Morning Glory Original @ Hoi An in Vietnam

I first heard of Morning Glory restaurant from a friend who went Hoi An and didn't manage to find time to dine there. After which, I did realize from my mini-research that it's almost like a must-dine for foreigners! 

Hence, it shall be the destination of my first meal in this UNESCO World Heritage site! Located on one of the busier streets of the ancient city, it's not difficult to find the restaurant which appeared to be relatively high end. 

With a customer based that was almost exclusively foreigners when I stepped in, I was less worried about the authenticity (taste is of priority) than the pricing! Thankfully, still within my budget upon going through the menu.

Well, you can't blame me as the setup, the service etc, was almost fine-dining standard. p.s. those flowers on the tables were real! In Singapore, high chance they are fake unless you paying top dollars for your meal.

Whatever the case, food is here!

Hoi An Tea - your typical Vietnamese tra da although I found this to have a more intense tea taste; albeit with a woody aftertaste. Do note that it is unsweetened; the kind of beverage I am used to nowadays.

Green Mango Salad with Pork and Prawns - this was requested by Alex which was strange as he is not exactly a salad person and I wondered if he likes green mango salad, more renowned for their sourness. Accompanying the salad was a basket of rice crackers.

Turned out he didn't like it! I do enjoy it somewhat but I don't fancy salads when I am overseas! The shredded mango wasn't entirely sour and had a tinge of sweetness complemented by the onions and herbs. The rice crackers added texture although if I am going for salad, I wouldn't have gone for rice; an oxymoron in my opinion. 

White Rose Dumplings - said to be found only in Hoi An, there were six dumplings of two different varieties. One was normal like those boiled dumplings with vegetables and black fungus. 

It's the other one, folded, apparently like a rose, that appealed better to me. It had a small amount of meat filling that was prawn based yet tastier than your typical prawn! Loving it with the vinegarish sweet sauce and the fried shallots! p.s. this isn't the best white rose dumpling I had in Hoi An. 

Stuffed Squid with Caramelized Onions - the combination so appealed to me; the squid was stuffed with pork, shrimp, black fungus mushroom and glass noodles. But the deal breaker was the sauce it was soaked in! 

Made of lemongrass and onions, it was similar to braised sauce, and it went perfectly with plain white rice! It also helped that the squid was cooked till soft! One word; satsifying!

Vietnamese Banana Ice Cream - I can't resist bananas and since there's a separate tummy for desserts; I chose this over pudding and caramel flan. Actual item differed from the photo on the menu.

How best to describe it? Hmmm.. it's like frozen banana topped with coconut ice cream, coconut meat, coconut biscuits, peanuts and cherries. If you ask me, the banana was negligible compared to the coconut. 

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For my first meal in Hoi An, it was pretty satisfactory and I was most impressed with the stuffed squid and the white rose dumplings. Servers spoke good English and with its nice interior design; I can  totally understand why Morning Glory was popular with foreigners.

You can even sign up for cooking programmes to make signature Vietnamese dishes. For me, I am not keen to sign up for culinary classes. I wouldn't mind in Singapore given the access to local ingredients but not when I am overseas.

I only realized these bottles of sauces on our table after I was done with my meal; there's chilli sauce, chilli satay sauce and green chilli salt sauce. Doesn't quite matter to me as I am not big on sauce, unless with burgers and fried chicken.  

Address

106 Nguyễn Thái Học, Phường Minh An, 

Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

Map

As above.

Pricing

Hoi An Tea - 40,000 dong

Green Mango Salad with Pork & Prawns - 95,000 dong

White Rose Dumplings - 95,000 dong

Stuffed Squid with Caramelized Onions - 215,000 dong

Vietnamese Banana Ice Cream - 65,000 dong

Click here for my 8 Days' Itinerary to Danang (The City of Bridges) & Hoi An (The City of Lanterns) in Vietnam