There is a small restaurant on Duong Tu Giang Street, Dong Nai Province that regularly delivers hot rice and noodle bowls for only 1,000 VND, bringing warm meals to hard-working uncles and aunts.
Customers come to the restaurant to eat and chat together like a family - Photo: XUAN HUONG
The idea of the 1k noodle shop started when Ms. Le Thi Hong Phuong (35 years old, Dong Nai) saw the 1k noodle shop model online. From then on, she and her friends cherished the idea of opening a similar noodle shop.
From instant noodles, to egg noodles, rice soup...
Initially, the shop was funded entirely by Ms. Phuong and her friends. At that time, the shop only served instant noodles and instant porridge. Thanks to the kindness of benefactors, boxes of instant noodles and trays of eggs were sent to the shop one after another.
The 1k rice and noodle shop has been in operation for nearly 2 months now. Ms. Phuong placed the rice counter in front of her snack shop. At the beginning of the shift, the employees set up tables, chairs, bowls and chopsticks first. Then they took turns cooking rice, washing vegetables, and then started doing their own work.
Since the 1k rice shop opened, the workload of the staff has increased a lot. However, everyone is happy and enthusiastic when preparing and serving meals to the uncles and aunts. They always say: "We haven't contributed any money yet, so we will contribute our efforts."
Every morning at 10am, the uncles and aunts come to the shop to eat. The 1k rice and noodle shop operates from 9am to 9pm every day. Around 11am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the shop serves rice. Otherwise, people can eat instant noodles, porridge with eggs, vegetables... which are available at the counter.
"There was a lady who gave the shop a rice cooker because she saw that the uncles and aunts were getting bored of eating noodles all the time. When people saw that, they sent more vegetables, so she cooked another pot of soup and bought some pork floss and boiled eggs to eat with it.
With rice, people started sending salty food, and gradually the shop decided to cook more rice portions to send to the uncles and aunts, instead of self-service instant noodles like before," Ms. Phuong said. The shop's rice cooker, water heater, and electric kettle were all donated by benefactors.
The restaurant of kind hearts
Talking about the happy memories during the time of running the 1k rice and noodle shop, Ms. Phuong couldn't help but feel happy. "There was an uncle and aunt who sold toothpicks, seeing that we didn't have any, they brought a few packs of toothpicks for everyone to use. There was also a lady who came back from asking for charity, saw that the shop ran out of soy sauce, the next day she immediately brought two bottles," Ms. Phuong said.
Not only benefactors, the restaurant also received help from neighboring stores. Ms. Phuong shared: "The neighboring store let us put tables and chairs in front of the door, just leaving an exit. The stores opposite let us park our cars because this place is too crowded."
The shop mainly serves construction workers, lottery ticket sellers, shippers, and students. Almost everyone knows about the shop through word of mouth, one person introduces another, and from there the shop gradually becomes crowded.
Ms. Phuong said: "There is a man selling fruit on a three-wheeled vehicle. He introduces everyone he meets to his restaurant. Most of them are regular customers."
Ms. Thu Thao (26 years old, Kien Giang) and her husband and two children also often come to the restaurant for lunch. A family of four, if they eat frugally, will spend more than 70,000 VND, while she sells lottery tickets, sometimes earning more than 100,000 VND, sometimes less.
Her husband's job as a construction worker is not very stable. For over a month now, lunch at the 1k noodle shop has helped her family save a lot on food expenses.
Not only did the meal taste good, but the small family also felt the happy atmosphere when eating with the uncles and aunts. She said, the uncles and aunts often said: "Today, let me put in ten thousand to cover everyone."
Ms. Phuong has repeatedly emphasized that the restaurant does not belong to her alone, she only represents philanthropists to bring hot meals to the people.
She said: "There were many times when I was discouraged. But the smiles of the uncles, aunts, and children when they came to the shop, along with everyone's support, were the motivation that helped me maintain the shop until today."
Uncle Ut confided: "Since having the 1k rice and noodle shop, I worry less about food. Before, every meal I only worried about making sure I had enough to eat, enough to get through the day" - Photo: BE HIEU
Uncle Ut (58 years old, Ben Tre) said he has only been in Dong Nai for a few months and is living under a bridge. He said: "I only come here to eat when I am really stuck. On days when I can still work, I don't accept it, but save it for people who are in more difficult circumstances."
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tiem-com-1-000-dong-am-long-nguoi-lao-dong-o-dong-nai-20250217103518155.htm
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