Indian curry customers must come early… wait

The owner is enthusiastic and open-minded.

Nestled in an alley at 476/47 Huynh Van Banh Street (Phu Nhuan District) is a curry shop that is bustling with customers every afternoon. Many people from far away, from other districts, still try to come to the shop to enjoy Indian curry. The shop owner is Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (45 years old).

Ms. Phuong has owned a curry shop for about 5 years.

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I visited Mrs. Phuong's restaurant at 4 p.m. At that time, there were many customers, some eating chicken curry, some eating goat curry, the owner quickly put each piece of meat, potato and sauce on the plate. If anyone wanted to eat more bread, white rice, fried rice, the owner was also ready to serve. Next to it, the hot pot of curry looked very appealing.

After 4 pm, the restaurant was crowded with customers.

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Ms. Phuong said that her husband's brother started selling Indian curry more than ten years ago. Before that, he sold it at 67 Dang Van Ngu. Every day, she and her husband worked hard for her brother. Five years ago, her husband's brother passed on the secret before he passed away, and she and her husband decided to take over the business and move to the current address to continue selling curry.

Chicken curry served with bread

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“Cooking curry for sale requires customers to find it delicious, otherwise, I couldn’t last until now because of the high cost of ingredients and premises. After the pandemic, I reopened and customers came in droves. I have to cook and sell cleanly. Cook goat, chicken, and beef until soft, then add potatoes and eggplants to make it less boring. My late husband passed on the profession to my husband and I. He was a soldier before and now he is the boss,” said Ms. Phuong.

Goat curry is chosen by many diners when visiting Mrs. Phuong's restaurant.

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Normally, Mrs. Phuong sells from 3:30 pm to 9 pm, but the day I arrived, the goat and chicken curry was sold out by 5 pm. She said that there were many customers who came to eat and buy take-out that day, so it sold out early. Some customers traveled far to the restaurant hoping to enjoy the goat curry, but the restaurant sold out early and had to sadly return. Mrs. Phuong felt guilty, asked the customers to sympathize and promised that next time they came back, she would have curry for them to eat.

Cucumbers, tomatoes, and raw vegetables are placed on the table by the owner to eat with curry.

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“Everyone knows the secret to cooking curry. Cooking goat curry requires more spices, careful preparation, and adding a little wine for fragrance, otherwise it will be smelly. The longer the curry is cooked, the softer it will be, but if you are not used to cooking it, goat will be very difficult to eat. My family does not sell online, but I sell it to anyone who calls to take it home. Every day I sell about 10kg of goat, 7-8kg of beef, and chicken,” said Ms. Phuong.

The more you eat, the more addicted you become.

I ordered a portion of chicken curry at Mrs. Phuong's restaurant, served with bread, tomatoes and cucumbers. The chicken was tender but not too soft, well marinated and blended in a sweet and thick soup. The side dishes made the curry not boring even though the portion had 3-4 large pieces of chicken.

In addition to bread, many people order fried rice and white rice to eat with it.

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“Customers who come to eat curry get free iced tea. Actually, I sell iced tea for 1,000 VND, but if you have change, just give it to them, otherwise they can just drink it. One day, a customer said, “I’ve been all over Saigon and I haven’t seen anyone selling iced tea for 1,000 VND.” So I said, “If it’s cheap, just drink it.” I earn enough to support my family, but seeing customers praise the food makes me happy. I remember the couple who came from Binh Duong in the rain to eat two portions of goat curry and bought some to take home, and I felt sorry for them,” she confided.

Mrs. Phuong quickly made curry so that the guests wouldn't have to wait long.

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She said that selling would be hard work, but if she had good customers and worked for a long time, she would get used to it. Every day, at 7am she gets up to prepare ingredients, process and cook curry. At 3pm she sets up shop and sells until there are no more customers. Each portion costs from 40,000 to 80,000 VND.

Each portion of chicken curry costs 40,000 VND.

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Mr. Bui Minh Thanh (47 years old, living in Tan Binh District) and his wife stopped by Ms. Phuong's restaurant to eat goat curry. She said that although her house is far away, she always stops by the restaurant whenever she has something to do because she thinks cooking goat curry is very difficult.

Students also often eat curry at Mrs. Phuong's restaurant.

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“Unlike chicken or beef curry, goat curry will smell bad and be inedible if not cooked properly. I have eaten here many times, and the owner has always been happy to welcome me. I eat curry with white rice, and the salted fish fried rice here is also very delicious,” he said.

Mrs. Phuong happily took souvenir photos with guests.

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Ms. Pham Thu Trang (23 years old, in District 3) shared: “The curry here is delicious, not too sweet, the meat is soft and fragrant and the spices are rich. The owner provides a variety of side dishes such as cucumber, tomato and herbs. Every time I come to the restaurant, I try a different type of curry and eat it with bread.”

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