Mr. Sơn Restaurant — Restaurant in Hội An

This tiny food cart restaurant in the old town of Hoi An has been around for more than a decade.

Mr Son and his wife (both in their 70s) are running this fabulous place and he has been keeping recorded of every dish he has ever sold in many black books. The husband and wife team do all the welcoming their guests, order taking, preparation, cooking, plating and serving themself. The menu is extremely extensive. The last time we ordered a fresh river crab and he made us a delicious appetizer while he rode his bike to the fish market to buy the crab and prepare it for us. That’s what I call “going out of your way” for your customers. He just pointed out, that we have been patronizing his place for 7 years now and it’s always their pleasure to welcome us. There is a lot of new competition now since Vietnam was the second most visited place in SE Asian in 2024, but he stands out in the quality of his food and outstanding service with a smile.

A few of our favorite dish’s l: Grilled sweet pork on a stick Turmeric chicken in banana leaf Seafood papaya salad Fresh seafood spring rolls Garlic water spinach White rose dumplings, a culinary specialty of Hoi An

Keep in mind, like most places in Vietnam, he only excepts cash.

Our 4 course meal including beverages and tip came to...

Fantastic Hoi An food on a quieter part of An Hoi island, just past the rows of mobile food sellers.

Everything is remarkably fresh, and prepared one dish at a time by Mr Son and his wife. We only had two nights in Hoi An, and the food here was so good that we came back for the second night.

Don't miss the White Rose dumplings, they're chewy and sublime, especially with the vinegary fresh garlic fish sauce. The fried wontons are amazing with pork or beef, eat them immediately for crushchy hot juicy textural contrast. The crack noodles (stir fried peppes, baby bok choy, and meat on a nest of yellow noodles deep fried so they puff up like melt-in-your-mouth styrofoam) similarly benefit from expediency for texture, but once saturated they make an excellent sponge for the delicious tomato-based sauce at the bottom of the dish. Fried Cao Lau chewy rice noodles aren't quite such a culinary revelation, but the portion is generous and the second night I got them with squid, which was tender and beautifully seasoned.

To finish dinner, Mr Son brought out (complimentary) passion fruit halves with a...

My husband and I had a wonderful homecooked dinner at Mr. Son this evening. The couple are very friendly and welcoming. We ordered the grilled fish, morning glory with garlic and fried shrimp spring roll. All the dishes were freshly prepared in front of us, and tasted fantastic. At the end of our meal, we were delighted to be served some complimentary chilled passion fruits with sugar - so nice and it clears our palette! This is so far our best meal served in a very homely warmth relaxed atmosphere, it felt so different and so much better compared to the commercialized setting in restaurant served by waiters & waitresses. When Mrs. Son saw me enjoying the fish....she recommended me other cooking styles available another time.

So yes, we will be coming back to Mr. Son for more during our stay in Hoi an, and I would strongly recommend coming here when you are here in Hoi an. You...