Hoi An vegetarian food guide: finding cao lau vegetarian alternatives without menu surprises

Say chay, and mean it

Chay means vegetarian, and every kitchen in Hoi An understands it. Say it when you order anything, even dishes that sound safe, because fish sauce (nuoc mam) goes into many vegetable dishes by default, and stir-fries and salads are often built on pork or chicken stock. Traditional cao lau, the town's signature noodle, normally contains pork and may use pork-based stock, so never assume a plain-looking bowl is vegetarian. If you also avoid dairy or eggs, add khong bo sua (no milk) and khong bo trung (no eggs).

Cao lau chay: the vegetarian version of the town's own dish

Several kitchens make cao lau chay, swapping tofu for pork and using vegetable broth, while the noodles and sauce stay true to the original. Ken Vegetarian & Coffee (157 Nguyen Phan Vinh) serves a generous bowl for 35,000 VND, with most dishes under 100,000 VND. Reaching Out Tearoom, a silent tea house that employs hearing-impaired staff, does cao lau chay and even white rose dumplings with tofu for 60,000-100,000 VND. Morning Glory (109 Nguyen Thai Hoc), one of the town's best-known restaurants, keeps a substantial vegetarian section at 80,000-180,000 VND per dish.

Com chay buffets: the local Buddhist way

Hoi An's Buddhist community supports permanent com chay (vegetarian rice) restaurants that run daily, not just on holy days. The format is a simple buffet: 6-10 dishes over rice for 25,000-50,000 VND. Quan Chay Dam (71 Phan Chu Trinh, 7 am-8 pm) is the locals' favourite, 15,000-45,000 VND depending on how many dishes you pile on. Quan Chay An Lac (93 Nguyen Duy Hieu) cooks meat-free versions of local classics from scratch for about 30,000 VND. Upstairs at the Central Market food court, the com chay stalls serve a plate of 4-6 dishes over rice for 25,000-40,000 VND as of 2026, daily at some stalls and fully on the 1st and 15th of each lunar month, when much of the town itself eats vegetarian.

The menu surprises to dodge

• Fish sauce is the default seasoning, including in papaya salad and morning glory stir-fry. Ask for the dish chay and confirm the sauce.
• Vegetarian-looking broths and noodle soups often start from pork or chicken bones.
• Banh mi chay exists and is excellent, but a plain banh mi comes with pate and pork by default.
• Mock meats are common and convincing; at com chay buffets, that pork belly or chicken leg is usually tofu and seitan.

For what a full food day costs alongside everything else, see our Hoi An couple budget. Planning the wider trip: 3 days in Hoi An with parents and Hoi An weather February to August.