This is often the first person you meet when you go to a restaurant, and the last person you see when you leave. But this person doesn’t cook, doesn’t wait tables and probably doesn’t speak English. Who is it? It’s the motorbike parking attendant. Motorbike Attendant – Unsung Heroes of Vietnam When you go out to eat in Vietnam, chances are, someone will be there to look after your bike. I’ve heard off-hand that this is one of the most popular jobs in Vietnam. Think about it: nearly every restaurant has someone, and they all only work for one place. That means that the place next door also has ..read more

Hue is famous for being the pinnacle of ‘traditional’ Vietnamese food. Com hen, bánh khoai and bún bò Huế are among some of the city’s most famous dishes. Hue cuisine is so popular that restaurants specializing in the regional delicacies are often high in demand. Mon Hue, a big-city chain restaurant, has found success with their fast-food approach to Hue food. However, as most Vietnamese people will tell you, the best-tasting Hue food is only found in Hue. If that maxim rings true, then surely the best Huế foods come from their source. What is Com Hen? A generous portion of com hen. Com ..read more

Craft beer is taking Vietnam by storm! At least, it’s taking Saigon by storm. The rest of the country hasn’t quite caught on yet, but that could be changing soon. These days it’s not difficult to find decent craft beer in Da Nang, if you know where to look. Let’s take a look at craft beer in Da Nang and what we can expect in near future. Craft Beer in Da Nang Slow Beginnings We got our first craft beer in Da Nang early 2016, when Fatfish starting carrying Pasteur Street’s Jasmine IPA. Later that same year, they put on a killer beer pairing dinner event, and even brought the brewer u ..read more

I’ve written before about the Tam Ky Art Village, which was a collaborative project between artists in Korea and Vietnam. I still believe Tam Ky is worth a visit; I took my brother and cousin there last year. Besides visiting the art village and the biggest statue in Vietnam, you can experience small-town Vietnam off the well-worn tourist trail. But if you wanna check out some cool local art without making the trek down to Tam Ky, Da Nang has it’s owe “mural alley” of sorts called the Da Nang Fresco Village. Da Nang Fresco Village The entrance to the alley is not so well marked and quite easy ..read more

I first wrote about Bun Mang Ga back in March 2015, and I’m still a big fan. This time I wanna share a different spot on Hoàng Hoa Thám owned by the lovely Ms Thơ. Bún Măng Gà is more than a sum of its parts: noodles, bamboo and chicken. It’s an amazing noodle soup that can be eaten any time of the day. And yes, this bowl of deliciousness costs a mere 20,000 VND. Every afternoon, Ms Thơ sets up her cart and gets to work prepping her ingredients. First, she cuts boiled chicken off the bone. Then she starts on the veggies: sliced white onion, diced spring onions & cilantro add a touch of f ..read more

Banh Canh Da Nang is one of my favorite Vietnamese foods. It’s heartier than most of the other noodle dishes, plus there’s no much variety among just this one dish that you could never eat it every day for a week and never have it the same way twice. Oh and did I mention it comes with fried breadsticks that you dip into the soup? I’ll show you why this dish is awesome and where you can get it! Making Banh Canh Although not every shop makes it in front of your, banh canh is actually really cool to watch people prepare. First, the dough is rolled out flat, then wrapped around a thick spool. Whi ..read more

In all the food tours I’ve done, people invariably ask about where to get a good pho in here in Da Nang. I am happy to recommend a great spot. But I always feel compelled to explain that Central people don’t eat much pho, In fact, they don’t seem to care for it much. My customers are always surprised: “If they don’t eat pho, what do they eat?” The short answer is, “lots of things,” like bún chả cá or bánh xèo. But I today I wanna talk about bun bo Hue, Vietnam’s “other” beef noodle soup. How is it different from pho, you ask? Don’t worry, I made a handy table to compare the two ..read more

There’s sugar in the milk, sugar in the fish sauce, and you can even get sugar in your banh mi,  but then it’s red beans for dessert?? Sometimes the Vietnamese sweet tooth leaves even me scratching my head. But if you want a great dessert, I suggest you try sweet tofu in Da Nang. Tau Hu Xe Lam Eat This place is a modern twist on a Vietnamese classic: soft tofu in a bowl with sweet ginger sauce. If you walk around Hoi An late at night, you’ll see people selling it everywhere. I’d say it’s somewhat less popular in Da Nang, but it’s definitely still around. Tau Hu Xe Lam expands the offerin ..read more

Wanderlust: Cocktail Bar in Da Nang There are plenty of spots to drink a cheap beer, but there isn’t a proper cocktail bar in Da Nang. Wanderlust is about to change that. But before I tell you how awesome this place is, here’s some backstory on rise of the first legit cocktail bar in Da Nang: The Wanderlust Story Tuấn, the manager and head bartender of Wanderlust, got his start bartending right here in Da Nang. He first worked as a bartender at OQ and later took a management job at On The Radio. Soon after, he hit it “big time” when he got offered a job at the Intercontinental, arguably the b ..read more

I’m just rolling out of bed midmorning after a few too many beers the night before, and I’m HUNGRY! I need something that will wake me up, fill my stomach and get me on track for the day. I’m craving… a bowl of fish-cake noodle soup called bún chả cá. What?! Bun Cha Ca in Da Nang Bún chả cá is one amazing dish. It’s on that fabled list of Da Nang food that, as Vietnamese people say, “cannot skip”. It’s that good! So what is it? It’s a noodle soup made with different kinds of fish cakes. Think of it as hot dog made out of fish. Of course, noodles and fish hot dog sounds pretty plain. But add ..read more