The beef noodle shop of Mr. Ha Dinh Hoa (nearly 70 years old) is located in an alley in Khuong Thuong (Dong Da, Hanoi). The shop is small, the sign is old, there is only a cabinet of ingredients, a mini gas stove and a few tables and chairs.

The alley leading to the shop is about 1.5m wide, motorbikes have to skillfully swerve to avoid each other or turn around.

However, the restaurant has been a familiar address for many diners living around the area for 22 years, even attracting many people from far away to witness the owner's skillful "fire dance".

W-bun buys lua 22.jpg
Small, narrow beef noodle shop, hidden in an alley

Mr. Hoa's restaurant only sells beef noodle soup. Mr. Hoa said he used to be a soldier and then worked in Ho Chi Minh City.

Here, he met a teacher who treated him like an adopted son. The teacher taught him the recipe for making Southern beef noodle soup. In the South, the dish also has other names such as mixed noodles, stir-fried pork noodles, etc.

Later, because his parents were still old in the North, Mr. Hoa returned to Hanoi. He started a business selling beef noodle soup and, together with his wife, raised two sons to go to school.

W-bun buy lua 25.jpg
The recipe for beef noodle soup was learned by Mr. Hoa in Ho Chi Minh City.

The beef noodle dish at the restaurant includes 8 ingredients: noodles, lettuce, bean sprouts, sliced ​​beef, roasted peanuts, fried onions, stir-fried beef and sauce.

Mr. Hoa said that whether a dish is delicious or not depends on how to stir-fry the beef and make the sauce. "Previously, it took me more than three months to learn how to stir-fry beef, I had to practice over and over again until the teacher was satisfied," Mr. Hoa said.

Every day, the couple imports beef tenderloin from a supplier to supermarkets. The beef is fresh, pre-sliced, and when brought home, it is marinated with lemongrass and then stored in the refrigerator.

W-bun buys lua 3.jpg
The beef tenderloin is marinated with lemongrass and stir-fried only when the customer orders.

When customers order, Mr. Hoa lights the fire to stir-fry beef. "I serve as I stir-fry, so the beef is hot, soft, sweet, not dry or tough," Mr. Hoa said.

This is also the time when he shows off his "fire dancing" skills for diners to watch, adding more appeal to the dish.

Fire dancing beef noodle soup
The owner performs "fire dance"

The performance corner is right at the entrance of the restaurant. Mr. Hoa's "props" are a mini gas stove and a small pan. When the oil in the pan is hot, he quickly puts in the beef, garlic, and pepper, and stirs gently with chopsticks.

Then, the owner gently shook his wrist holding the pan handle, the flames rose high above his head, engulfing the mouth of the pan. The beef pieces sizzled in the oil pan, spreading a fragrant aroma in the kitchen, creating an eye-catching effect of raging flames.

"When shaking the pan, make sure the meat rotates in the correct orbit and does not fly out. The flame rolls from the bottom up to concentrate on cooking the meat, not flare up too high and spread out.

I use a mini gas stove because it is safer than an industrial gas stove and the temperature is just right for the food. Without skills, chefs can easily get burned," said Mr. Hoa.

The performance lasted for 15-20 seconds, making diners excited.

Before stir-frying the beef, Mr. Hoa arranged chopped lettuce in a bowl, spread out the noodles, added bean sprouts, and shredded beef. After about 3 minutes of stir-frying on the stove, the hot beef was poured into a bowl, along with crushed roasted peanuts, golden fried onions, and then the sauce was poured over.

W-bun buy lua 19.jpg
"My family makes our own roasted peanuts so they don't get soggy or smell bad," said Mr. Hoa.

The deciding factor in the flavor of this mixed beef noodle dish is the sauce. The sauce is made from familiar ingredients such as fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, and cooled boiled water.

However, Mr. Hoa has his own recipe, in which the fish sauce must be Phan Thiet fish sauce, salty enough but not strong smelling.

"Many people in the restaurant and service industry have offered to buy the sauce recipe, but I have not sold it. This is what my teacher told me before. No matter how much they offered, I refused and will only pass it on to my children and grandchildren," said Mr. Hoa.

W-bun buy lua 20.jpg
The sauce is the owner's "secret recipe".

When eating, diners use chopsticks to mix the sauce with the ingredients, creating a rich, sweet, sour flavor.

Mr. To Van Kien has been a regular customer of the restaurant for more than 10 years. Mr. Kien said that the food here is tasty, the prices are reasonable and the owner is funny. Therefore, although the restaurant is small, cramped, and located in an inconvenient alley, he still comes to the restaurant regularly.

W-bun buy lua 31.jpg
Mr. Kien is a regular customer of the restaurant.

The restaurant is open from 8am to 9pm daily, and is busiest on weekends and in the hot summer months, when diners come looking for refreshing dishes. On average, Mr. Hoa sells about 100 bowls of beef noodle soup a day.

The restaurant is rated as having delicious food but not too special or unique. The owner is generous, funny, and clean.

However, the restaurant is located in an alley, so there is no parking space and the seating is cramped. If you have a big appetite, you should tell the owner to add more noodles. The restaurant is run by Mr. Hoa and his wife, and there is no staff, so it is a bit slow.

W-bun buy lua 23.jpg
Beef noodle soup at the restaurant costs from 30,000 to 70,000 VND, depending on the amount of food ordered.

In Hanoi, there are some popular addresses selling Southern beef noodle soup such as 67 Hang Dieu, 7 Ta Hien, 3 Ngo Huyen, 49 Tran Quoc Toan, 17 Phung Hung Nho (formerly on Hang Phen)...

After more than 2 years of bringing Binh Dinh's famous jumping shrimp pancake to Hanoi, My and her husband's restaurant has a stable number of customers. Each day, the two establishments can sell 1,000 pancakes.