U.80 daughter-in-law inherits U.100 mother-in-law's career

Ms. Lan (73 years old), real name Do Thi Nhon, still works hard every day with her only daughter at the rice cake shop she has been attached to since she became a daughter-in-law.

From the advice of the deceased mother-in-law

Early in the morning, Ho Chi Minh City was already blazing hot. I stopped by alley 150 on Nguyen Trai Street (District 1) and saw Mrs. Lan meticulously making rice rolls and wet rice cakes to serve customers from near and far who came to support her.

Bánh cuốn hơn nửa thế kỷ trong hẻm TP.HCM: Con dâu U.80 kế nghiệp mẹ chồng U.100 - Ảnh 1. — Mrs. Lan has been attached to this restaurant since she got married.

The alley is small and cool, along the alley is the aroma of food. The shops here are not strange to food lovers in Ho Chi Minh City because many places are decades old and it is not difficult for you to find a delicious breakfast in this alley.

Mrs. Lan’s restaurant is simple with a few tables neatly arranged, customers come and go regularly while the owner still meticulously prepares each plate of rice rolls and wet rice cakes. Confiding in me, Mrs. Lan said that the restaurant was opened by her mother-in-law, Mrs. By, before 1975.

"According to my mother-in-law, she and three friends from the North came to Saigon to live. One of them made ham and sausage, one of them was self-employed, and my mother decided to open this banh cuon shop to make a living," Ms. Lan recounted.

Bánh cuốn hơn nửa thế kỷ trong hẻm TP.HCM: Con dâu U.80 kế nghiệp mẹ chồng U.100 - Ảnh 2. — The plate of banh cuon looks simple but has a delicate flavor.

In 1978, Mrs. Lan got married. Since then, her life has been attached to this restaurant because she goes to the restaurant every day to help her mother-in-law. All the secrets and recipes for making cakes were passed down to her by her mother-in-law, so she confidently inherited her mother's restaurant later, when Mr. By was old and weak.

3 years ago, my mother passed away at the age of 95. Before she passed away, she told me to do everything I could to preserve her profession, to preserve the restaurant that she built her whole life. I love my mother, and I also love this restaurant, so I have to do my best for the restaurant, and for the customers who have supported me for decades...

Ms. Lan, Owner

My mother, although she no longer sells rice cakes at the main shop like before, still makes them at home. My mother-in-law sold rice cakes until the last days of her life," the daughter-in-law in her 80s was moved when talking about her mother-in-law.

Currently, the restaurant is run by Ms. Lan and her only child, Ms. Nguyen Do Ngoc (44 years old). Ms. Ngoc, after finishing university, came back to help her mother at the restaurant and has been attached to this place for more than 20 years.

1am "fumbling" to prepare

A portion of wet rice cake or steamed rice rolls at Mrs. Lan’s shop costs 35,000 VND, quite reasonable in the city center. A full portion includes steamed rice rolls, shrimp cakes, cinnamon sausage, pork sausage, fried sausage, sour sausage served with bean sprouts, raw vegetables… served with sweet and sour, spicy fish sauce.

Bánh cuốn hơn nửa thế kỷ trong hẻm TP.HCM: Con dâu U.80 kế nghiệp mẹ chồng U.100 - Ảnh 4. — Rice rolls are thinly spread, filled with meat and wood ear mushrooms.

At first glance, the rice rolls and wet rice cakes here do not look special compared to other shops. However, when eating, you will see that the cakes here are made with great sophistication. The owner said that the secret lies in the "one-of-a-kind" dipping sauce, with a secret passed down from her mother-in-law.

"The entire process from grinding flour, making rice rolls, wet rice cakes, making shrimp cakes as well as frying dried onions are all done by me and my children. The rice cakes are made at home very cleanly and according to my taste, they must be made very thin to be delicious. When I was young, I made them very quickly, but now that I'm older, I make them more slowly. So at 1am I get up to prepare in time to sell in the morning," the owner confided.

More than that, when customers come to eat, they will feel the cleanliness of the restaurant. That cleanliness is a big plus, besides the delicate flavor that makes me give the food here a score of 9/10, the restaurant deserves to become a "regular" of many diners.

Bánh cuốn hơn nửa thế kỷ trong hẻm TP.HCM: Con dâu U.80 kế nghiệp mẹ chồng U.100 - Ảnh 5.

Bánh cuốn hơn nửa thế kỷ trong hẻm TP.HCM: Con dâu U.80 kế nghiệp mẹ chồng U.100 - Ảnh 6. — Ms. Ngoc and her mother have been selling for over 20 years.

[CLIP]: Banh cuon for more than half a century in an alley in Ho Chi Minh City: U.80 daughter-in-law inherits U.100 mother-in-law's career

"The rice rolls here have a thin crust covering the meat and wood ear mushroom filling, and when eaten, they don't feel heavy because of the flour. The ingredients, especially the raw vegetables and cucumbers, are all fresh and delicious. The owner here is careful and cleans very well. I've been eating here for a long time and haven't gotten used to eating at other places, and they're not as delicious as here," the customer commented.

Ms. Nam (56 years old, living in District 1) said that she has been eating at this restaurant for decades, almost every week she eats 3-4 times for breakfast or lunch, sometimes every day of the week.

With such a passion for the restaurant, Mrs. Lan is only afraid of one thing, that when she gets old and weak, there will be no one to inherit it. I asked Ms. Ngoc: “Will you inherit your mother’s restaurant?”, the owner’s daughter smiled and replied: “Hopefully, we have enough fate…”.

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