A 35-year-old noodle stall in Ho Chi Minh City, selling since the owner was a young girl: 'I'll sell it for 10,000 VND!'

Not everyone knows that since the age of 19, when she was still "shy", Mrs. Tam has been selling banh canh on the street, using a recipe passed down from her grandmother.

3 hours is all

Every morning, walking along Phong Phu Street (District 8), many people will be attracted by the food stalls, shops, and stalls located close together. The difficulty is that I don't know which dish to choose, which shop to buy from because the dishes are diverse, all suitable for a warm breakfast.

Gánh bánh canh 35 năm TP.HCM, bán hồi bà chủ còn… mắc cỡ: '10.000 đồng cũng bán!' - Ảnh 1. — Mrs. Tam's noodle stall has been around for more than 35 years.

On days when I have a "painful wallet", I will stop by the familiar noodle stall of Mrs. Thanh Tam and her daughter at the beginning of this street. In this area, everyone knows that she is famous for selling cheaply. Many poor workers buy a bowl of noodle soup for 10,000 VND, and the owner is happy to sell it.

The small noodle stall stands out with its eye-catching orange-yellow pot of noodles, the fragrant smell of which makes my hungry stomach growl even more. At 6:30, the number of customers coming to eat in and buy to go is so large that the owner and her daughter have to work continuously so that no one is late for work.

Back then, when I was 19 years old, I started selling noodles to make a living. Before that, my grandmother had been selling at Xom Cui market for a long time. The first 3 days of my "career" selling noodles, I was still a shy girl so my grandmother took me out to sell, and then I carried my bag around Xom Cui market to sell. I moved to a permanent place to sell at my current location for almost 30 years...

Mrs. Thanh Tam, Owner of Banh Canh stall

Throughout her years in business, the owner has maintained the view that selling at low, affordable prices is suitable for poor workers. Nowadays, prices are skyrocketing, each portion of her noodle soup is from 18,000 to 23,000 VND. However, if anyone is in difficulty and wants to buy a cheaper portion, the owner will sell it without hesitation.

Gánh bánh canh 35 năm TP.HCM, bán hồi bà chủ còn… mắc cỡ: '10.000 đồng cũng bán!' - Ảnh 3. — A bowl of noodle soup costs 15,000 VND.

[CLIP]: 35-year-old noodle stall in Ho Chi Minh City, selling when the owner was still... embarrassed: 'I'll sell for 10,000 VND!'

Ms. Thanh Tam and her daughter said that, of course, trading at that price also makes a profit, a small profit. But they are happy because they can share with the workers in difficult circumstances. "There are people who have been eating with me for decades, I know their situation well, so now, every time they buy, I automatically sell them a 10,000 VND portion. I also know what they like to eat and what they don't like to eat," she confided.

Opening at 6am, the owner said that on good days, everything is sold out in 3 hours. If it is slower, it will be ready by 10am. To serve customers on time, she wakes up at 3am every day to prepare everything carefully, and has been doing so for the past several decades.

Raising 2 children alone

Ms. Thanh Tam said she divorced her husband early, thanks to this noodle stall, she raised her eldest son and youngest daughter to become the adults they are today. Her children are her pride and greatest asset, besides the noodle stall that she has devoted her whole life to.

Ms. Tam's daughter, Ms. Ngoc (25 years old), has also been helping her mother sell for more than 2 years. Many years ago, she passed the university entrance exam, but because she felt sorry for her mother who had to work hard to sell alone, the girl decided to help her mother stick with this business.

“I will probably sell it until I die, when I can no longer sell it, because it is my whole life now. I don’t know if my children will inherit it, because this job is very hard. What I am most proud of in my bowl of noodles is the unchanged flavor of my grandmother for decades,” the owner said.

The cake is simple, but delicious.

The bowl of banh canh from Mrs. Tam's stall is not too big, just right for an energy breakfast. The traditional chewy, soft noodles with fish cakes, fish balls, mushrooms and pork legs are submerged in a rich broth, adding a little coriander, pepper and chili is perfect. In terms of taste, I give it 8/10 points, worth eating many times.

Ms. Ngoc Lan (54 years old, living in District 8) is a regular customer of the restaurant. She said that because her house is nearby, she comes here almost every morning to eat and buy some for her children, grandchildren, and relatives. The customer said that the noodles here look attractive, taste delicious, and most importantly, the price is reasonable.

“This place sells very cheap food. If you want to buy 10,000 VND, you can buy it, if you want to buy more, you can buy it. On the 1st and 15th of every lunar month, they also sell vegetarian dishes. I also eat vegetarian on those days, so I buy them all the time. I'm used to eating here, I don't get bored, I'm addicted," Ms. Lan smiled brightly.