5 March 2026
We went to the Morning Glory Restaurant for our first dinner at Hoi An Ancient Town. I remembered eating at the already famous and popular Morning Glory Restaurant during my first visit to Hoi An in 2017. In fact, the food was so good that we ate there twice.
Located in the heart of the old town, the Morning Glory Restaurant at that time was operated by Ms Vy who also runs a cooking school. This restaurant offers gourmet Vietnamese dining experience within the ancient town. The menu is extensive, prices are slightly higher than what you could expect in Hoi An but the food is value for money.
The restaurant is named after “morning glory“ or “water spinach”, which is one of the most common vegetables consumed in Vietnam. In South East Asia, the vegetable is known as “kangkong” and is a popular dish where the tender shoots along with the leaves are stir fried with garlic and sambal belacan. This plant is resilient, thrive in muddy waters and very easy to grow.
Like the plant itself, Morning Glory has thrived and grown. There is now 4 Morning Glory Restaurants within the old town. The one I went to previously is now named Morning Glory Original, still focusing on authentic Vietnamese cuisine. The newer stores includes Morning Glory Signature, co-located with Morning Glory Lounge Bar and Restaurant that features modern Vietnamese cuisine and live music in the bar, and Morning Glory Countryside highlighting the charm of the countryside.
On this trip, we went to the newer Morning Glory Signature Restaurant, located just next to the river. Although we did not make any reservations, we had no problem getting seated immediately. We were seated on the 2nd floor of the two-storey house.
On this night, we ordered the chicken curry, banh xeo, grilled half chicken, tofu, squid, prawn salad, beef rice an of course morning glory stir-fried with garlic.
Crispy Banh Xeo with pork skewers and delicious peanut sauce.
Vietnamese curry chicken with local vegetables served with steamed white rice and baguette to dip into the curry sauce. The curry taste sweeter than what we are used to. But still delicious.
The local beer is extremely cheap and is a must try.
The local beer such as the Huda and Larue is extremely cheap but is quite light in taste. The Larue looks like the stronger tasting Singapore’s Tiger beer but is actually named after a Frenchman, Victor Larue. It is a Vietnamese lager brand, originally brewed in 1909 by a Frenchman, Victor Larue, It is currently owned by Heineken Vietnam.
Overall, the food was delicious but rather pricey compared to what we had for lunch.
We also went to check out the night views from the roof terrace. Since the restaurant is located by the Thu Bon River, we could see the busy streetscape below. Hoi An seemed to be more crowded than before.
View of the Hoi An riverside from the terrace of the restaurant.
Every night, Hoi An glows with thousands of silk lanterns, especially along the river banks. Visitors can ride boats on the river and release candle-lit paper lanterns for good luck but I find the practice not good for the environment.
We walked around riverfront a bit to enjoy the vibes before meeting the driver of our chartered van to take us back to Hoiana New World Hotel. We will have more time to explore the old town the next day.
The iconic Japanese Covered Bridge still stands strong. This landmark actually features on the 20,000 VND banknote.
Interesting name for a cafe/restaurant. Beware of the coffee.
Shop selling the iconic Hoi An lanterns.
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