Little-known story about the owner of a "hanging" pho restaurant in Hanoi

The owner "hangs", the customers "hang" together

Over the past week, the pho restaurant at 14 Bao Khanh, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi has become bustling with customers.

Six small tables inside and four larger tables on the sidewalk are always full of customers from early morning until almost noon.

The restaurant's name is Tue An, but most diners know it by the name "hanging" pho.

Owner of the "hanging" pho restaurant at 14 Bao Khanh, Nguyen Thi Cat Le.

With her hands always nimbly choosing meat, adding onions, and pouring pho broth for customers, Ms. Nguyen Thi Cat Le, owner of the "hanging" pho restaurant, said: Along with hot rice rolls, pho has been her family's traditional profession for the past 30 years.

However, the "hanging" pho model has only been implemented by her for nearly 2 months.

Accordingly, every day, Tue An will hang up a notice board with 30 free bowls of pho from the restaurant owner's family for people in difficult circumstances.

Additionally, diners who want to be philanthropists can also contribute in a similar way.

That means in addition to the amount of money you have to pay for your bowl of pho (40,000 - 50,000 VND/bowl), customers can voluntarily contribute more money to the restaurant owner to give pho to others for free.

After that, customers will personally hang the number of bowls of pho they donated on the notice board, corresponding to the amount of money they contributed.

Mr. Nguyen Van Binh, 72 years old, living in Kham Thien, Hanoi, is one of the people in difficult circumstances who came to eat "hanging" pho on the morning of August 20.

"The pho is very delicious. The broth is clear, the flavor is light, the noodles are soft, the meat is fresh.", Mr. Binh commented after thanking the restaurant owner.

The number of bowls of pho does not stop at 30

Traveling from Thanh Xuan district to Tue An, Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hang, an accountant for a construction company, just "hanged" 5 more bowls of pho on the notice board, sharing: "I came here not only to experience the taste, but also to share the community spirit with the owner."

Diners "hang" pho for people in difficult circumstances to eat.

Sitting at the next table, Ms. Kieu Oanh (Hang Bong Street, Hanoi), a regular customer of Tue An, also left a bowl after learning about the owner's program.

Ms. Le excitedly said that in the past few days, the number of "hanging" pho bowls has increased to more than 100 bowls per day instead of only 30 bowls contributed by the restaurant owner.

Not only eating on the spot, some people in difficult circumstances also ask to bring "hanging" pho home for their relatives.

As the number of guests increased, Ms. Le had to ask her husband, parents, brother and sister in the family to help.

She cooks, the rest of the people share the work, from preparing ingredients, to serving, cleaning...

According to records, between 8 and 9 a.m., 20 bowls of pho were "hung" on the notice board by diners.

Sharing with the owner of Tue An restaurant, Giao Thong Newspaper reporter also "hung" the number 5.

Support the volunteer journey

"Hanging" pho is just another name for the volunteer work that Ms. Nguyen Thi Cat Le has been pursuing for the past 13 years.

The owner of the "hanging" pho restaurant chats with Mr. Nguyen Van Binh (residing in Kham Thien, Hanoi) - a person who enjoys "hanging" pho.

For those interested in volunteer work, Ms. Le is known as the head of the "Charity Rice" program for patients and their families in difficult circumstances at K Hospital, Quan Su facility, Hanoi.

Year after year, every Thursday afternoon, Ms. Le and her family, relatives and friends join hands to make more than 500 charity meals to bring to the hospital.

However, Ms. Le also publicly announced on her personal Facebook account that she does not call for charity or accept cash from strangers.

In addition to contributing labor, sponsors can support the program in kind such as rice, vegetables, food, spices, etc.

If any raw materials are missing, she will notify the volunteer to pay the supplier directly.

The remaining costs will be contributed by Ms. Le's family, relatives and friends.

In the past 2 years, the "Charity Rice" group has switched to distributing charity rice to patients and their families at E Hospital.

The preparation work was done at 14 Bao Khanh, then the meals were transported by car to the hospital.

To be able to distribute 300 - 350 meals every Thursday afternoon, her team has to prepare and cook from 4:30 am.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ha, Ms. Le's father, has also followed his daughter on her charity journey for many years.

Now 80 years old, Mr. Ha is present at the "hanging" pho Bao Khanh every day, supporting his daughter in selling pho.

He could not hide his joy when seeing the restaurant getting more and more crowded. The increased revenue from the family's traditional profession will also help his daughter have more resources to continue the charity program.

From "hanging" coffee in Italy to "hanging" pho in Vietnam

"Hanging" pho is based on the idea of ​​"caffé sospeso" (waiting coffee, hanging coffee) originating from Italy.

Customers can pay for an extra cup of coffee, but if they don't use it, it will be "hung" at the shop for those who can't afford it.

This form then gradually spread to other European countries and in France, there was not only "suspended" coffee (café suspendu) but also "waiting" bread (baguette en attente).

Thanks to that, the poor can go to the bakery to take home hot, crispy loaves of bread, which someone has paid for in advance.

In Vietnam, in May 2024, a broken rice restaurant on Nguyen Anh Thu Street (Ba Diem Commune, Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City) implemented a "hanging" rice model.

That is Thanh Nien restaurant of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong. Mr. Cong's model has received many shares from kind-hearted people.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/chuyen-it-biet-ve-chu-quan-pho-treo-o-ha-noi-19224082301322339.htm