Hoi An - More Food

Today is our last full day in Hoi An and we spent the day cooking with Chef Tony from the hotel

The day started with a visit to a market garden, sort of.  Families have a strip or two each of land which they cultivate,,  the produce is then taken to the market to sell or sold direct to the hotels. The land is rich and dark, it being a flood plain of the river. There were fields of fresh vegetables, salads and herbs. It smelt and looked wonderful.

The place was green and verdant with the locals working on their individual strips.

There was also the Vietnamese equivalent to a country show, sized down of course. People racing to see how many rice plants they could get in the soil. The reckoned on planting a full strip in ten minutes.. Phew!

Little older ladies carrying enormous weights of water and swinging them around to water in the plants. Who needs aerobics.  Just amazing.

In a restaurant located on site there was a competition where people brought in their own produce and were cooking up local specialities, to their own recipes, and of course kids running around everywhere enjoying themselves.

After that Chef Tony took us to the local market where we spent over and hour looking at stuff and he explained about the ingredients.  We discussed what we could substitute when we got home. But we can get most of it at home.

I just love the market, all the people, lots of muttering old ladies elbowing you out of the way. Scooters trying to run you over... Ahh back to normal!

After the market it was back to the hotel to do ourcook up outside on the terrace. We started off with Tum Haa a sort of inside out spring roll and then a papaya salad, which we sat and ate, a small break and then fish in a banana leaf followed by claypot pork. And then we scoffed that. A brilliant day was had. We got a copy of the recipes and a papaya salad grater each.

Do you like the tomato flower I made!

Our last night and we did what we normally do. We crossed the bridge walked through the funfair into the Old Town. Wandered around around taking in the cooking smells and people watching. When we had a little appetite we crossed over again and went back to there Gecko and had spring rolls and wanton, with a couple caiparinas, and that was enough.

We finished the evening sitting on the balcony.