Customers are filling up the blood cockle porridge shop in Ho Chi Minh City: What's so attractive?

"Unbelievable crowds!"

One midweek evening, on my way home from work, I stopped by a cockle porridge shop on Nguyen Tri Phuong Street (District 5) and was quite "shocked" by the sight of dozens of tables in the shop filled with customers, and a long line of customers waiting outside.

Every night, the blood cockle porridge shop at 207 Nguyen Tri Phuong is very crowded.

[CLIP]: The restaurant is sometimes full

I wondered: "What is it about this porridge shop that makes it so crowded, even though it's only in the middle of the week, while many other shops I know complain that the number of customers is not as high as in previous years due to the economic recession?" . I asked someone who works at the shop about this question, and received a more surprising answer, because almost every night, the shop is crowded like this.

Mr. Hong Nam (27 years old) often brings his friends to eat blood cockle porridge in the evening. He said he has been a "regular" customer here for many years, because he loves the way the owner cooks porridge with a strong Western flavor.

“Usually, the restaurant is always crowded with customers every night, I'm used to this scene. The porridge she cooks is delicious, made from roasted rice so it's soft and fragrant. Eating blood cockle porridge with other ingredients is also quite nutritious, my house is not too far from here so I come here 3-4 times a week," said the customer.

Each portion of blood cockle porridge at the restaurant costs 45,000 - 80,000 VND depending on the customer's needs.

At the restaurant, each portion of porridge costs from 45,000 to 80,000 VND, depending on the customer's needs. Besides the typical porridge with blood cockles and minced beef, customers can also eat it with abalone, shrimp, squid, scallops, snakehead fish fillets, etc.

I ordered a portion of blood cockle porridge and a portion of minced beef to go with it, when my stomach was growling. Just as Mr. Nam introduced, the way the restaurant cooks porridge reminds me of my hometown in the West, the rich flavor, highlighted by the aroma of roasted rice.

Furthermore, the ingredients here are fresh and delicious. The hot bowl of porridge is topped with a little green onion, pepper, fried onion and garlic, served with raw vegetables and a special dipping sauce. It's truly a "perfect" combination.

The restaurant has been around for over 10 years.

Just like me, Ms. Ngoc Thanh (22 years old, living in Binh Thanh District) visited this restaurant for the first time because she was curious about what made customers line up in front of the restaurant. After enjoying a bowl of blood cockle porridge, she commented that from now on she will become a "regular" here.

“After eating, I realized why the restaurant was so crowded, it was unimaginably crowded. The most outstanding thing is the fresh ingredients. The blood cockle porridge is nutritious. I think that is also one of the reasons why people come here in large numbers,” Ms. Thanh commented, looking at the customers in the restaurant.

From love for father…

The owner of this porridge shop is Ms. Le Thi Cuc (60 years old), a woman from the Western region. More than 10 years ago, she opened this porridge shop in Ho Chi Minh City, also because of a special fate. Confiding to reporters, she said that at that time, she came from Hau Giang to Ho Chi Minh City to take care of her father who had chronic kidney disease.

At that time, she was living at her brother's house. Normally, she often cooked blood cockle porridge to nourish her father because it was a nutritious dish. From there, she came up with the idea of ​​selling this dish to earn more income to support her sick father.

Mrs. Cuc's blood cockle porridge shop was initially just a small cart on the sidewalk. Thanks to her delicious cooking skills and business acumen, the porridge cart gradually had a stable number of customers. 3 years later, she decided to rent the space behind the cart, which was her brother's house, to make the shop more spacious for customers to sit, and has been selling it ever since.

Customers "surrounded" in front of the restaurant

Mrs. Cuc thanks customers for their support over the years.

The owner has 4 children, one currently lives in the US, the other 3 live in Vietnam. She is happy because after nearly a decade of doing business, she is still loved and supported by customers, thanks to her conscientious way of doing business. Currently, the porridge shop is also inherited and supported by her children, making her feel proud.

“For me, this job is also my career, my love. If I stop selling, I will miss my customers and my job very much. I will continue to sell until I no longer have the strength. I believe that when I sell with all my heart, I will receive support and love from customers," the owner confided.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/khach-ngoi-kin-quan-chao-so-huyet-o-tphcm-co-gi-hap-dan-185240129144655316.htm