Oddly, I'm not fond of the other specialty noodle dish specific to Hội An- Cao lầu. The noodles are made from stone-ground local rice. Kinda thick. Bit like a cross between thick laksa beehoon and udon. I don't mind the noodles at all. Love its texture which is slightly chewy and how the flavors go from sour to sweet.
The locals say that best comes from the street stalls and use water from the city's ancient square wells, and ash from the firewood of Cham Islands. Lye water, really. Caustic alkaline water. Okaayy. I appreciate the difficult steps to produce a bowl of broth and to make the noodles, but not the final flavors that are heavy on the meat which is either pork loin or trotters.
Unfortunately, eating cao lầu at its place of origin didn't make me like it one iota better. Good noodles, but one needs to like pork to think this dish edible in its entirety. Luckily, most eateries serve more than cao lầu. Unless one is squatting by the roadside stall that specializes only in this one item. Gamely tried three bowls from different stalls, taking only the noodles and picking out the meat to leave it in a clean bowl for stall-owners to collect. The man had no interest in eating them. Tried the supposedly famous one at the corner on the street. I can't get over the char siu, pork crackling and lard used. So this dish isn't for me.
The locals say that best comes from the street stalls and use water from the city's ancient square wells, and ash from the firewood of Cham Islands. Lye water, really. Caustic alkaline water. Okaayy. I appreciate the difficult steps to produce a bowl of broth and to make the noodles, but not the final flavors that are heavy on the meat which is either pork loin or trotters.
Unfortunately, eating cao lầu at its place of origin didn't make me like it one iota better. Good noodles, but one needs to like pork to think this dish edible in its entirety. Luckily, most eateries serve more than cao lầu. Unless one is squatting by the roadside stall that specializes only in this one item. Gamely tried three bowls from different stalls, taking only the noodles and picking out the meat to leave it in a clean bowl for stall-owners to collect. The man had no interest in eating them. Tried the supposedly famous one at the corner on the street. I can't get over the char siu, pork crackling and lard used. So this dish isn't for me.
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