That is the broken rice cart of Mrs. Phung Ngoc San (70 years old) and her husband, Mr. Pham Van Duc (68 years old), located in front of a small alley on Ly Chinh Thang Street (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City). The shop is loved by customers because the ribs in the broken rice dish are unique, thanks to the unique way of cooking of the owners.
"Unique" rice plate
Every afternoon, after 5pm, Mrs. San and her husband are busy setting up their stall. At this time, they help each other make meals for customers who come to buy regularly. Because of their old age and illness, they do everything a bit slower than usual. However, customers still understand and wait. They also try their best to make the meals as quickly as possible to bring them out to customers.
Mrs. San's family sold broken rice before 1975. After getting married, she decided to follow the profession to make a living.
The food cart looks simple but attractive with ribs, pork skin, sausage, pickles, and cucumbers placed on top. Around it are a few tables for customers to eat in, most of whom buy takeout. As the evening progresses, the number of customers becomes more crowded, making it "breathless" for the owners and their husbands.
Confiding in me, Mrs. San smiled and said that her husband and wife opened the restaurant a few years after 1975, which is almost 45 years ago. Back then, her family also sold broken rice, and she helped her mother sell it when she was just a teenager. After marrying her husband, she decided to sell rice, following the family tradition. And so, the rice cart has been present on this familiar street corner for decades.
At first glance, the couple’s rice cart looks no different from any other ordinary broken rice stalls in Ho Chi Minh City. However, the restaurant is packed with customers, even on a weekday, making me wonder if there is anything special about the rice that people love so much.
The owner smiled kindly and said that maybe it was because the customers sympathized with the elderly couple who were still making a living and so they supported them over the years. Mrs. San said that most of them were "regular" customers. In addition, the way she cooked also had its own secrets that were different from anywhere else, especially the way she marinated and prepared the ribs.
The couple has been selling rice carts for nearly 45 years.
[CLIP]: Unique broken rice of an old couple in Ho Chi Minh City for 45 years: 'Record' finished in 1 hour.
"After the ribs are marinated thoroughly, they are grilled. After they are grilled, when the customer orders, they are fried again. At this point, the ribs will be very soft and fragrant," the owner revealed the restaurant's secret.
Mr. Duc, Mrs. San's husband next door, heard this and also joined in the conversation, confiding that in the past, the couple sold two shifts, morning and afternoon. For more than 10 years now, because of their advanced age, they only sell in the evening. There are days when there are so many customers, the record of the shop is sold out in more than 1 hour. Normally, with regular customers, the couple sells for 3-4 hours before closing.
"Delicious!"
Each portion of rice sold by the old couple ranges from 35,000 to 50,000 VND, depending on the customer's needs. Each plate of rice will have ribs, pork skin, sausage, eggs, pickles, and cucumbers to eat with. It must be said that the rice here is completely worth the price, as the ribs are marinated with rich spices, soft, and fragrant, different from other places I have eaten.
The ingredients are drizzled with a little fish sauce, which is truly "extremely delicious", as commented by Mr. Phung Ngoc Huy (24 years old), a regular customer of the restaurant). The rice dish, for me, deserves a score of 9/10, as the flavor is a bit sweet, suitable for the taste of a Southerner like me.
The old owner makes dishes more slowly, but customers are still very understanding.
The restaurant is located in alley 148 Ly Chinh Thang (District 3).
Mr. Bui Tan Hoang (52 years old, living in Phu Nhuan District) said he has been eating here for more than ten years. Because he likes the taste of fried ribs as well as the reasonable price, every week Mr. Hoang often takes his wife there to eat, at least 2-3 days, at most 5-6 days.
"In general, the food here is delicious, I'm used to it. I've eaten at many places but I still find this place the most suitable for me, so I've chosen it as my "favorite" restaurant. Later, I saw some young people eating here a lot, probably thanks to social media," Mr. Hoang said, looking at the customers surrounding the food cart.
Mrs. San and her husband have 4 children. Thanks to this food cart, they raised their children to adulthood. Now that their children have their own lives and their circumstances are not so good, they decided to maintain this food cart to support themselves and earn money for medical treatment. The food cart is the couple's daily bread, so they decided to sell it until they no longer have the strength to sell it...
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