Beyond Pho – Boating to the Full Moon in Hoi An

In the evening, we came back to Hoi An and found it bustling with festivities.  The night market has opened.  Music filled the air, food stalls lined the streets, and the colorful lanterns decorated the sky with the full moon above us.

We had a meal in a restaurant, but that would be just the first on the night-long tasting menu.

“This is so much better than Pho,” my companion said.  He chewed big bites from his bowl of Mi Quang.  Mi Quang means “Quang-styled noodles.” Quang as in the Quang Nam Province, where Hoi An is.  Instead of the beef or chicken that commonly feature in the Pho, the Mi Qang comes with pork slices.  There are shrimps as the supporting actor, then thrown in the mix are shrimp crackers, lime, green sprouts, perhaps half a boiled egg, and a generous handful of herbs over thick yellow noodles.  Sitting in the bottom is an unnamable sauce that gives the noodles moist and taste.

Mi Quang is not soup-based and therefore a diner would naturally mix the whole bowl of goodies by reaching this sauce at the bottom before digging in.  The Mi Quang triggers rich sensory pleasures: the succulence of the meat, the crispiness of the shrimp crackers, the aroma of the herbs, the chewiness of the noodles and the flavors of its sauce, all present in each single bite.

I agree with my companion’s assessment.  Pho is certainly a very nice dish, but Mi Quang is waiting to be discovered by the world outside of Vietnam.

Heading right into the night market, we had skewered meat and foot-long Vietnamese spring rolls.  We saw pancakes with minced meat and generous herbs.  All very tempting but we had no more room in our tummies.

We then greeted a scene of community celebration along the riverside.  People engaged in all kinds of group games and contests.  The joy was pervasive.  As we cheered those people taking away their prizes from the contests, I felt a full involvement in the festivity.  No language was necessary for us to appreciate this occasion.

Finally, we paid to do a boat ride.  We rode for about 45 minutes on the boat, passing under both of the footbridges that connected the small An Hoi Islet off the shore.  There were many boats making their rounds that evening.  We lit candles and made our wishes by placing them on the river.  It was touristy, for sure, but nonetheless a very pleasant time spent.  Forever remembered on my mind was the lit candles and their fickle all over the river.  I wished for myself a very happy future.  I was not having the best time of my life then because our old family dog had passed away.

The day was more than perfect for me.  We rode our bicycles through all the festivities, into the quiet and calm of our hostel.  We would be returning to Da Nang the next day.  Our last evening in Hoi An was fun, memorable and celebratory.