'Nguyet Thao Mai' sweet soup suddenly becomes hot again, the shop owner is tired of selling hundreds of bowls/day

Although it appeared in the movie “Phia Truoc La Bau Troi” which aired 22 years ago, Co Hue sweet soup shop located in the food court of Thanh Cong B market (Ba Dinh district, Hanoi) has recently unexpectedly become a culinary destination attracting visitors.

The reason is because excerpts of the scene where the character Nguyet "thao mai" (played by actress Ha Huong) sneaks out of her lover to eat sweet soup alone in the market have been widely shared again on many online forums.

Many young people are even curious to come to this chè shop to check-in, try traditional chè dishes and create a review trend with a series of videos posted on social networking channels such as Facebook, TikTok, attracting tens of thousands of interactions.

Ms. Hue's sweet soup shop appeared in the movie "Ahead is the sky" 22 years ago and now.

The restaurant is located in the food court of Thanh Cong B market, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi with an old sign.

According to the reporter's investigation, the woman who appeared in the scene and interacted with the character Nguyet was Ms. Do Thi Hue (60 years old) - the owner of the sweet soup shop of the same name. Currently, the shop is managed and operated by Mr. Minh Diep (born in 1987) - Ms. Hue's son.

Mr. Tiep is currently taking over and managing the family's long-standing tea shop business.

After more than 20 years of appearing in the film, the location, space and decoration of Ms. Hue's sweet soup shop have remained almost unchanged. The shop is furnished with only two small tables, a few long chairs with "modest" seating for about 10 people.

What is special is that the shop still only sells traditional sweet soups such as black beans, green beans, lotus seeds, sweet potatoes, corn, green rice and mixed. In the cold winter, the shop also serves banh troi.

The shop opens from 8:30 am to around 6 pm, 7 pm every day. Customers can eat on the spot or buy take-out. The desserts here are sold at affordable prices, from 10,000 - 20,000 VND/cup.

The desserts at the shop are handcrafted and retain their traditional flavors such as green bean dessert, red bean dessert, taro dessert, banana dessert, corn dessert, etc.

Mr. Diep said that his mother used to sell tea at the corner of the temporary market. In 1994, when Thanh Cong B market was built, she moved inside, specializing in selling traditional teas.

In 2013, Mr. Diep took over the tea shop and has maintained the business until now.

Mr. Diep is the one who cooks the desserts, either at home or at the market when the shop is busy. The desserts here still retain the traditional flavor but the sweetness is reduced to suit the taste of most diners.

Recalling the appearance of the sweet soup shop in the famous movie "Pairing the Sky", Mr. Diep was told by his mother that the film crew came to film at the market that day. At first, they thought the crew was just borrowing the shop's setting to film, but unexpectedly, Ms. Hue was also invited to appear in a short scene with the character Nguyet "thao mai".

“Even though it has been on air for more than 20 years, I did not expect the show to still be so famous and loved by so many people. Many young people who come here immediately ask if this is the sweet soup shop where Ms. Nguyet used to eat?”, the shop owner humorously said.

Traditional mixed sweet soup is loved by many diners, with affordable prices starting at only 10,000 VND/cup (Photo: Food Guide Hanoi).

He also revealed that this is not the first time his family's sweet soup shop has received great attention on social networks. In 2018, when some movie scenes were shared again, many customers also visited and checked in here.

However, at that time, the food review trend had not yet "exploded" so the number of customers was not as large as it is now.

“The number of customers coming to the shop this time is much higher, so the amount of chè sold has doubled or tripled. Before, I sold an average of about 100 cups per day, but now I can serve up to 150, 200, even 300 cups on weekends. Sometimes there are so many customers that there is not enough space, so I have to ask the shop next door to let customers sit,” said Mr. Diep.

This man also shared that many young people who visited the restaurant even said they wanted to sit in the exact same position that Ms. Nguyet "thao mai" used to sit and eat in, to experience the feeling of being an actress in a movie.

Ms. Le Bich Ngoc (58 years old, living on Nguyen Thai Hoc street) has been a regular customer of Ms. Hue's sweet soup shop for over 10 years. Every time she goes to Thanh Cong B market, Ms. Ngoc stops by here to have a cup of black bean sweet soup. Occasionally, she also brings her daughter-in-law and grandchildren to the shop to enjoy traditional sweet soups to reminisce about her childhood.

“The tea here is not too sweet, and retains the traditional preparation and flavor, so it is suitable for older people like me,” commented the woman in her 60s.

Many young people come to Ms. Hue's sweet soup shop partly out of curiosity and partly because they want to enjoy their childhood treat again (Photo: Food Guide Hanoi).

Not only older diners, many young people of Gen Z also enjoy coming here to eat traditional desserts and experience the space and flavors of their childhood.

Thuy Linh (27 years old, living on Kim Ma street) and her friends visited Ms. Hue's sweet soup shop three times after watching a "stormy" clip from the movie shared online. The 9X admitted that she initially came here out of curiosity, but gradually came to like the taste of the shop's sweet soup.

She is especially "addicted" to mixed sweet soup - a snack that her mother used to buy for her when she was little.

“The dessert here has a light sweet taste, which is the most suitable way to cool down in the summer. The shop is simple and the space is a bit cramped, but it gives a familiar feeling. In the middle of the bustling and noisy capital, finding a place like this, sitting together and eating the dessert of childhood is truly a precious and meaningful time,” Thuy Linh expressed.

Phan Dau

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