Bird’s Nest Bevarage – 25% bird’s nest

Food was an important part of our experience in Hoi An.

Everything we ate was delicious; the cakes and sweets in the cosy french cafes, the fried spring rolls cooked freshly in front of us at a tiny stall in the old wooden quayside market, the Hoi An specialities of shrimp stuffed dumplings (called White Roses) and fried wanton soup.

Even the stall food was exceptional. As I’ve said before the culinary heart of Asia is found on the streets. In Hoi An it proved a little unorthodox. One evening Ruth and i sat on the side of a road tucking into a particularly tasty bowl of noodles, mint and sauce topped with a tender barbequed meat. I asked what the meat was – “Meat” the woman replied unhelpfully. I imitated a cow – it certainly wasn’t pork or chicken – the woman just laughed. Turns out the animal in question was dog, a fact verified to us by the cafe down the road which included on its menu, Beef, Chicken, Pork and Meat. I should add that it was one of the nicest things i have ever tasted on this gastonomic journey.

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Were we really still in Vietnam? No karaoke bars, no motorbike hordes, no tall and ugly hotels. It felt like Laos – no wonder we took an instant liking to Hoi An, even though it was only six o’clock in the morning.

Note to self: Stop getting buses or trains that arrive at some ungodly morning hour. Night transport is great to save money on accomodation, but even if you are lucky enough to sleep the whole way (and Diazepam helps believe me), you arrive at your destination with a cloudy head, black rings around your eyes, feeling like you haven’t slept a wink, and then having to contend with badgering touts trying to rip you off.

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