Located in an old apartment building in Hanoi, with a menu of only 3 dishes, the sticky rice ice cream - Thai sweet soup shop of the 90-year-old lady Duong Thi An is a familiar address for many generations of diners.
Mrs. An is 85 years old this year. The Thai sweet soup and sticky rice ice cream shop has been with her for half her life, “from when her hair was green until it turned white”. For more than 40 years, she has been diligently serving many generations of customers with her pots of sweet soup, trays of sticky rice, boxes of ice cream…
"Many of my customers have been my students, coming to eat ice cream for a few dollars. Now that they come back, they bring their whole families, including children and grandchildren," said Ms. An.
Located in Giang Vo apartment complex (Ba Dinh, Hanoi), Mrs. An's Thai sticky rice ice cream and sweet soup shop is very simple, somewhat old but quite spacious and airy. Tables and chairs are neatly arranged. Diners sitting here can watch Kim Ma street above.
Previously, the shop was located on Phan Chu Trinh street, considered the first Thai dessert shop in Hanoi, attracting a lot of customers.
According to Ms. An, she was born and raised in Udon Thani (Thailand). In 1985, she brought the recipe from the land of the Golden Temple and opened a dessert shop to make a living. Initially, the shop had many different types of desserts, but now, the family only focuses on Thai desserts, sticky rice ice cream, and nine-layer cloud cakes.
The sticky rice ice cream here has the traditional flavor of Thai cuisine, not varied like many other places.
Sticky sticky rice, fragrant with the aroma of rice mixed with the aroma of pandan leaves. Vanilla ice cream is homemade by Mrs. An's family so it is not too sweet or too bland. The ice cream is smooth and soft, without any ice. The sticky rice ice cream is served with crispy dried coconut. The dried coconut has a slightly salty taste, helping to balance the sweetness of the ice cream.
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When asked about the secret to making sticky rice ice cream that suits many diners, Ms. An just smiled: “I don’t have any special secret, I just do it based on experience. A pot of delicious sticky rice requires fragrant and sticky rice.
We have to know how to choose rice, soak rice, and steam sticky rice so that the rice grains remain round, not crushed or dry, and have a beautiful green color. The ice cream must be fresh and sweet enough for customers to like it and come back.”
Mrs. An carefully selects the coconuts based on many years of experience. After scraping, the coconut meat is washed, dried and marinated according to a special recipe. This work requires meticulousness and effort, so each day she only makes enough to serve the customers.
The sticky rice is naturally colored by grinding green pandan leaves. Therefore, sometimes the sticky rice still has tiny leaf fragments. Mrs. An had to explain to customers many times that the sticky rice is not spoiled.
Besides sticky rice ice cream, Thai dessert here is also loved by many diners.
Not as elaborate or with as many ingredients as other shops, Thai sweet soup at Mrs. An's shop is simpler, with only pureed mung beans, sago seeds, fresh coconut, coconut milk, "worm" jelly strands, or "clam" dough balls. The sweet soup has a light, refreshing taste.
Mr. Viet Anh (Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi) has been attached to this sticky rice ice cream shop for the past 6-7 years. "What impresses me most is that the sticky rice ice cream here still retains the traditional flavor, not too sweet, causing discomfort.
The sticky, fragrant sticky rice, the smooth, fatty cream layer and the homemade dried coconut are very crispy, unlike the pre-made kind. Everything blends together," said the male diner.
During a trip to Hanoi, Ms. Thuy Trang (HCMC) and her friend went to Mrs. An's shop - a place that many people praised. "I learned about the shop through some posts on social networks. This was the first time I ate sticky rice ice cream but I was really surprised by its taste.
The dish has a harmonious combination of sticky rice, fragrant, fatty vanilla ice cream and lightly salty dried coconut. Eating this dish in the cool weather of Hanoi is even more interesting," female tourist Thuy Trang excitedly shared.
Currently, Ms. An has handed over the shop to her daughter to take over, but every day, she still stays at the shop from morning until 3pm to "not miss the job and miss the customers". "Every day I go to the shop to sell goods, sitting at home all the time, with nothing to do, I feel restless, my hands and feet can't stay still".
The restaurant is usually crowded at the following times: 12pm-1pm, 4pm-5pm and 7pm-8pm. Normally, the restaurant opens from 10:30am to 9:30pm.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/quan-kem-xoi-che-thai-40-nam-dong-khach-cua-cu-ba-u90-o-ha-noi-2339254.html
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