Hoi An

As a side trip from Singapore, Vietnam has been at the top of my list of places to go, not least because the idea of eating Pho for breakfast every day was very tempting. We had Ho Chi Minh booked for late March a few months in advance, but at the last minute decided we needed a more chilled out time and booked connecting flights to Da Nang to see the ancient city of Hoi An.

As well as eating Pho at least once per day, (not always for breakfast as we slept in too much for that most days), we discovered some of the local treats that were gluten free. The Hoi An specialty 'White Rose' dumplings - rice flour wrappers with minced pork and shrimp in the center - were something that we ended up trying at nearly every restaurant we visited (that generally amounted to more than three meals a day). Without a doubt, my favorite were at the Banana Leaf Cafe, down by the river, where they also do an amazing Tuna Steamed in Banana Leaf. This is done with tumeric, mung bean noodles and a beutiful blend of spices. The Banana Leaf Cafe is also famous for it's buckets of cocktails - definitely something to share!

After Banana Leaf, The Mango Rooms rated the highest, though it was probably the one place where we didn't go straight for the White Rose dumplings. It was difficult to get past the Green Mango salad with grilled garlic prawns, especially as a fresh change from a diet of mostly rice noodles. Mango Mango and it's sister restaurant The Mango Rooms are at the high end, but with a great atmosphere, and insane flavours, they are well worth a the few extra dollars, and it's still a steal compared with what you would pay in Singapore for a similar standard.

Not everything in Vietnam is gluten free, but rice or mung bean noodles are used in a lot of things. Soy Sauce is not always used in stir frys - do be sure to check though. We found some coeliac cards from this site http://www.celiactravel.com/gluten-free-cards/vietnamese-celiac-card.pdf which were very helpful in a tight spot. However, we only found them on the second day, much too late to print them off, so I wrote them out by hand. After much giggling, the girls in the Banana Leaf Cafe explained to me that it was too much writing, no one wants to read all of that and that all I have to say is the first bit.

'White Rose' Rice Dumplings (left) and Tuna Steamed in Banana Leaf (right)

Banana Leaf Cafe,

Hoi An Ancient Town, Vietnam