sallysaab

Off to the above next month, would really appreciate some honest tips on good places to eat.

schnauzer

The Brothers Restaurant in Hoi An is popular and deservedly so, the food is great as well as the ambiance. Don't be afraid to try some of the little local restaurants, at Restaurant 19 we had some amazing squid, The Cargo Club is fun. Have a wander around during the day and make a booking for the evening if you fancy it.

If you have time The Red Bridge Cooking School was great fun, you get to eat the lunch you have prepared. You can book through one of the restaurants in town - sorry can't remember the name but your hotel should know it. We had lunch at this restaurant and enjoyed the food as well.

The food in Hoi An was the highlight of my whole Vietnam trip, very fresh, burst of herbie flavours. Yum Yum!!

Schnauzer
ps just booked a cruise and will be in Vietnam again next April

silverwool

There is a Siem Reap restaurant thread on Fodors. (Offwego?) Spelling could be dodgy. My personal favourite is Cuisine Wat Damnak. More expensive than most in SR but still very cheap by western standards.

shandy

In Siem Reap we had a wonderful dinner at Abacus which is basically french cuisine. It can be a little hard to find so check your tuk tuk driver knows where it is, but well worth the effort. Our best meal during our 5 days there, though admittedly we didn't get to Cuisine Wat Damnak. We left it for our last night as a good way to finish off only to find it was shut - so check ahead.

rhkkmk

in hoi an we loved secret garden... also morning glory..

Kathie

Here is offwego's thread:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-siem-reap.cfm

sallysaab

Thanks everyone.
We've been to all places before, but wanted to get the latest feedback as things can change.
Appreciate your suggestions, haven't been to any mentioned.
Kathie I'd forgotten about offwegos list, ta.

jgg

These were our favorites in the places you mentioned:
Hoi An - Cargo Club and Ms Ly's
Hanoi - Hanoi Supper Club, Newday and La Badiane(French)
Siem Reap - Viroth's, Cafe Indochine

Here are links to my trip reports along with pictures, that have a bit more detail on the above:

Hanoi/HoiAnhttp://www.fromhometoroam.com/category/travels/asia/vietnam-christmas-2011/

Siem Reap: http://www.fromhometoroam.com/2012/0...nd-angkor-wat/

mediakzar

A couple months ago, we enjoyed an exceptional meal in Siem Reap at Touich Restaurant. It’s a bit off the beaten track but the food was surprisingly sophisticated and the service was also terrific. We had a sour chicken soup & banana flower salad as starters and mains of a smoked eggplant with chicken and grilled tiger prawns. Every thing was good and the eggplant was outstanding. For dessert we ordered a sampler plate of Khmer style “cakes” that was also great. Most were essentially rice or coconut rather than flour based. With a large bottle of water and 1 beer, the total price was $20.50.

A couple suggestions for Vietnamese restaurants in Hanoi:
New Day Restaurant is a straight ahead Vietnamese place tucked back in the Old Quarter at 72 Ma May. We enjoyed our first meal there so much that we went back a 2nd time for our last lunch in Hanoi. From that experience, I would have to say that New Day would be my first choice for a Vietnamese place in the Old Quarter.

The original location of Cha Ca La Vong is an institution in the Old Quarter. It’s a 150 year old fish place that only serves one dish (fish stir fried at the table in ghee with turmeric, dill and other herbs and spices). I’ve seen it on one of the 1000 places to see before you die. We ate at the original location, which was just around the corner from our hotel on a previous trip and it was an interesting experience that anyone might enjoy. At the time our thought was that while we liked the Cha Ca dish, we would probably try to find it at a different restaurant on our next visit to Hanoi.

On our visit to Hanoi earlier this year, we kind of did go to a different restaurant for the dish this time and we kind of didn’t. One day we went by the office of our Hanoi travel agent and he took us to a fish place just up the street from there for lunch. Turns out that it was a more modern branch of Cha Ca La Vong restaurant at 107 Nguyen Truong To. They serve the same dish but we liked it better. The room didn’t have the history or atmosphere of the original but it was quite a bit cleaner with better service and fewer tourists. It’s a little outside of the Old Quarter but the cab ride was less than $2. Even though the original location was only 3 blocks from our hotel, we preferred to take a cab to the newer location for dinner later in the week.

It’s been 4-5 years since we were last in Hoi An but on that visit, we had a terrific meal at Mango Rooms. The front door is on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street but there’s also a back door on the riverfront. It is a Cuban/Asian fusion restaurant with a very innovative menu and is a very hip spot to be in Hoi An. Chef is a young guy with a lot of style who seems to be having fun at what he’s doing. We ordered two different specials of the day and both were great. Good mango with sticky rice for desert. This was a little more expensive than most places we ate on the trip but I think the whole bill was still only about $20 for the two of us.

You might be interested in seeing some additional notes on restaurants at http://www.se-asiatravel.com/vietnam/

gpotvin

Bookmarking

lcuy

I recommend Toich as well. Just make sure your driver knows how to find it. Cuisine Wat Damnak is fabulous. Closed through most of October though, so check if you'll be there this month.

Smeagol

I too loved Touich, really great food and fun coming back in the owners jeep.