Viet Nam the fourth: Day 10 Hoi An

Coffee. Viet Nam is one of the world’s largest producers of these wonderful beans, though they rarely get recognised for this as the majority is robusta, not the better marketed arabica variety. I’m not even sure many self-proclaimed coffee snobs know much about robusta beans, as these tend to form the backbone of the instant coffee market. Kind of like grain whisky, it’s the bulk of all of the popular scotch blends, but only a big whisky nerd could name any of the grain distilleries. Robusta beans are higher in caffeine, generally more bitter, lower in sugar, higher in anti-oxidants, and are more resistant to disease so need less pesticides.

And five cups in 2 hours is certainly a decent kick of caffeine.

After an okay hotel breakfast, we headed out for a coffee making workshop via a quick stop to drop of a load of laundry. Laundry in VN is generally a very cheap and easy thing, there are many local laundries, and will charge between 20k and 40k VND per kilo, and will take around 24 hours. Given the hotel were charging 50k VND for the service, so likely adding their margin, we figured we could go straight to one of the local laundries, having identified a nearby street with several, including one that has really bad reviews. We were almost there when another woman called us over and said we could leave our laundry with her, and when we pointed to the shop we were aiming for, she said they were all the same business. We’re a little bit suspicious of this, but didn’t want to upset what is probably the laundry kingpin in Hoi An, so we handed over the bags. If you do hear of a laundry war breaking out in Hoi An, just remember you read about it here first.

We also got stopped for one of the current scams going around Hoi An, where a couple of people on a scooter will stop western tourists, offering a free chance at a prize, and then miraculously one of the tickets is a winner for a few nights’ accommodation, or the “grand prize”. Then all you need to do to collect it is go down to the office, where you’re apparently given an hour presentation on investing in their company. As we hadn’t had any coffee, we got halfway suckered, but after a bit of googling worked out the scam and politely declined.

Then we got to go and make coffee, 5 varieties: VN black; ca phe sua da; egg coffee; salted coffee; and coconut coffee. The beans were all locally roasted robusta, and were roasted with vegan butter (whatever that is), coconut, and possibly cacao. There was much whisking involved to make some very fluffy coffee indeed. For the black coffee we were taken through using the very slow drip filters, which involved first gently wetting the grounds, letting them absorb additional water, before then filling them up and waiting for the drips. Once the liquid was collected, we whisked it to make a wonderfully foamy black coffee. For the ca phe sua da it was fairly standard construction, condensed milk, ice, cold coffee, then some additional coffee whisked to a froth on top. Egg coffee is more intricate, whisk an egg yolk with rice wine, vanilla essence, honey, sugar, and condensed milk, whip to a creamy froth, pour into what is effectively a double boiler, add coffee and more condensed milk, then pour hot water around the coffee cup to slightly cook, then drink. Salt coffee was salt, cream, and milk whisked, then add to coffee and condensed milk. Coconut coffee was milk, coconut milk, cream and condensed milk, blend then pour over ice, followed by coffee whisked to creamy. So it’s anyone’s guess which I had more of: air, condensed milk, or caffeine.

Happily buzzing, we finally got some my quang noodles for lunch, being some lovely flat rice noodles with turmeric, with pork, prawn, quail egg, some greens and peanuts with a rich broth. Quite delicious.

We had a good massage at a place we’d been to on our last visit, though found, like many things, the price has gone up a fair bit (even with the 30% discount offer they were advertising). My lower back feels a fair bit happier.

Then it was back to Be Be for the fitting of the shirts, and happily all of the shirts fit pretty well, so no major fixing required. The next fitting, at Yaly, was a bit more complex, as the jacket and pants needed a touch of work, as I like a bit of shoulder room and arm freedom. Nothing major. After a cocktail, L decided that she hadn’t spent enough on clothes, so we went off to find the other Be Be shop, where we’ve been a couple of times before. It was good to be recognised and welcomed back so we obviously gave them more money (I figured I could use some custom fit cargo shorts).

After much spending, measuring and a few laughs, we grabbed dinner at a laneway restaurant, as we were both hankering for ban xeo. We also got a plate of another local specialty, white rose dumplings, which were delightful. The ban xeo were good, but a little thicker than usual, so they were a bit heavier. Good, but not Hoi An’s best ban xeo.

Tomorrow is L’s birthday,, so aside from clothes fittings, it’s pretty much her day to pick what to do.