This is a restaurant that has been passed down through three generations of the family of Mr. Tran Vinh Thanh (46 years old), located next to the Cho Lon Post Office (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City). With prices ranging from 100,000 to 150,000 VND per bowl of noodle soup, or more depending on demand, customers jokingly call it "rich people's noodle soup".
Four sisters sell together.
On a cool weekend morning, Ho Chi Minh City was unusually pleasant. I rode my motorbike to my usual noodle shop near my house, located on Nguyen Thi Street (District 5). It's owned by Vinh Thanh's family.
Every morning, Mr. Thanh's family noodle shop is bustling with customers.
As always, upon arriving here, my first thought is to glance at the old sign with the words "Hu Tieu Lam Hue Vien," written in a classic style. The restaurant opens at 6 o'clock. Customers come in steadily, one after another.
Inside the restaurant, the four siblings of Chinese descent in Mr. Thanh's family each have their own task, preparing the noodle soups, rice noodles, and other dishes as quickly and meticulously as possible to serve customers, ensuring no one has to wait long. Laughter and conversation fill the restaurant with lively chatter.
Sharing his story with me, Mr. Thanh said that his family's restaurant has been passed down through three generations, since his grandparents' time. The restaurant opened before 1975, and in the past, it sold many kinds of drinks alongside traditional Chinese dishes.
Mr. Tran Vinh Thanh, the owner of the restaurant. 
A full bowl of noodle soup costs 100,000 VND.
A portion of noodle soup costs 150,000 VND.
The eatery is well-known for its relatively high prices, with even the cheapest bowl costing 100,000 VND. Regarding this, Ms. Tran Vinh Diep (58 years old), who is Mr. Thanh's sister and the eldest in the family, along with her siblings, stated that these prices are reasonable.
Accordingly, each bowl of mixed noodle soup contains kidney, heart, liver, shrimp balls, fish balls, shrimp, lean pork, and grouper, priced at 100,000 VND. According to Ms. Diep, all the ingredients selected by the restaurant are the freshest and finest, "premium" ingredients prepared according to the family's traditional recipe, and all ingredients are used on the same day… hence the price.
"You get what you pay for," customers will feel that when they eat there, and it's no coincidence that the restaurant has been supported by customers for generations, according to the owner.
Is it as delicious as they say?
My favorite dish at this restaurant is the mixed noodle soup, which includes a portion of sea bass. For me, the flavor of the noodles here deserves a 9/10, well worth the price. What impressed me most in this noodle soup was the fresh, crispy, and sweet prawns.
[CLIP]: 'Rich man's noodle soup' in Ho Chi Minh City for half a century, cheapest at 100,000 VND/bowl: Customers love this unique and unusual dish.
The owner takes pride in the freshness and quality of the ingredients.
Furthermore, the pork kidney was quite large, sliced in a checkered pattern, and had a crispy texture without any unpleasant smell, proving it was prepared very skillfully, even though kidney is not an easy ingredient for me to eat. The combination of the light, subtly sweet broth, the delicious traditional noodles, and the fresh ingredients mentioned above is the reason why I am a regular customer of this restaurant.
Mr. Hua Thanh (46 years old, residing in District 11) said that he and his family have been regular customers of the restaurant for decades, and he has been eating there since he was young. Because he likes the taste of the noodle soup here, he visits at least once or twice a week, usually on weekends.
"Every time my mother visits, she asks me to buy noodles from here because she likes them. Today I bought some for the two of us to have for breakfast. The shop is open from 6 am to 1 pm, so I took advantage of the opportunity," he said, then took two portions of mixed noodles home.
The four sisters in Mr. Thanh's family.
Ms. Nhu Le (28 years old, residing in Thu Duc City) said that she accidentally visited the restaurant three years ago while passing by the Cho Lon Post Office for work, and she immediately liked the food there.
Since then, every time she has the chance to go to District 5, she always stops by to support the restaurant. The customer said that what she liked most was the combination of sea bass in the noodle soup, something she hadn't seen at other restaurants she had eaten at. That was also one of the reasons she was particularly impressed with this eatery.
Through all the ups and downs and changes, the eatery remains in the Cholon area, serving customers meals prepared with recipes passed down through generations of its Chinese-origin family.
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