Grilled banana sticky rice shop in the alley, but the owner doesn't know why it's so crowded.

The hot baked cakes give off an attractive aroma that attracts diners - Photo: DANG KHUONG

This is the house rented to sell grilled sticky rice bananas by Ms. Pham Thi Phuong.

She and her daughter were constantly taking cakes and putting them in bags for customers, while her husband, Mr. Dung, was constantly baking and flipping cakes.

In the early afternoon, the faint aroma of coconut milk cooked with pandan leaves wafted from the shop. That aroma aroused cravings, attracting diners from near and far to come and enjoy a satisfying meal.

Grilled sticky rice banana stall is crowded for some reason

Ms. Phuong's hometown is Cu Chi. In 1998, she followed her husband to live in Vung Tau.

Uncle Dung, Ms. Phuong's husband, helps her continue her mother's grilled sticky rice banana stall - Photo: DANG KHUONG

The opportunity for her to choose to sell this grilled sticky rice banana dish came from her mother-in-law, Mrs. Pham Thi Xuyen.

She said: "At that time, I wanted to do something to earn money to help my husband, so my mother-in-law taught me this profession. I don't know when my mother started selling."

Mrs. Xuyen's grilled sticky rice banana dish is so delicious that many people love it. That makes Ms. Phuong want to follow her mother-in-law's profession even more.

Ms. Phuong said that after her mother taught her how to make it, she continued to adjust the dish to suit her taste. Next, she "creatively" added dishes such as baked cassava, banana cake with coconut milk, coconut cake...

At first, Ms. Phuong did not sell at one fixed place. Every afternoon, she carried her goods to the crossroads near her house to sell.

At that time, the customers came to buy only a few, not too many.

After about 10 years, the dishes became more diverse and more people knew about it like they do now. "But customers still love grilled sticky rice bananas the most," said Ms. Phuong.

Every time she carried her basket to sell, customers would run after her to buy, so Ms. Phuong decided to find a permanent place to sell.

When asked how she can keep customers after so many years, she humbly said: "I see that I sell food like everyone else, so I don't know how it gets so many customers. Maybe it's because my words make customers love me and come back to support me."

This is also one of the hospitable and friendly characteristics of Southern people, especially in wholesale.

Sticky grilled banana with coconut water "special"

Most diners who come here will buy packaged banana cakes to take home, but if they sit here, they can smell a fragrant aroma spreading throughout the restaurant.

The aroma from the pot of coconut milk cooked with pandan leaves fills the small space, making diners fascinated - Photo: DANG KHUONG

That is the smell from a pot of coconut milk cooked with pandan leaves, lying on a red-hot charcoal stove. Ms. Phuong said that this coconut milk is made from the right type of coconut and processed according to her own recipe, so when cooked it has such a fragrant smell.

"I always keep the coconut water hot, and I pour it over as people eat, then it tastes better," she said.

Ms. Phuong's spoonfuls of coconut milk with just the right amount of sweetness, not too fatty or greasy, really enhance the flavor of the banana dishes at the restaurant.

The most popular and time-consuming dish is grilled sticky rice banana.

For this dish, Ms. Phuong said that you have to get the right kind of sticky rice, and after steaming the sticky rice, you start peeling each banana to select the best ones.

Next, she began to wrap the bananas and sticky rice in carefully cut and wiped banana leaves.

A plate of grilled sticky rice bananas when brought out will be cut into small pieces. A spoonful of cake just brought close to the mouth, the warmth and aroma of coconut milk immediately scores points in the hearts of the diners.

The grilled sticky rice creates a crispy feeling similar to burnt rice, but is not hard. The more you eat, the more obvious the sweetness of the sticky rice becomes and the eater will go from the crispy sticky rice on the outside to the softer, kneaded part on the inside.

The sticky rice is grilled until crispy on the outside and soft and fragrant on the inside with the aroma of pandan leaves - Photo: DANG KHUONG

The second "best-selling" dish is grilled cassava. Breaking off a piece of the hot cake, the eater will smell the aroma of cassava cooked with coconut milk. The cake is soft and flaky, not falling apart when broken.

The cake has a special sweetness, hard to describe. It is the natural sweetness of cassava and shredded coconut, suitable for those who limit cakes that are too sweet.

Ms. Phuong said that as a seller, she always listens to customers' opinions and adjusts to what is right and suitable, but does not lose her own flavor.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tiem-chuoi-nep-nuong-trong-hem-ma-chu-tiem-cung-khong-biet-sao-lai-dong-the-20240906173149808.htm