Danang is not necessarily on our sightseeing list. We regularly drive to and from the airport through the town and don't notice much charm. What's more, a one-way cab ride takes 45-60 minutes. However, as we are here for so long this time, we have decided to take a look at one or two things. Ba Na Hills, the man-made "Disneyland", is not one of them.
We opted for a night market. There are 7 of them in Danang and we chose the one at the Dragon Bridge in Son Tra. The dragon on the bridge spits fire and water on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. To avoid the crowds, we went on Wednesday. We watch the dragon show we missed again on YouTube.
Right decision - the market was not that busy. As soon as we entered, however, we were confronted with laminated photo menus from all sides. This didn't stop even after we started eating something. We already know the Vietnamese way of picking up customers. We usually decline with a smile and are accepted. At the market, the crowd hangs on you until you either buy something or new visitors enter the market. So at the beginning it was hardly possible to walk through, look around and decide what you wanted to eat and from whom. Annoying.
The delicious grilled lobster made up for it. It was so fresh, deliciously prepared and very reasonably priced at €11. We visited various other stalls, sat on these low plastic stools and had a wonderful time watching the action after the obstrusive sales finally stopped. Here, too, there were few western tourists, but rather many Korean tourists.
In Singapore, there are hawkers in every district. In Taipei, there are many night markets with food stalls only. In Hong Kong, there are small stores with street food. They have started to imitate Taipei's food stalls on Temple Street, but the small number and selection did not make the market very attractive. In Hanoi, we unfortunately missed the evening walking street in favor of Sapa.
In Son Tra Night Market and also in the one in Hoi An, the same clothes, souvenirs and street food are sold everywhere. It felt like there were only 4 food categories in Son Tra Night Market: Seafood, BBQ, rice and noodles and drinks. For dessert, there were only ice cream stalls and the clothing sold were identical everywhere.
Looking back, I have to say that of all the street food options we experienced, I think the night markets in Taipei are the best. They offer a wide variety of traditional food that is no longer available everywhere. Craftsmanship and quality still count there. The food is authentic and not just made to make tourists happy.
We will certainly be visiting hawkers here and there on our last few days in Singapore, but we are already closing the street food chapter.
Kommentare