White jelly sweet soup and green bean sweet soup are the first dishes available at Hien Khanh - Photo: HO LAM
Lying quietly next to rows of houses close together on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, one has to pay close attention to discover the colorful signboard of Hien Khanh Tea.
Yet that sign was painted and hung in the 1960s. The tea shop is about the age of a middle-aged person.
On a food forum, a young person said that his family has been eating sweet soup here since his parents were dating, and they still eat it when he is an adult.
Hien Khanh tea has natural musk aroma
In 1965, Saigon had a sweet soup shop named Hien Khanh, opened by Mr. and Mrs. Tran Nghe in the Da Kao area, District 1.
Seeing that the wholesale business was doing well, they opened a second store on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, District 3. Later, Mr. Tran Nghe handed over the newly opened branch to his younger brother, Mr. Quy Quyen, to take care of, but the store in District 1 was no longer open.
Some ingredients such as: green beans, jelly, longan, lotus seeds... to make sweet soup - Photo: HO LAM
Currently, Hien Khanh tea is owned by Ms. Nguyet Minh, Mr. Quyen's daughter. Talking about the origin of the shop, Ms. Minh said:
"When they came from the North, my two uncles did not sell sweet soup, but did something else. Then when they saw the hot weather in Saigon, my aunt and uncle thought of selling a refreshing dish to cool down. My uncles started selling white jelly sweet soup and green bean sweet soup, and my father's generation still sells these dishes."
When Ms. Minh took over, she came up with many more desserts such as longan jelly, lotus jelly, water chestnut jelly... to attract young people.
Hien Khanh Tea once appeared in a Japanese food magazine - Photo: HO LAM
Up to now, after more than 30 years of continuing the tea selling business from her father, sometimes many people also advised Mrs. Minh to stop selling because of economic difficulties. But because she felt sorry for the family business of her father and uncle, she continued to maintain it.
The Hien Khanh signboard is hand-drawn in a classic style, made in the 1960s, evoking nostalgia for the people of old Saigon. Many people also wonder about the name Hien Khanh, why does the name seem strange?
Poems about two types of tea are hung on the wall - Photo: HO LAM
"Besides Nam Dinh, my uncle's hometown, there are two villages, Hien Khanh and Tan Khanh. My uncle liked Hien Khanh village so he named his sweet soup shop after the village, and partly because he missed his hometown, he wanted to bring a mark associated with his hometown when he went to the South to start a business."
Not only the name of the shop, but also the poems on the wall are hand-painted in full color. Mrs. Minh said that both her uncle and father like to write poetry, although they are not poets.
Poetry about cakes - Photo: HO LAM
They loved writing poetry so much that when Hien Khanh first opened, every dish in the restaurant was associated with a poem.
The poem "Hien Khanh's feelings - composition" was composed by Mr. Quy Quyen as a thank you from the tea shop to the customers who have been loyal for many years:
"In life, fragrance naturally comes from musk / Three generations have passed and customers still love it / Europe and Asia go back and forth to find the sign / North and South go back and forth, remember the street name / Delicious tea, sweet cakes with a gentle aroma / Cool jelly, fragrant beans with an unusual taste / Hien Khanh only hopes to fulfill his word of Trust / In life, fragrance naturally comes from musk".
The poem Hien Khanh Cam - composed by Mr. Quy Quyen is still hanging on the wall of the tea shop - Photo: HO LAM
Nostalgia from jelly dessert 'just normal'
Many diners said they love the white jelly dessert with jasmine syrup. Perhaps this is also the most special point in the flavor of dessert at Hien Khanh.
Unlike adding coconut milk like the Southern sweet soup, Hien Khanh sweet soup has shredded white jelly, longan, fresh lychee, lotus seeds, jackfruit seeds, water chestnuts... mixed with sweet sugar water and jasmine flowers, bringing a light, elegant fragrance.
"The secret lies in the sugar water. The sugar I use is granulated sugar, not rock sugar, but there is a secret to making the tea clear and fragrant," said Ms. Minh.
Special jasmine syrup makes the tea clear and fragrant - Photo: HO LAM
In addition to desserts, Hien Khanh also sells many traditional Vietnamese cakes such as: Hai Duong green bean cake, Ho Nai gai cake, green rice cake, Hue phu the cake...
Many people say that when coming to Hien Khanh, just taking a bite of cake or eating a spoonful of sweet soup will make the summer heat disappear, all the heat in your body will disappear.
For Mrs. Minh, Hien Khanh only sells "normal" sweet soups, but she did not think it could survive until now. There are several memories that make her extremely emotional, and perhaps because of these memories, she cannot give up selling sweet soup.
Traditional cakes include: green bean cake, green rice cake, phu the cake, gai cake - Photo: HO LAM
Once, a couple and their son went to a sweet soup shop. The wife told Mrs. Minh that she named her son Hien Khanh because when she was pregnant, she really craved the sweet soup there.
Then recently, a customer told her that an uncle of theirs also missed Hien Khanh sweet soup. Every year when he visits Vietnam, he comes back to the restaurant to eat.
"After that, he died of illness. Before he passed away, he told his relatives that he wanted to eat Hien Khanh sweet soup. I never expected that my "ordinary" sweet soup would have such meaning and nostalgia for people," she emotionally recounted.
Many people in Saigon say that Hien Khanh sweet soup is a familiar memory of theirs, because this sweet soup shop has existed here for more than a century. Mrs. Minh said she will pass on the profession to her daughter, so that the family tradition can continue to live on, live forever.
Hien Khanh sweet soup shop is located on Nguyen Dinh Chieu street, district 3 - Photo: HO LAM
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/che-hien-khanh-me-tho-hon-nua-the-ky-lam-manh-ky-uc-than-thuoc-cua-nguoi-sai-gon-20240725154404393.htm
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