Living in a Foodies' Paradise.

Hoi An being a culinary capital, we decided to take a cooking class here. The first step was a trip to the central market.

There was a vast array of prepared dishes. We could have spent weeks
sampling all the little dishes, but we were on a mission to acquire the
raw materials for a grand lunch.

The meat market emphasized all manner of porky goodness.

Giving the piggy pierna a shave.

Viet tamales: rice paste and ground pork steamed in a banana leaf.

For those who like their pork as fresh as possible.

Banana flowers ready to be chopped up for our beloved banana flower salad.

All chopped.

Snipping a squad of squab.

Fresh and slightly less fresh duck.

A flock of very dead chickens.

It was so hot even the locals were suffering.

As befits a river/seaport, Hoi An offers a plethora of fresh and saltwater fish.

Fish is gutted on the spot.

Ground up for fish cakes, etc.

The food sellers were ready for lunch, and so were we.

P.