We Change to Self-catering

After returning from Hong Kong, the hotel gave us a larger apartment with a kitchen and a dining table. After 8 weeks of eating out, we are looking forward to eating "at home" again.

The only thing Vietnamese kitchens have in common with our Western kitchens is the fridge. Many have no kitchenette at all, no oven and only a mobile hob. We have a kitchenette and the 2-burner stove is even built in, as well as a built-in sink. They even brought us a separate small oven, which looks new. The equipment is very rudimentary, but we still see it as an upgrade.

In Hoi An, fresh food is mainly bought at the wet markets. What we didn't know was that they are also shopping places for restaurants. Restaurant shoppers are very early. Fresh fish and seafood in particular sell out very quickly.

So we set off 2 days ago at just after 7 a.m. to the nearby Ba Le Market, 1.5 km away. It was already 26 degrees. The street scene on the way was completely different than usual. Many street kitchens were open, which disappeared completely in the afternoon. The locals ate their breakfast or drank their coffee in peace and quiet to start their day.

We entered the market having in mind that we should bargain. It is an open secret that foreigners are charged higher prices. Nevertheless, Hoi An is extremely cheap by Western standards. I also think that the market people in particular don't earn very much. That's why I find it a little difficult to do so.

In the open market hall, we found a stall that only sold prawns. The prawns on display were quite small, so we hesitated. The saleswoman then pulled out large prawns from a hidden polystyrene box, which we then bought. The kilo was said to cost 300,000 dong, which is €11.10, an insane low price for the quality. I bargained back and forth with the saleswoman to get it 20,000 dong cheaper, 0.74€, what nonsense.

We then bought some fruits and vegetables. Vegetables are particularly exciting because we know practically none of them. I got straw mushrooms, which I've only ever seen canned and this is the first time I've seen them fresh. Then we made our way back to the hotel. Note that when purchasing the pineapple, it was already prepared like on the picture below.

On the way back, we come across FinAqua's Café, where we've been twice before. They have a lovely terrace by the little river. We spontaneously decided to stop there and have a small breakfast - pancake and French toast. It felt like our Saturday routine at home in Germany, first at the market, then a coffee or breakfast.

I don't think we'll be doing the 7 a.m. thing that often. ☺️