Cao Lau, Hoi An-style noodles, is served at the Hoai Pho Restaurant with ingredients transported from the town to HCMC.

People from Hoi An living in Ho Chi Minh City know where to find the flavors of their hometown.

Owner-chef Tran The Cuong says 90 percent of all the ingredients and spices used at the restaurant come directly from Hoi An.

Fish cooked there is caught on Cham Islet near Hoi An, where the town’s fishermen have traditionally found their tastiest catches.

Vegetables used at Hoai Pho come from Hoi An’s Tra Que Village where farmers use seaweed as fertilizer. No chemical fertilizers are used on the vegetables that Cuong’s mother buys everyday at 4 a.m. to send fresh to Ho Chi Minh City by air.

Over 60 Hoi An specialties, including White Rose rice cakes, cao lau pork noodles and chicken rice, are found at the restaurant.

Cuong says only Hoi An locals know how to properly make White Rose cakes, which are filled with shrimp.

Cao lau noodles are made from rice flour kneaded with a mix of water from a unique fresh-water well in Hoi An’s ancient quarter and the ash of trees native to Cham Islet. The noodles are square and soft and have their own distinct flavor. Cao lau is usually accompanied with fresh vegetables from Tra Que and soy sauce with five different spices.

The Hoi An-style chicken rice is also a favorite for Hoai Pho customers. This dish takes a lot of time and energy to prepare,

Cuong says. The rice must be roasted with chicken fat and boiled in chicken stock. The chicken rice goes with onions and watercress as well as sliced green papaya.

Hoai Pho Restaurant also offers mi Quang (Quang Nam noodle), jackfruit salad, roasted littleneck clams with rice paper and cuttlefish steamed with ginger. Hoai Pho’s also serves sweet bean soup specialties from the central region.

Modeled after a traditional Hoi An wood home, one could easily mistake the place for the Quang Nam Province of yesteryear. The restaurant also boasts a collection of Chu Dau ceramics form the northern province of Hai Duong, made circa 1400.

It is not easy to find tasty and authentic Hoi An dishes in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hoai Pho is a true gem.

Reported by Diem Thu