Mrs. Hong, is the familiar name of Mrs. Truong Thi Gia (67 years old), a Chinese woman from Soc Trang, who is also the owner of a strange night porridge shop that has been open for over 40 years. Not everyone knows the touching story behind this porridge shop.
Since girlhood…
On a cold night in Saigon, I drove along Nguyen Trai Street (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) and stopped by Mrs. Hong's porridge shop in front of peaceful alley 194. The shop was crowded with customers, almost everyone was a regular here.
Mrs. Hong's night porridge shop.
It is called a porridge shop, but the owner here also sells noodles, vermicelli, rice noodles, and other dishes for customers to choose from. But people still call this a porridge shop because Ms. Hong has been selling this dish for nearly 40 years, in this area.
Newly opened, not many customers yet, next to the charcoal stove with several pots of boiling broth and porridge, the owner sat telling me the story of the restaurant she opened when she was a girl.
“I am from the West, I came to Saigon to live. I did all kinds of jobs, then I switched to selling food. I felt destined for this job, so I have been selling food ever since. No one taught me how to cook, I ate, learned how to cook, the job taught me the job and then I can cook like I do now," the owner confided.
When she got married, Ms. Hong had a daughter. Her husband died early, and she raised her daughter alone, grew up, went to college, and now has a stable job, thanks to this restaurant. The owner said that no matter how hard and miserable she was, she was determined not to let her daughter suffer, and now seeing her daughter grow up and become successful, she is proud and happy.
[CLIP]: Strange night porridge in the center of Ho Chi Minh City: Until 4am, the owner is... 'superwoman'.
At first, she only sold porridge during the day. Later, District 1 had a lot of night-time customers, and many people expected her to sell at night. So the owner tried to please her customers as much as possible, changing the opening hours from 7:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. the next day, for more than ten years now.
Business is erratic, sometimes busy, sometimes slow, but the owner said that when she is at home, she feels tired and lethargic, and her arthritis is worse. When she goes out to sell and meet customers, she feels healthy and her spirit is strangely excited.
"Life must force me to stay at this restaurant until I can no longer sell," the owner said with a smile.
Are you a 'superwoman'?
At 5pm, Ms. Hong started to set up shop. But because her legs have been suffering from arthritis for nearly 5 years, making it difficult for her to walk, and she was the only one taking care of everything inside and out, it took more than 2 hours for the shop to be ready to welcome customers.
"Many people call me a superhero because I do all the work by myself." Hearing me say this, she smiled toothlessly and said that because the shop was small, she didn't hire any more people. She was also used to doing business alone because... it was what she wanted the most. Selling all night long, she didn't feel tired because she was used to it.
Each portion of porridge costs 30,000 VND.
Here, each portion of porridge costs 30,000 VND, while the portions of banh canh, nuoi, hu tieu or noodles are all priced at 40,000 VND. It was cold, so I ordered a bowl of porridge, ate it next to the charcoal stove, and looked out at the central road with little traffic at midnight. It was a very interesting experience.
It must be said that what makes the brand of porridge here is the seasoning from the owner's more than 40 years of experience in the business, delicious and rich. The diverse pig intestines, processed cleanly, not fishy, are a big plus. With this flavor and price right in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, the porridge deserves a score of 8.5/10, worth visiting many times.
Mr. Thanh Cong (28 years old, living in Binh Thanh District) said that on days when he takes acquaintances to the center of Ho Chi Minh City to enjoy the cool breeze and take a walk, he often stops by to support her. Partly because he sympathizes with the old lady who is doing business alone, and partly because the dishes here suit his taste.
“Not only porridge, but other dishes are also delicious and tasty. I don’t know why I like eating at simple restaurants like this, it feels more comfortable and delicious than big or fancy restaurants,” he commented.
The owner decided to stick with the porridge shop for the rest of her life...
As the night wore on, the streets became less crowded. Only Ms. Hong’s porridge shop was still there, lit up, exuding a delicious aroma, waiting for midnight and early morning diners to stop by to eat…
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