Located in a small alley on Tran Hung Dao Street (Hanoi), every night, the old 1976 mixed sweet soup shop is always packed with customers, with no more empty tables or chairs.
The space of the shop is simple, just a small 2-storey house, with a sign tinged with time and plastic tables and chairs hanging outside. However, if it is the first time coming to the shop, many customers are surprised by the prices here. The shop's menu has up to 72 different sweet soups, the cheapest cup costs 60,000 VND, a cup of mixed durian and coconut sweet soup costs up to 90,000 VND. The price of the shop's sweet soup is 2 to 3 times higher than the average.
Many guests say that the price of sweet soup here is "equal to two bowls of beef noodle soup".
The owner of this sweet soup shop is Ms. Le Minh Dung (63 years old, Hanoi). Ms. Dung said that her mother opened the sweet soup shop in 1976. She took over the shop in 1996.
When it first opened, the chè shop was quite empty, but Dung’s mother still tried to create new dishes, diversify the menu and make an impression. Dung’s mother made each dish very meticulously and passionately. When Dung took over, a cup of chè cost about 7,000 VND, a bowl of pho cost 3,500 VND, and bun cha cost about 2,500 VND. The prices gradually increased over time.
"Many families of 3 or 4 generations still eat my sweet soup. Some people eat it every week for decades. The price is commensurate with the quality, I don't charge too much," said Ms. Dung.
According to Ms. Dung, at first, the shop only sold green bean and coconut desserts, but later on, they started selling mixed desserts and gradually came up with many other desserts. There are 17-18 main ingredients for making desserts such as green beans, black beans, coconut cream, green rice, and seasonal fruits.
The most expensive dessert at the moment is the durian coconut mixed dessert. The dessert is a blend of 17 different ingredients: green beans, red beans, coconut milk, fruits, fried green rice, tapioca pearls, etc. The dessert is sweet and the flavors are quite harmonious, suitable for many people. The dessert is served in quite large cups, the filling is almost full to the brim, soaked in coconut milk.
All of the shop's tapioca pearls are homemade every day with different flavors such as chocolate, grape, green bean, lotus, sesame, and coconut. The size of the pearls is quite large, so many customers think of them as tapioca pearls in Central Vietnamese sweet soup.
Ms. Dung shared that her mother is originally from Phu Yen, so the way she cooks the sweet soup is also influenced by the style of people from the Central and Southern regions. The most elaborate tapioca pearls are the chocolate pearls. The chocolate part is sent from Germany by Ms. Dung's sister, about 10kg each time, equivalent to 500 bars. Ms. Dung has tried some other types of chocolate in Vietnam but found them not suitable or delicious. "Each type of ingredient must be carefully selected for the sweet soup to be perfect. I maintain the meticulousness and sophistication from my mother," Ms. Dung shared.
Ms. Dung said that making tapioca pearls takes the most time and effort. There are 3 types of tapioca pearls at the shop, all made from fresh flour and hand-kneaded, not pre-made. Ms. Dung chooses fruits according to the season to ensure they are fresh, delicious, and safe. The durian used to make the dessert must be "first-class", fatty, and fragrant.
In her 30 years of selling, Ms. Dung has become accustomed to hearing arguments about the price of a cup of tea here. However, Ms. Dung is not sad but very proud because her shop is still crowded, proving that the quality is enough to attract and retain customers. "Expensive or cheap depends on each person's conditions and evaluation. A cup of tea here costs 3 times more than other shops. But customers still come and come back many times, it is definitely thanks to the stable quality," the owner shared.
Talking about reducing prices to attract customers, Ms. Dung said: "Either increase or keep the same, I never reduce prices to attract customers."
Currently, Mrs. Dung's sweet soup shop sells about 700-800 cups of sweet soup every day, and on holidays, sales can double or triple. At its peak, before Covid-19, the shop sold 1,500-1,700 cups a day, with customers coming in and out constantly, and there always having to be at least 5 employees on duty at the shop.
Ms. Le Thi Hang (52 years old, Hanoi) has been a regular customer here for 30 years, since the restaurant was owned by Ms. Dung's mother. Until now, Ms. Hang stops by here every week to support the restaurant, buying food for her children and grandchildren.
"The price here is really high, but the flavor has remained the same for many years, sweet and pleasant, not too sweet," said Ms. Hang.
Huyen Duong (2003, Nghe An) also came to enjoy the old 1976 mixed sweet soup shop on the weekend. It is known that Duong came because he was curious about the 90,000 VND sweet soup that caused controversy online. Sharing his feelings, Duong said: "I found it quite delicious. My first impression was that the cup was very big, bigger than a beer cup. The sweet soup has a lot of ingredients, the taste is harmonious and fresh. However, the price is a bit high so I can't eat it often."
Not only serving dine-in customers, the restaurant also sells take-out. In the evening, the restaurant is crowded with delivery people waiting to receive orders. Normally, the restaurant is open from around 9am to 10:30pm.
For Ms. Dung, this sweet soup shop is a "heritage" left by her mother, holding many happy childhood memories with her family. "I want this sweet soup shop to be preserved according to family tradition, and I want my children and grandchildren to take over until the sweet soup shop can no longer be maintained," Ms. Dung confided.
Kim Ngan
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