A husband's feelings for his wife

I've been eating it since I was a child.

Early in the morning, as the sun rose and the streets bustled with people, I visited Mr. Hy's small, unmarked sticky rice stall on Tung Thien Vuong Street (Ward 12, District 8, Ho Chi Minh City). Mr. Hy, with his hair streaked with gray, sat facing the street, preparing boxes of sticky rice for customers.

Sharing with the reporter, they initially opened in District 5, then moved to District 8 in 1990 and have a large number of loyal customers. I ordered a portion of sticky rice for 10,000 VND with all the toppings: sticky rice, quail eggs, cabbage, pork sausage, fried shallots, shredded pork..., sprinkled with peanuts on top, quite appealing.

The sticky rice vendor has been refusing to raise prices for 33 years.

What makes this sticky rice dish special is the addition of quail eggs stir-fried with savory, crunchy pickled mustard greens, a combination rarely found elsewhere. In terms of food quality, I rate it 9/10.

"Customers have been coming back to eat here for the past 33 years, you must have a special secret?", when I asked, the owner calmly replied that most of them were regulars for decades and loved the taste of his sticky rice stall.

According to him, the sticky rice here probably has a familiar, unique flavor that suits many people's tastes, which is why customers support it. "I prepare the ingredients myself, I choose the best, chewiest sticky rice. I stir-fry the quail eggs with pickled mustard greens, a dish you won't find anywhere else," Mr. Hy introduced.

"Gánh xôi bà xã" 10.000 đồng hơn 30 năm ở TP.HCM - Ảnh 2. — A box of sticky rice costs 10,000 dong.

Among the customers, there was Ms. Ngoc Diem (27 years old, District 8), who said she visits Mr. Hy's sticky rice stall every day for breakfast. "I ate it when I was in first grade, and even after getting married, I still eat sticky rice from him. I'm used to it and find it very delicious; nowhere else compares. Nowadays, people cook sticky rice in a modern way with many strange ingredients, so it doesn't retain the flavor of the past. Mr. Hy's sticky rice is chewy, flavorful, and retains the familiar taste of my childhood," she said.

Similarly, a regular customer, who considers himself a "loyal customer" of the sticky rice stall, said, "I've been eating here since the couple sold it together. Now that only the husband is left, I feel sorry for him. His sticky rice is unique; I've eaten it many times before and nowhere else is like it. I've enjoyed this sticky rice since I was a child, and I still love it now that I'm older. It's cheap; one box of sticky rice keeps me full until lunchtime."

"Gánh xôi bà xã" 10.000 đồng hơn 30 năm ở TP.HCM - Ảnh 3. — Mr. Hy and his sticky rice stall, a memento of his late wife.

I give extra money to customers who are in need.

Many people call this place "My wife's sticky rice stall," and I curiously asked why. The 65-year-old man explained, "This sticky rice stall is closely associated with my wife; all the customers here are her regulars. After she passed away, I took over selling from her. Sometimes I want to give up, but then I think about the memories of my wife and I, so I can't bring myself to do it."

Seeing people in need, and fearing that customers wouldn't have enough to eat, he didn't hesitate to give them extra sticky rice and meatballs. "In these difficult times, it would be unfair to overcharge them. To sell for the long term, you have to put your heart into it. If customers see you struggling, give them extra so they can eat enough to go to work," he said.

"Gánh xôi bà xã" 10.000 đồng hơn 30 năm ở TP.HCM - Ảnh 4. — Quail eggs stir-fried with pickled mustard greens create a unique flavor.

Mr. Hy confided that it was thanks to the love and support of his customers that he was able to make ends meet and cover his living expenses for the past several decades. Currently, while the prices of many raw materials are rising, Mr. Hy still has no intention of raising his selling prices. He said that the current price is just right for him and for his customers.

He said the sticky rice stall opens at 6 a.m. Although he has to wake up at 3 a.m. to prepare, he is happy every day to be associated with the sticky rice stall that commemorates his late wife, and to bring the most heartfelt meals to please customers for so many years.

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