Noodle soup costs 12,000 VND/bowl in Ho Chi Minh City, customers fill up the seats, order 2 bowls to 'save hunger'

"Give me two bowls of noodle soup to satisfy my hunger, owner!"

This is how customers commonly order the noodle soup at the restaurant located on Truong Sa Street, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

"Yes, right away, right away. Please have a seat!"

The owner cheerfully answered the customer's question, then quickly put the rice noodles into the bowl, added 4-5 slices of fish cake, some scallions, sprinkled pepper, and poured in the light, sweet, hot broth.

Each bowl of banh canh (Vietnamese noodle soup) costs only 12,000 VND, which seems impossible in Binh Thanh District - an area with high rent and prices in Ho Chi Minh City. Normally, noodle dishes like bun and pho here cost from 35,000-50,000 VND per bowl, or even higher.

After nearly four months of opening, the noodle soup stall owned by Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai Yen (29 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) has quickly won the hearts of customers.

“This noodle soup dish originates from my husband's hometown in Nha Trang. I've had the pleasure of trying it many times, prepared by my husband's aunt. Nha Trang fish cake noodle soup has a sweet and savory broth, chewy fish cakes, and is incredibly affordable, so I was impressed and loved it from the first bite. Later, when my aunt fell ill and could no longer run the stall, I decided to learn her recipe and, together with my husband, opened a business in Ho Chi Minh City,” Ms. Yen recalled.

Bringing her fish cake noodle soup business to Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Yen also had many worries. Initially, due to limited finances , she only found a small space in Binh Thanh District, just enough for a counter and 5-6 small tables. Each time, she could only serve 10-12 customers. Despite the small size, the couple tried their best to keep the place tidy, neat, and clean. The sign that read "Noodle Soup to Relieve Hunger" hung in front of the shop piqued the curiosity of passersby, prompting them to stop and try it. Word spread, and in just over a month, the shop was bustling with customers eating in, buying takeout, and ordering delivery...

According to Ms. Yen, "rice noodle soup to relieve hunger" isn't a name she came up with herself. It's actually the name people in Nha Trang commonly use when referring to rice noodle soup with fish cakes. "In the old days, each bowl of rice noodle soup here only cost 500 dong, now it's 8000 dong per bowl. The price is very cheap, anyone can afford it, even poor laborers, students, and university students," she explained. A super cheap bowl of rice noodle soup that's still enough to fill your stomach, and it's popular with many people, hence the name "rice noodle soup to relieve hunger."

Each bowl of banh canh (rice noodle soup) at Ms. Yen's shop costs 12,000 VND. A special bowl with sliced pork sausage, meatballs, and fresh fish costs 30,000 VND.

According to the owner, the fish cakes are homemade by her family using fresh fish meat, without adding any flour. "We usually use two main types of fish: barracuda and scad. Occasionally, if we don't have enough of these two, we mix in other types of fish. Barracuda and scad are the standard ingredients for making fish cakes in Nha Trang. The fish meat is firm, delicious, and produces a more distinctive fish cake than many other types of fish," Ms. Yen shared.

Accordingly, Yến's husband's family buys fresh fish from seaports in Nha Trang early in the morning, brings it back, cleans it, and uses a machine to separate the bones and flesh. The flesh is then ground using a machine, kneaded, and left to rest for 2-3 hours before frying. The finished fish cakes are vacuum-sealed and transported to Ho Chi Minh City. Every two days, the fish cakes are transported from Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City to ensure they are always fresh and delicious.

The restaurant offers both thick and thin rice noodles. Ms. Yen also transports the thin noodles from Nha Trang along with the fish cakes because, according to her, the thin noodles from Nha Trang have their own unique characteristics.

According to Ms. Yen, an authentic Nha Trang-style fish cake noodle soup doesn't come with vegetables. Diners are served a small amount of authentic Nha Trang dipping sauce to dip the fish cakes in or pour over the broth. This provides a satisfying bowl of noodle soup, true to the "original" recipe.

After filleting the fish, Ms. Yen uses the bones and skin to simmer and create the characteristic sweetness of the broth. “A delicious bowl of banh canh (Vietnamese rice noodle soup) comes from the broth's delicate sweetness and natural aroma from the fish bones, plus the restaurant's unique seasoning. Every day, I simmer two large pots of broth, using about 160 liters of water. That's the only way to have enough to sell,” Ms. Yen shared.

The restaurant is open from 8 AM to 1 PM and from 4 PM to 9 PM. Ms. Yen said that they sell about 500 bowls of banh canh (Vietnamese noodle soup) every day. Customers come from diverse backgrounds, from students and low-income workers to even those who arrive by car, all of whom enjoy this dish.

Mong Tuyet, a customer living in District 9, regularly visits this "hungry-relief noodle soup" stall 2-3 times a week to enjoy a warm, delicious bowl of noodle soup. "I love the fish cake here; it's crispy and chewy, and dipping it in the chili sauce is incredibly delicious. But what I like most is the broth, which is sweet and light, not greasy like other broths. It's a little disappointing that the space is a bit cramped, and when it's crowded, you have to wait a long time," Tuyet shared.

After nearly four months of opening, Ms. Yen has now opened another branch in Go Vap to meet customer demand. The simple yet delicious bowl of banh canh (rice noodle soup) is so satisfying that almost everyone who comes here orders 2-3 bowls, and many customers even buy extra to take home or order additional meatballs to eat separately.

Text and photos: Vu Nhu Khanh

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