The reason why the snail restaurant is called with the name "which makes your skin crawl" is because it is located right in the cemetery of scholar Truong Vinh Ky - Petrus Ky (1837-1898), who was the editor of the first national language newspaper in Vietnam - Gia Dinh Newspaper. In addition to the old house - where scholar Truong Vinh Ky lived in his last years and his cemetery, there is also a small cemetery of the Truong family.
The tomb of scholar Truong Vinh Ky (Photo: SaiGon Palette)
The owner of the "snail tomb" restaurant is Mr. Le Quang Toai (born in 1975, Ho Chi Minh City).
According to Mr. Toai, this land was previously maintained and looked after by his wife's family. More than 20 years ago, seeing that the yard was empty, Mr. Toai's wife decided to open a small snail restaurant with the hope of earning more income for the family. No one expected that, up to now, the snail restaurant has become a familiar address, attracting a lot of diners every day.
Outside the gate of the ancient tomb, the restaurant only displays a small stall with a few types of seafood and a simple sign "Garden Snails". Stepping inside, new diners cannot help but be surprised by the crowded and bustling scene of the restaurant. The snail restaurant is located in the middle of the courtyard behind the main gate. Right behind the restaurant's kitchen is the house built by scholar Petrus Ky in 1886.
Although Mr. Toai and his wife named it “garden snail”, many diners from near and far who come to enjoy the food still call it “ancient tomb snail”. This name makes many people curious to come and visit.
“Actually, the person who originated the name “snail tomb” was Meritorious Artist Huu Loc. He used to visit the snail restaurant and saw that the restaurant had a unique location, so he named it that. Eventually, this name became the restaurant’s characteristic and has followed the restaurant until now,” said Mr. Toai.
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The outside and inside of the "ancient snail tomb" restaurant (Photo: Nhu Khanh/Trung Nguyen)
A customer said that a few years ago, she and her friends came to the restaurant because they were curious about the strange name. "We arrived here at around 8pm. When we got closer, a member of the group was still scared and asked us to change locations. She was a bit scared. However, the group was still determined to come and explore. The restaurant is spacious, cool, has a pleasant atmosphere, and delicious food. Now, the restaurant has become a familiar meeting place for the group," the female customer said.
Mr. Toai's snail restaurant opens from about 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. every day with more than 30 different types of seafood, mostly snails such as snails, star fruit snails, and coconut snails. The average price at Mr. Toai's snail restaurant is about 65,000-70,000 VND/dish or more. According to many diners, for a popular snail restaurant, this price is quite high compared to the general level.
Sharing about the price, Mr. Toai confided: "Actually, many customers see the restaurant model as affordable, so they assume that the price must also be affordable. But since the opening day, my wife and I have always kept in mind that we must choose the most delicious, fresh, and highest quality food. That's why the price cannot be cheap."
Mr. Toai also added that if the food is expensive but the preparation is bad, customers will not come back many times. To keep the restaurant as crowded as it is now, this owner pays attention to every step, from finding safe ingredients, to preparation, processing, and even exclusive recipes.
"If a customer comes to the snail restaurant and there is any rotten snail on the plate, I am willing to pay for it without any hesitation or blame. I always put my business ethics first, thanks to that, over the past decades, the restaurant has always been loved and trusted by customers," Mr. Toai shared.
The dishes at the restaurant are rated as fresh, delicious, and flavorful (Photo: Trung Nguyen)
At his restaurant, Mr. Toai is most confident in the sauces and cheeses with his own recipes.
Mr. Trung (HCMC) often visits the snail restaurant to enjoy a drink with his group of friends. He shared: "From the outside, you can't tell that inside the big gate there is such an enthusiastic, delicious and interesting snail restaurant. The food is fresh and clean."
Ms. Quyen (born in 1995, HCMC) is currently one of the "disciples" following Mr. Toai to learn the culinary profession. After nearly 12 years following him, Ms. Quyen is currently the main chef of the restaurant, and has been taught many "secrets" by Mr. Toai to be able to maintain the cooking work for the restaurant in the future.
"I have been following Uncle Toai for more than 10 years, from the days I was a waiter until he wholeheartedly taught me the recipes. He is very dedicated, regardless of whether you are a family member or an outsider, as long as you have passion, responsibility and love for cooking, he will teach you wholeheartedly," she confided.
Vo Nhu Khanh - Linh Trang
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