Cao Lau

The signature dish of Hoi An — thick chewy noodles (traditionally made with water from a specific local well and lye-water-treated rice flour, giving them a distinctive yellow colour and chew unlike any other Vietnamese noodle), topped with thinly sliced char-siu-style pork, fresh herbs, bean sprouts, crispy croutons of fried noodle dough, and a small amount of intensely savoury broth (not a soup — the dish is barely wet). Soy sauce and five-spice register from the pork; the noodles themselves carry an alkaline mineral note that no other Vietnamese dish has. Distinctly Chinese-influenced compared to pho or bun cha. The wine must handle char-siu pork, the alkaline noodles, and the dry-bowl style.

Pairs Perfectly

Schiava (Vernatsch) from Alto Adige, Italy. The light Alpine red with cherry fruit, almond-skin tannin, and gentle alkaline-mineral character meets cao lau's distinctive noodles with rare precision — the wine's own mountain-mineral register finds common ground with the alkaline lye-water character of the noodles, and the cherry fruit engages with the char-siu pork without crushing the dish's lightness. The crispy noodle croutons and herb plate are honoured rather than buried. For a different country expression, a Pinot Noir from the Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia brings the same gentle red-fruit and savoury-earth logic in a slightly fuller cool-climate New World register.

Pairs Well

Trousseau from the Jura, France. The wild, savoury, low-tannin character of Jura Trousseau meets the char-siu pork and the fried-noodle croutons with a slightly more aromatic profile than Schiava — a left-field answer that suits the dish's underdog regional character.

Gewurztraminer from Alto Adige, Italy. The slightly leaner mountain expression of Gewurz brings the lychee-rose register to the char-siu pork without overwhelming the dish, and the white answer suits diners who prefer not to drink red with noodles.

Worth Seeking Out

Poulsard from the Jura, France. Even lighter than Trousseau and almost rosé in colour, Poulsard meets cao lau's barely-wet bowl with extraordinary delicacy — the most precise light-red answer in the database for a dish whose entire character is balance.

Avoid

Heavily tannic reds — destroy the dish's lightness; oaked wines — clash with the alkaline noodles; full-bodied whites — overwhelm the herb plate; wines above 13.5% alcohol.

Failing That

A Beaujolais Villages, France.

If All Else Fails

Pinot Noir, Casablanca, Chile.

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