Cao lau noodles for sale at the market in central Hoi An, Vietnam. One family has had a stronghold on making this noodle, which, in theory, can only be made in Hoi An, thanks to a dependence on local ingredients.

They're so paranoid...I mean, um, secretive about cao lau, seconds after this picture was taken, I was told that unless I left immediately, I would be walking away, like a noodle, limping. Well, okay, it probably wasn't exactly that. But they did say something in Vietnamese that suggested I stop photographing the noodles.