Visiting the dumpling street or Ha Ton Quyen Food Street (District 11, Ho Chi Minh City) every evening, among the dumpling shops close together, it is not difficult to find Thien Thien, one of the most crowded dumpling shops in Cho Lon area.
From a Chinese noodle shop
Every night, Ha Ton Quyen Dumpling Street lights up and is bustling. I stopped by a dumpling shop owned by Thien Thien at 171 Ha Ton Quyen Street, managed by Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Loan (39 years old). She is lively, humorous, and quick to serve one group of customers after another who come to support her.
Ms. Loan's family's dumplings are popular among the many shops selling similar dishes on Ha Ton Quyen Food Street.
Ha Ton Quyen Street is considered a dumpling paradise in Ho Chi Minh City.
Ms. Loan is the only daughter-in-law of Ms. Nham Lang (72 years old), a Chinese woman behind the long-standing dumpling brand on this street. The family said that this restaurant was opened by the old woman more than 30 years ago.
Before that, Ms. Nham Lang had many years of selling chicken porridge, chicken salad, and pork skin rolls in Cho Lon area. After that, her father passed down the recipe for making noodles and dumplings according to the family's traditional recipe, imbued with Chinese culinary culture.
“After that, I opened a noodle shop, and sold dumplings on the side in this alley on Ha Ton Quyen street. It was just a small shop run by a kind person who saw that she was having a hard time, so they let me sell at their house.
But the number of customers eating dumplings increased day by day, so much so that my family switched to selling this dish as their main dish. Back then, it cost 5,000 - 6,000 VND per bowl, now it's tens of thousands," said the old Chinese woman, who doesn't speak Vietnamese well.
Ms. Loan is the only daughter-in-law of Mr. Nham Lang.
The family dumpling shop is managed by Ms. Loan and her relatives.
From a small restaurant, after 3 decades of development, currently, Ms. Nham Lang's family has 8 dumpling shops in this area. Ms. Loan said that her mother-in-law has 5 children, 4 girls, 1 boy. The whole extended family currently has more than 20 people sharing the management and business of the dumpling shops in this Ha Ton Quyen area.
She got married in 2009, which was also the year she officially started helping her mother-in-law and her husband's family sell dumplings. For her, this restaurant has supported her entire family since then, so she is extremely grateful to her mother-in-law and to the customers who have supported her over the years.
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Lam, grandson of Mr. Nham Lang, told more about his grandmother, saying that in the past, she had a difficult life. To have the property like today is the result of the tireless efforts of his grandparents.
Mr. Lam is grateful and admires his grandmother's story.
[CLIP]: Ms. Loan's family's dumpling shop at Ha Ton Quyen Food Street.
"Thanks to the first dumpling shop that my benefactor gave me, I have 8 dumpling shops today. My family is grateful and still repays that benefactor. I was loved by my grandmother a lot. If it weren't for her raising and educating me, I wouldn't have the life I have now," Lam said emotionally.
105,000 VND/most expensive bowl
According to the owner, the reason why the dumplings here are so popular with customers, many of whom have been "regular" customers for decades, is because the family recipe has been kept unchanged from the past until now. Not to mention, the ingredients here are fresh and delicious, new every day, and the way they serve customers is with heart.
“In the past, my family sold it, later many more shops opened, including the dumpling city like today. But my shop has a stable number of regular customers, the important thing is the way we serve and treat customers," she said.
Dumplings have a flavor that is highly appreciated by customers.
At the age of 72, Mrs. Nham Lang still has a passion and special love for dumplings, and still sells them with her children and grandchildren. Some days, she goes to this restaurant, other days, she goes to that restaurant. The restaurants are the foundation that she has worked hard to build in her life.
The restaurant said that although there are many machines to make dumplings nowadays, they still do everything by hand to achieve the desired level. Each meal here costs from 60,000 VND - 90,000 VND depending on the customer's choice. The most special part is the 3-piece mixed dumpling noodles, priced at 105,000 VND.
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Mr. Phung Hao (27 years old, living in District 5) said that he often eats dumplings at Ms. Loan's family restaurant because it suits the taste. Every time he welcomes friends from far away, or brings relatives from abroad to visit, he takes them here.
Mrs. Nham Lang still looks after the dumpling shops every day. Every now and then, she goes to America to visit her third daughter.
“The food here is sophisticated and flavorful, and I love the dipping sauce the most. In addition to the dumplings, I also like the noodle soup here. Occasionally, I eat at the restaurants next door, but I eat at Thien Thien more often. The restaurant is very famous!”, he said.
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