That is the unsigned restaurant of Ms. Vu Thi Kim Dung (63 years old), affectionately called by customers as Ms. Dung's beef noodle soup or "the cheapest beef noodle soup in Ho Chi Minh City".
Not yet open for sale, customers have come to find
Ho Chi Minh City is cool in the morning. I woke up early and rode my motorbike to Ms. Dung's beef noodle shop located in a small, winding alley on Thanh Thai Street (District 10, Ho Chi Minh City). The shop only opened at 8:30, but after 8:00, customers kept coming to ask: "Do you have beef noodle soup yet, Ms. Dung?"
At 8:30, Ms. Dung's beef noodle shop is crowded with customers.
Many people were already sitting at the waiting tables, while some customers decided to "take a look around" and then return when the restaurant opened. Among those waiting was Mr. Phi Thanh (46 years old). After chatting with him, we learned that he had been a regular customer here for the past 3-4 years, almost every week he drove from Tan Binh District to enjoy beef noodle soup and crab noodle soup at Ms. Dung's restaurant.
“This restaurant sells the cheapest beef noodle soup in Saigon! I say that because I have never eaten at a beef noodle soup restaurant that sells beef noodle soup for 10,000 VND, and still has ham, and the ham is fresh and delicious. The owner sells delicious food, and the price is so cheap, it is worth going a little further and waiting a little longer,” he chuckled.
Ms. Dung, who has arthritis, has difficulty walking. This elderly woman, with the help of her younger sister who lives in the same house - Ms. Vu Thi Kim Phuong (57 years old) who sells rice rolls next door, struggled to bring out the oil stove and 2 pots of broth. One pot of broth is for beef noodle soup, the other pot is for crab noodle soup.
Each bowl of beef noodle soup here costs from 10,000 VND.
Mr. Phi Thanh is a regular customer of the restaurant.
[CLIP]: The fastest 10,000 VND/bowl beef noodle shop in Ho Chi Minh City: Sold out in less than 1 hour.
After preparing the noodles, bean sprouts and dipping sauce, the owner started selling at exactly 8:30. At this time, the tables were full of customers. Upon closer inspection, we realized that the customers at this restaurant were mainly neighbors around here, poor workers, lottery ticket sellers, disabled people, etc.
I was surprised that each portion of food that Ms. Dung sells, both beef noodle soup and crab noodle soup, has the lowest price of 10,000 VND, customers who want to eat for 15,000 - 30,000 VND, or more, are also available. Mr. Thai Hien (33 years old), who sells lottery tickets, said that he has been eating beef noodle soup at Ms. Dung for more than 2 years now.
“Ms. Dung sells it to me cheaply because she sees that I am disabled and sell lottery tickets, each portion she charges is only 10,000 VND. So I come to her every day to save money, because I don't sell much every day. Ms. Dung's restaurant is the best, but you have to hurry because it sells out in about 1 hour," a regular customer shared.
Why so cheap?
Indeed, the shop opened at 8:30, but by 9:20, the two pots of broth were almost empty. During the entire time of selling, Ms. Dung had to stand and prepare dishes for customers continuously without a break.
The owner said that more than 30 years ago, after giving birth, she moved to this area to live. To earn money to make a living, she decided to open this restaurant. At that time, if I remember correctly, the price was around 2,000 - 5,000 VND per meal.
The noodle soup is rich and delicious.
Selling cheaply, plus the owner has a talent for business, "good reputation travels fast", Ms. Dung's shop has received great support from customers until today. Ms. Dung said that the current price, she has kept for nearly ten years, has not increased.
"Why is it so cheap, is it profitable?", I asked, the owner smiled gently.
Ms. Dung, Owner 
The shop sells in 1 hour.
Accordingly, every day, Ms. Dung wakes up at 3am to go to the market early. She says she wakes up at that time to buy new, fresh ingredients and prepare them in time to sell to customers in the morning. Because she is alone, she cooks just enough to sell in 1 hour, no more.
The pot of broth was empty, and the number of customers was also decreasing. The owner was sweating after an hour of working… barely able to catch her breath. But Ms. Dung said that she was happy and joyful, being able to do business every day, serving customers from near and far who came to support her.
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