Champa Restaurant

Champa was the first restaurant i tried mainly because (1) i was in the street when hunger struck me and (2) i got attracted to it's purple and yellow exterior. I thought to myself "the place might well-worth hanging out at to pass time away".

The restaurant serves italian and vietnamese cuisine, and here I got to try a Hoi An specialty called "Cau Lau". It's a dish of rice noodles with pieces of roast pork, bean sprouts, dough fritters and a variety of herbs. What makes this noodle different is that the noodle is apparently made from a special well in the city, hence the moniker "well noodle." I somewhat doubt the authenticity of such claim since there were a lot of restaurants serving the same thing. I think in Hoi An I got to try 3 or 4 establishments that serve Cau Lau, and so far I like Champa's version more probably because of the generous amounts of chili and dough fritters. The mint also made for one good experience. Their Cau Lau is pretty pricey though ($1.50), compared to those little eateries on some obscure corner who serve the same thing at only $.50.

What I like about Champa is it's color motif. I do find it relaxing, it's quite pleasing to the eyes and a break from all the yellows you see around. It's also a good place to people-watch (well most of hoi-an's bars and restaurants are good places for this activity).