White Rose (Bong Hong Trang)

White Rose is the family business most closely linked with one of Hoi An's signature dishes, the white rose dumplings known in Vietnamese as banh bao banh vac. The Da Nang tourism board describes the dish as more than 100 years old, and the owner of the shop at 533 Hai Ba Trung Street says the recipe was created by his grandfather. A recent food guide notes that most of the white rose dumplings sold in Hoi An come from this kitchen.

The dish is two dumplings served together. Banh bao is the smaller, round one with flared edges, and banh vac is the crescent-shaped one, slightly larger. The wrappers are made from fragrant rice, soaked, ground with well water free of alum and washed repeatedly, a process locals call bong bot, before being kneaded into a dough. The banh bao is filled with finely pounded shrimp seasoned with onion, pepper and salt, while the banh vac has a stir-fried filling of shrimp and pork with wood ear and shiitake mushrooms, bean sprouts and spring onions, with bamboo shoots added in season.

The dumplings are steamed for about 10 to 15 minutes, arranged with the banh bao in the centre of the plate and the banh vac around the edges, sprinkled with fried shallots and served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce made to the family's own recipe. The menu is short, and the other dish people come for is crisp fried wontons topped with a tomato and onion sauce, sometimes nicknamed Hoi An pizza.

One of the pleasures of a visit is that you can watch the dumplings being made and even try wrapping a few yourself, which makes it a good stop for families and anyone interested in how traditional dishes are prepared. The dining room is decorated with lanterns in traditional Hoi An style and has space for both solo diners and groups.

Prices are low, in line with a local eatery rather than a restaurant. The shop is on Hai Ba Trung Street, about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the Ancient Town, so it combines easily with a morning in the old town or a bicycle ride. It opens from morning until evening, which makes it suitable for an early lunch or a light dinner, and it is worth trying the dumplings here before you order them elsewhere, so you know what the original tastes like.