Tra Que, the herb village that supplies Hoi An's plates
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Tra Que village is a few dozen hectares of herb beds between Hoi An and the sea. It is also why half the menus in town name a village 3 km away that nobody has heard of. Rau Tra Que is a label rather than a decoration: the herbs on the plate came from here, three kilometres away.
A visit is not a sight. It is a working market garden with lanes between the beds, and what makes it interesting is how the growing is done.
What makes the herbs taste different?
Lake weed, and that is not a marketing line. The growers fertilise with algae and waterweed dredged from the neighbouring De Vong lagoon. They spread it on the raised beds and dig it in, instead of using manure or chemicals.
The result is smaller leaves with a stronger scent. Hoi An kitchens pay the premium and print the village name on the menu. The herbs guide sets out what the plate beside your bowl is made of. Tra Que village grows a good share of it.
What grows in the beds?
About 20 herbs and salad crops in rotation, in beds raised a hand's width above the sand. Vietnamese mint, perilla, fish mint, coriander, basil, lettuce, spring onion and chives are the staples, and the mix shifts with the season.
| What | Vietnamese | Where it ends up |
|---|---|---|
| Vietnamese mint | Rau ram | Snail dishes, duck, salads |
| Perilla | Tia to | The plate beside a northern bowl |
| Fish mint | Diep ca | Grilled dishes, and divides people |
| Thai basil | Hung que | Pho, and every southern herb plate |
| Coriander | Ngo | Almost everything |
| Spring onion | Hanh la | Cao lau, soups, banh xeo |
Growers water the beds by hand from double cans on a shoulder pole, twice a day in the dry months. That is the image the village is photographed for, and it is also simply how the work is done.
What does a visit involve?
An hour or 2, on foot or on a bicycle, between beds that are worked while you walk through them. The lanes are concrete and flat, with no circuit to follow. The village is small enough that getting lost is not an option.
Most visitors come as part of something else. The standard Hoi An cooking class starts with picking here. Several farms also sell a 30-minute session where you hoe a bed, plant seedlings and carry the water cans yourself, which is more fun than it sounds and harder than it looks.
Is the cooking class worth it here?
A Tra Que class is the better version of a Hoi An cooking class: it starts in the ground rather than in a kitchen. You pick the herbs, you are told what each one does, and the cooking afterwards makes more sense for it.
Choose one that includes the market or the beds rather than pre-measured bowls on a bench. The cooking class guide draws that distinction. Hoi An is the best place in the country to do this at all, and the things to do page explains why.
How do you get there?
By bicycle, in 15 to 20 minutes of flat riding from the old town. The lane into the village turns off the main road towards An Bang beach. The sensible plan is herbs first, sea afterwards.
A taxi or a Grab takes 5 minutes and costs very little. Hotels in the old town lend bicycles free. The cycling guide covers what riding around Hoi An is like away from the main road.
When should you come?
Early morning, before about 08:00, when the watering is happening and the light is low. Late afternoon is second best for the same reason. The middle of the day is flat light over a field with nobody in it.
The dry months from February to August are the comfortable ones. In the wet autumn the beds flood and the growers repair rather than plant. The typhoon guide puts those months in the context of the whole central coast.
Is it worth an hour?
Tra Que is worth an hour and not an afternoon, and it is best used as a stop rather than a destination. Nothing here is staged for visitors, which is the appeal. It also means there is no show to watch once you have walked the lanes.
Pair it with the beach, a class, or the ride out to the craft villages on the same flat loop. The three-day Hoi An route gives the second morning to exactly this kind of riding — see three days in Hoi An.
FAQ
What is Tra Que village?
Tra Que is a herb-growing village about 3 km northeast of Hoi An, between the town and An Bang beach. Its few dozen hectares of raised beds supply the restaurants of Hoi An with herbs, and the fields are open to visitors on foot or by bicycle.
Why are the herbs from Tra Que different?
Because of what they are fed. The growers fertilise with algae and weed dredged from the neighbouring lagoon rather than with manure or chemicals, which produces smaller, more strongly scented leaves and is the reason the village name appears on menus.
What is there to do at Tra Que?
Walk or cycle the lanes between the beds, take a cooking class that starts with picking, or join a half-hour farming session where you hoe a bed and water it with the traditional double cans. Most visits take an hour or two.
How do you get to Tra Que from Hoi An?
By bicycle in fifteen to twenty minutes on flat ground, which is how most people go, or five minutes by taxi or motorbike. The lane into the village leaves the main road to An Bang beach, so it fits on the way to or from the sea.
Does Tra Que charge admission?
The village gate collects a small entry ticket, in the tens of thousands of dong, and prices classes and farming sessions separately. Cycling through the lanes without stopping is usually free of charge.
Is Tra Que worth visiting?
Yes as an hour on the way to the beach, and no as a destination of its own. The appeal is a working market garden rather than a sight, and the cooking classes that start here are the version most visitors remember.