Hanoi owner sells 'Western bread' using pans 'from our grandparents' time'

Tear off a piece of crispy bread, dip it lightly in the thick fried egg yolk, add some pate, ham, pork floss, and skewered meat, and diners can feel the rich, fatty, hot, and rich taste of the pan-fried bread. It will be more perfect when served with a little pickled vegetables, creating a balance of taste. This dish is considered a simple, popular variation of steak but is an "upgraded" version of the traditional sandwich. Many people call this 'Western bread'

Hong Trang Pan Bread is one of the familiar addresses for diners in the capital. The owner is Ms. Do Thi Xuan Hong (66 years old). Previously, she sold in Mai Hac De, then moved to Trieu Viet Vuong (Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi ). Like many long-standing, popular eateries in Hanoi, Hong Trang Bread is located at the beginning of a small alley, the space is quite narrow, only enough to arrange 5-6 sets of plastic tables and chairs and park a few cars.

The shop is small and cramped but has a large number of customers. The shop's customers are of all ages and classes, some have been eating since they were 5 or 6 years old, and even when they have families, they bring their children to enjoy it. The shop is also sought out by many domestic and international tourists. "In the winter at Mai Hac De, I could sell nearly 1,000 sandwiches, and in the summer, 700-800. Now, with the change of address, the number of customers is only half," Ms. Hong said.

For 44 years of selling banh mi chao, Ms. Hong still maintains many of the shop's unique characteristics such as flavor, making side dishes herself, not using sauce... and she even keeps the Soviet pans that are over 40 years old - the pans that have accompanied her since the day she opened the shop. That is also the reason why many people call this shop "Soviet pan bread".

Ms. Hong said that during the subsidy period, she had the opportunity to eat European steak. The dish was elaborately presented, beautiful, delicious, and unique, which made her love it and remember it forever. Later, when she returned home, she learned to make her own banh mi chao dish with a similar presentation to steak. However, she used familiar ingredients, available in the family and much cheaper.

Pans are indispensable tools when preparing and serving banh mi chao. During the difficult subsidy period, Ms. Hong "spent a lot of money" to buy more than 30 Soviet pans from her neighbor who had returned from the Soviet Union. To this day, the 66-year-old owner still keeps more than a dozen of those pans. "Soviet pans are very good, durable over time. When you put pate or eggs in a hot pan, you won't have to worry about them sticking. It's hard to find a pan as good as that now," Ms. Hong said.

Nowadays, Ms. Hong only uses Soviet plates and pans when there are too many customers, when she runs out of utensils, or when she meets long-time, regular customers who want to reminisce about the old flavors and memories. Many young diners also love the image of Ms. Hong's plates and pans from her "grandparents'" time - things that they have only heard about from the previous generation or seen in books and newspapers.

Ms. Hong's fried bread includes fried eggs, skewered meat, pate, red sausage, ham, dried pork floss and a special serving of meatballs. Ms. Hong makes all the dishes herself, such as skewered meat, meatballs, pate, and dried pork floss. "These dishes are complicated, have many steps, and take a lot of time. I have to carefully select each kilo of meat, liver, and spices...", Ms. Hong said. "Making it myself is less profitable and takes a lot of work. However, I am happy that the dishes are guaranteed to be delicious and clean. I make the same dishes as my family eats to serve customers," she added.

When the customer orders, Ms. Hong starts cooking. Waiting for the pan to heat up, she adds a little cooking oil and cracks an egg into the middle of the pan. The fried egg must be round, the yolk golden yellow, and the right consistency to blend with the bread when eaten. When the egg is almost cooked, she adds pate, skewered meat, red sausage, ham and finally sprinkles on some shredded pork. "In the past, I used a charcoal stove, which took a long time. Now, I use an electric stove, and each pan takes about 5 minutes to cook," Ms. Hong said.

When the owner brings the pan to the table, diners can still hear the attractive sizzling sound of the pan. Mrs. Hong's pan bread does not have sauce like many other places, but instead uses soy sauce. When eating, diners often order simple drinks such as iced tea, wormwood, and soy milk.

The restaurant is open from 6am to 10pm every day. The restaurant is small but crowded, so during peak hours in the morning, at noon or on weekends, diners will have to wait for a table. The restaurant does not have its own parking space, some tables outside the alley will be placed right next to motorbikes, making it quite inconvenient to move around. The restaurant sells two types of fried bread: The 35,000 VND set includes fried eggs, skewered meat, pate, red sausage, ham, and shredded pork; The 50,000 VND special set is more filling and has beef meatballs. The restaurant also sells sandwiches with the above ingredients, priced from 20,000 - 25,000 VND/piece.

The owner of the ' world's best' banh mi shop in Hoi An reveals the secret to attracting customers . The late world-class chef Anthony Bourdain once called Phuong's banh mi (Hoi An) "the world's best banh mi". To this day, the shop still maintains its appeal, making tourists willing to line up to buy.

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