Due to the difficult economic situation, many diners in Ho Chi Minh City said that they limit eating out as before, mainly cooking at home to save money. Besides, many people choose to stick with delicious restaurants with affordable prices instead of restaurants with more "expensive" prices to tighten spending. In Ho Chi Minh City, there are also many delicious restaurants with "affordable" prices. The restaurant of Ms. Gai (46 years old) and her husband on Tan My Street (Tan Thuan Tay Ward, District 7) is one of those with only 20,000 VND/bowl.
One dish a day
On Wednesday morning, I visited Sister Gai's restaurant and was surprised that at 7am, more than a dozen plastic tables and chairs inside the restaurant were already filled with customers. Next to them, there was a crowd of customers waiting in front to buy take-out meals.
The small restaurant of Ms. Gai is packed with customers.
In front of the food counter, there is a simple sign that reads: "Hu tieu 20K". Ms. Gai, her husband and 2 assistants work "breathlessly" so that customers do not have to wait too long. However, because there are so many customers, the owner is a bit confused.
I myself was quite surprised, I didn’t think that on a busy midweek breakfast, the shop would be so crowded. I noticed that the customers here were ordinary workers, students, and even office workers… I wondered, do people come here to buy because of the cheap price or because of the taste of the noodle soup?
I asked that question to the customer sitting at the same table, Mr. Trung (54 years old, living in District 7). After listening, he smiled and said that every day, this restaurant only sells for about 3 hours, from 6 - 9 am. Accordingly, each day the restaurant sells a different dish, closed on Sundays.
“However, with dishes like hu tieu or chicken vermicelli, after 2 hours or more, they are all sold out, and late comers have to go home hungry. Today is Wednesday, so hu tieu is very crowded, I have waited for 5 minutes but it is still not my turn,” the customer continued, looking at the owner who was busy making dishes continuously.
The owner is always busy during the 2-3 hours she stands selling.
It turns out that this restaurant sells a different dish every day, fixed from the beginning until now. Accordingly, on Mondays, the restaurant sells vermicelli with meatballs; on Tuesdays, chicken vermicelli; on Wednesdays, hu tieu; on Thursdays, pho; on Fridays, beef vermicelli. The owner sells each dish at a reasonable price of 20,000 VND/portion, customers can eat more if they want.
The variety of dishes is also the reason why Ms. Ha My Phung (44 years old, living in District 7) brings her son here to eat every day when taking him to school. Being a regular customer of the restaurant for 3 years now, Ms. Phung said that the dishes at Chi Gai restaurant are diverse, so she can come here to eat every day without fear of getting bored.
“My favorite dish is the Hu Tieu, the broth is fragrant and sweet, the noodles are soft and chewy, the meat is fresh... My favorite is the broth, I don't know how the owner seasoned it but it's so delicious. Each serving costs only 20,000 VND but it fills me up until noon, now that prices are climbing, I come here to eat more to save money," the customer commented, laughing.
Selling cheap, definitely not increasing price because…
The aroma of the noodle soup of the customer sitting at the same table made my stomach growl. A moment later, my portion of noodles was served. Looking at the simple dish of noodles, a few slices of meat, onions, fried garlic and pork fat submerged in broth, I felt it was no different from the restaurants I had been to.
A bowl of noodles costs 20,000 VND.
[CLIP]: Ho Chi Minh City noodle shop surprisingly cheap 20,000 VND/bowl, sold out in 2 hours.
The restaurant has vegetables and bean sprouts ready for customers to serve themselves. Mr. Trung, who was sitting at the same table, also gave me some. The bowl of noodles looks simple, but when you eat it, it is really rich. The "money maker" is the clear, sweet broth, chewy noodles and tender meat.
For a bowl of Hu Tieu for 20,000 VND, filling and delicious for breakfast, I couldn’t ask for more. For me, in terms of taste and price, the dish deserves 9/10 points. I thought to myself that if my house was nearby, I would probably come here every day to eat.
“Seeing with my own eyes and hearing with my own ears”, at 8:15, the restaurant sold out all the last bowls of noodles. Ms. Gai and her husband also started cleaning up. At this time, dozens of customers came, asking only one question: “Is there any more, Ms. Gai?”. Arriving late, many of them received a shake of the head and a bright smile from the restaurant owner, then left disappointedly.
Ms. Gai confided that she opened this restaurant nearly 15 years ago. Before that, she sold rice. However, the owner also wanted to change the menu to see how it was. Thanks to her delicious cooking and business acumen, she has received enthusiastic support from customers.
Affordable prices and rich flavors in the dishes have helped the restaurant attract many customers.
Sister, OwnerThanks to this restaurant, she raised her two children to adulthood. Being busy with the restaurant every day, cooking meals with passion, and hearing customers praise their dishes, is a great happiness for Ms. Gai and her husband...
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