The owner is a cheerful, single woman, and her customers have been loyal for three generations.

Many families have been eating broken rice here for three generations because Mrs. Nam (real name Diep Thi Ngoc Anh) has a secret to keeping customers coming back.

Inheriting my mother's restaurant.

One weekend morning, I visited Mrs. Nam's broken rice restaurant, nestled peacefully and coolly on Tan Canh Street (Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City). When I arrived at 7 a.m., the plastic tables in the restaurant were full of customers leisurely enjoying their favorite breakfast. The owner had already set up her stall at 6 a.m.

Mrs. Nam's restaurant is always crowded with customers.

Ms. Nam said that her mother opened this rice stall before 1975 to support her children. When she was young, Ms. Nam dropped out of school to help her mother sell food. Initially, it was just a small, unmarked food stall on the street. The owner recalled that at that time, in addition to broken rice, her mother also sold various kinds of sticky rice to earn extra money to make ends meet.

Back then, my mother sold very simple rice dishes, just pork skin and sausage, mainly to feed working-class people. The price was only about 2,000 - 3,000 dong per plate. Later, after my mother passed away, I inherited the eatery and added more ingredients so that customers wouldn't get bored of the taste...

Mrs. Nam, the owner of the shop.

Initially, Mrs. Nam's family restaurant only had a stable base of regular customers, mostly acquaintances living nearby. However, since the menu became more diverse, and the owner added braised eggs with runny yolks as a side dish, customers found it very appealing. Word spread, and more and more regular and new customers came to the restaurant. Some days, she sells out in just 3-4 hours.

A plate of rice costs 60,000 dong.

Many customers jokingly call Mrs. Nam the "happy single" owner because, at her age, she's still single, without a husband or children. When asked about this, the owner confided that, when she was younger, she also had many suitors.

"However, due to circumstances, I sacrificed my own happiness to take care of my family and siblings. I am happy and content with my life now that all five of my siblings have stable lives. My daily joy is selling rice to my customers, and that's enough," the owner said with a bright smile.

Special secret

Having eaten nothing for breakfast, I ordered a plate of broken rice with all the toppings for 60,000 VND. Here, dishes range from 25,000 to 60,000 VND, giving customers plenty of choices. In less than a minute, a steaming hot, fragrant plate of rice was served in front of me.

The broken rice here, served with pork ribs, fried egg, pork skin, pork patty, sausage, Chinese sausage, braised egg with runny yolk, pickled vegetables, shredded cucumber… drizzled with a little sweet and sour fish sauce, is a truly wonderful combination. In terms of flavor alone, I'd give it an 8.5/10; it's definitely worth a visit.

“I’ve been eating here since Mrs. Nam’s mother was still selling, which is 50 years now. I was tiny back then, only 5 years old. Now I’m 56, and I still often eat at Mrs. Nam’s restaurant. I even often bring my children and grandchildren along. Every time I eat here, I remember my childhood. Three generations of my family have eaten here!”, Mrs. Pham Thi Ngoc Nu (Tan Binh District), a regular customer of the restaurant, recounted emotionally.

Mrs. Nam inherited her mother's restaurant.

[CLIP]: A 50-year-old restaurant specializing in rice with braised egg and runny yolk.

Hearing this, the owner added that some customers came to her restaurant when they were still dating, and even after having children, they still brought their kids to eat at her restaurant. It is this kind of affection and support from customers that motivates her to continue selling the dishes passed down from her mother.

Mr. Ngo Ba Hiep is also a regular customer at Mrs. Nam's restaurant. He said that his favorite part is the runny-boiled eggs in Mrs. Nam's rice dish. That's why he visits 2-3 times a week, and each time he can eat... 2-3 eggs. "The runny-boiled eggs here have been famous for a long time. The owner makes them so well; the eggs are cooked through on the outside, with a perfectly runny yolk inside, and they taste rich and creamy," the customer commented.

The restaurant's signature dish is braised eggs with runny yolks.

Every day, Mrs. Nam devotes all her heart and soul to her rice restaurant. She recounts that in the afternoon she goes to the market to buy ingredients, and in the evening she prepares them. She wakes up at 3 a.m. to cook and gets ready to sell at 6 a.m., continuing until everything is sold out.

Despite her advanced age, she says she will continue selling as long as she has the strength, because this is a place that holds memories of her late mother, and also where she has received the love and support of countless generations of customers from near and far…

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/quan-com-tam-mon-dinh-trung-long-dao-ba-chu-doc-than-vui-tinh-khach-ruot-3-doi-185230910113902365.htm