so knowledgeable and i feel like i learned a lot about coffee. she shared stories from her honeymoon, and we also got to see pictures of her family's farm (which, yes, they did grow coffee but more tea than coffee she said). it's one of the delights of travel (and cafes/bars/restaurants) getting to meet people and talk with them and see little glimpses of their lives.
i found this artist, tree, on instagram
her studio is also a homestay, complete with a pool!
another very cool place. i got the sense that hoi an (outside of, or perhaps including the tourist-y areas) is a very hip spot.
she free-hand drew these
and they became...these, the final results
and then it was time for "snack" number three already!
stop 5: mì quảng ông hai
mì quảng is a da nang specialty and cao lầu is a hoi an specialty.
mì quảng has wide thin flat noodles that are yellow because they are infused with turmeric.
and cao lầu noodles are made with rice that is soaked in lye water. resulting in a very chewy texture.
in a rare turn of events (against our own expectations and typical preferences), i preferred the cao lau and a preferred the mi quang. it's unclear yet whether or not he just said that because i immediately said i preferred the cao lau.
we wandered around the historic district, got some stamps made of our face, and grabbed a seat on a second floor balcony to enjoy the lanterns and boats passing by
and then it was back to da nang for our real dinner :)
