1. The owner of a 50-year bread shop bought… 9 houses in Saigon
That is the bakery of Mrs. Vo Thi Lanh's family (79 years old), also affectionately called by customers as Aunt Hai Lanh's bread (Provincial Road 10, Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City).
Her family has a total of 10 siblings. Mrs. Hai Lanh is the oldest sister in the family, followed by 9 younger siblings (8 girls, 1 boy). Her father died early, when Mrs. La was only 3 years old, so Mrs. Hai Lanh and her mother, Mrs. Tang Thi Lien (who passed away in 2018, at the age of 92), did all kinds of trading jobs to support her 9 younger siblings.
Aunt Hai Lanh sells bread and buys a house in Saigon for her siblings.
Mrs. Hai Lanh said that since she started selling bread before 1975 until now, she has saved up and not dared to eat or wear anything. She has bought 9 houses in Binh Tan, District 6, Binh Thanh District... Among them, some are for her siblings and children in the family to live in, and some are for rent.
"I am currently living with my 10th younger brother in a house I bought on Ten Lua Street (Binh Tan District). Every day I still go to my bakery to look after it, helping with whatever I can, not passing it on to my younger brother or nephew and then quitting," the owner added.
Vietnamese Banh Mi: From Street Cart to World Famous Dish
2. The only grilled pork noodle restaurant recommended by Michelin
That is the restaurant of Mrs. Nghiem Thi Kim Loan's family (54 years old) in Tan Binh District, in the Michelin Selected category. Accordingly, Michelin Guide has complimented this grilled pork noodle restaurant with more than 20 years of experience in Ho Chi Minh City: " The menu has only one dish - noodles with spring rolls, grilled pork, lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumber, carrots, peanuts and green onions. The contrasting textures and flavors are magical!".
Mrs. Kim Loan's grilled pork noodle shop is loved by many diners.
For the owner, receiving Michelin recognition is both a surprise and a great joy. She said she did not think the restaurant would be recognized, because there may be many better restaurants. But this is also a great encouragement for the owner during the decades of serving her beloved guests.
The restaurant is called Hoang Van, named after her youngest son at the request of her father-in-law. "When my son Van was young, he was chubby and ate a lot, so my father wanted to name him after him. For many years before that, the restaurant didn't have a name, people told each other that I was just selling this part," she smiled, revealing the cute origin of the restaurant's name.
When they were young, every time they came home from school, her two sons would help their mother sell at the shop. Now that they are grown up, Van has another job, but his wife still often comes over to help her. Mrs. Loan's eldest son, Tuan Anh (29 years old), has been with her in this shop for the past several decades.
3. "Unique" noodle shop opens... 3-5am
Only open from 3-5am, a 40-year-old noodle shop in District 10 (HCMC) is jokingly called "ghost" noodle shop by customers. On busy days, the shop sells out in 1 hour, and the owner still sells for 5,000 VND/bowl.
That is the nameless noodle shop of Ms. Tuyet (68 years old) located peacefully at the end of Nguyen Duy Duong street. This is the "favorite" place of many late-night diners in Ho Chi Minh City.
Ms. Tuyet's "unique" noodle shop.
"When I first opened, I only sold for 2 hours in the morning, from 7am until I sold out. As time went on, customers asked me to sell earlier to catch up with people going to work, so I sold earlier and earlier and have been open at this time for more than ten years now," she confided.
4. Grilled pork noodles for 4 generations, served in a… bowl
Located on the frontage of Vinh Khanh Street (District 4), the grilled pork noodle shop of Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Truong Tho's family (23 years old) is loved by many diners, often crowded on weekends. At the age of 20, Mr. Tho inherited the grilled pork noodle shop from his great-grandmother. Diners are delighted when the owner lets them eat grilled pork noodle in a... basin.
Grilled pork noodles in... a bowl.
"In the past, my family also sold noodles in normal plastic bowls, but after a while, the bowls got dirty, affecting hygiene as well as the health of customers. Since my mother took over my grandmother's noodle shop, in 2015, we have switched to selling in these small basins for easy cleaning and durability," the owner explained about feeding customers in basins.
A bowl of grilled pork vermicelli at Mr. Tho's restaurant also has all the same ingredients as at other restaurants I've been to, from vermicelli, grilled pork, meatballs, spring rolls, pork skin... served with raw bean sprouts, pickles, peanuts, scallion oil and sweet and sour fish sauce.
5. Half a century old broken rice "most expensive in Hoc Mon": Sold out in 1 hour
With the cheapest portion of rice at 60,000 VND/plate, many people tell each other that Ba Lia broken rice restaurant is "the most expensive in Hoc Mon". The broken rice restaurant of Ms. Tuoi's family (30 years old) is very familiar to Hoc Mon residents in particular and diners in Ho Chi Minh City in general, having been around for over 50 years.
Attractive rice portion at the restaurant.
The restaurant is famous for only selling from 7 to 8 o'clock, if you come late, there will be nothing left to eat. The owner said that the cheapest dish here is the plate of rice with ribs for 60,000 VND, if the full dish with ribs, pork skin, and sausage is 100,000 VND. The restaurant caters to all customers' needs. If customers want to eat the rice with pork skin, the restaurant also sells it for 40,000 VND.
Ms. Tuoi said that her family restaurant has been open for nearly 50 years, since 1975. The restaurant's prices were high during her grandmother's time, and when she was taught the trade by her grandmother, they were still sold at the same price. According to her, it is not expensive, and is worth the effort that her family members put in to make a hearty plate of rib rice for their customers.
Which restaurant are you impressed with as introduced by Thanh Nien Newspaper in 2023?
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