Only open 2 days/month but always full of customers

Recently, Ms. Binh's "chicken manure" sweet soup shop has been widely shared on social networks. Many people are interested and curious about the unique name of this dish and come to enjoy it, making the normally crowded shop even more crowded.

Ms. Binh's family has been selling "chicken manure" tea for 3 generations.

Why does the name sound so "weird"?

On the weekend, I woke up early to visit Ms. Nhat Binh's sweet soup shop located in front of Quan Am Buddha Temple (Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City). The reason I had to go on this day is because the shop is only open for 2 days each month, the 1st and 15th of the lunar calendar. If I missed it, I would have to wait until half a month later to enjoy it.

After 8am, the small sweet soup shop was packed with customers, most of them temple goers. There were also people living nearby who came to the shop as usual. Many were new customers who learned about the shop through social media and came to try the "chicken dung" sweet soup.

Ms. Nhat Binh smiled brightly and enthusiastically prepared the dish for the guests. The owner introduced this as a traditional, familiar Chinese dish called "cải xìa thang" which translates to "chicken droppings" in Vietnamese.

The dessert has a characteristic dark green color.

The restaurant is well supported by customers, one group of customers after another.

"That's why people often call this sweet soup "chicken droppings". The name is a bit ugly but in fact this is just a sweet soup made from two main ingredients: hairy dream leaves and rice flour. I wash the dream leaves, grind them with rice, then add a little tapioca starch and steam until cooked. Then cut them into small, bite-sized pieces," the owner shared.

The weather in Ho Chi Minh City in early December was cool and pleasant. Sitting next to the charcoal stove of the shop, I ordered a portion of "chicken dung" sweet soup to enjoy the taste.

The hot cup of sweet soup looked appealing with soft, flexible, chewy noodles with a beautiful dark green color. The noodles did not have a strong apricot smell but had a mild aroma when the main ingredients had been processed and mixed with the right proportion of flour. In particular, I was impressed with the not-too-sweet soup, with a faint aroma of fresh ginger added by the owner.

This dish tastes better hot, according to the restaurant owner.

[CLIP]: Unique "chicken poop" dessert shop in Ho Chi Minh City: What's so appealing about its "weird" name?

Ms. Nhat Binh said that this dish is more delicious when eaten hot than when eaten cold. Although her shop also sells other types of sweet soup such as corn sweet soup, lotus seed sweet soup..., "chicken manure" sweet soup is still the "best seller" because most of the customers come to the shop for this dish.

3-generation 'chicken dung' sweet soup shop

Helping Ms. Nhat Binh sell sweet soup are Ms. Phuong and her husband, the owner's younger sister. Previously, Ms. Phuong also did many different jobs, but only recently has she started to join her sister in the family business.

Ms. Phuong said that her family's sweet soup shop has been here for more than 20 years, through 3 generations, from her grandmother to her mother, and now her sisters. Ms. Phuong and her sisters also learned how to cook sweet soup from their grandmother and mother.

Ms. Mai (Tan Phu District) is one of the regular customers of the shop. She said that she has been eating sweet soup here since Ms. Nhat Binh's grandmother sold it, which is now more than 20 years. Her favorite dish is still "cay xia thang", and she visits almost every month.

Many people have been regular customers of the restaurant for decades.

"I go to the temple twice a month, and each time I stop here to eat. This dessert has a scary name but it's delicious, it's just a translation from Chinese. Now I've finished eating it and bought some for my family. I'm used to the taste here, it's not too sweet, and as long as it's sold, I'll eat it," she said, smiling.

The shop owner said each portion of chè here costs 16,000 VND. In addition, she also sells dried chè strands, which can be stored for more than a week in the refrigerator, and when needed, customers can cook them for 140,000 VND/kg.

Talking about the reason for only selling 2 days a month in front of the temple, Ms. Binh shared that she usually sells in the Phu Binh market area (Tan Phu District), but does not sell this dessert because there is no place to cook. On these 2 days, the temple is crowded with customers. That has also been the shop's schedule for decades, so she has not changed it.

Binh and her sisters are happy to continue their mother and grandmother's sweet soup shop business.

The shop opens from 7am to 7pm, sometimes selling out early. For the owner, selling traditional Chinese desserts with her mother's and grandmother's family recipes, receiving support from regular and strangers and enjoying her delicious dishes is happiness.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/quan-che-phan-ga-o-tphcm-chi-ban-2-ngay-thang-nhung-khach-luon-chat-kin-185241201104017783.htm