Customers come to see the video.

This is the startup story of Nguyen Hoang Ngai Ly (24 years old, residing in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City) and Ho Huy Hoang (23 years old). After quitting their office jobs, they decided to open a food cart selling two snacks: grilled rice paper rolls and Thai-style chicken feet. Thanks to sharing their startup story on social media, they received unexpected support.

The couple started a business together.

Located on Hoang Sa Street (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City), the food cart run by Ms. Ngai Ly and Mr. Huy Hoang is simply and cleanly decorated. They open at 4:30 PM, but when I visited at 4:15 PM, I already saw 3-4 customers waiting.

They only sell two items: rice paper rolls with tamarind dipping sauce and Thai-style chicken feet. According to them, because they've only just opened, they only prepared a small quantity, about 100 portions. They sold out in less than two hours.

Many diners patiently waited in line.

A sales event by the couple.

Many latecomers had to leave empty-handed. "It's not that we're lazy, but we can't make enough, so we can only prepare about 50 portions of grilled rice paper rolls and 50 portions of Thai-style chicken feet each day. We're also very sad that many customers came from far away but couldn't buy anything," Ms. Ly confided. The grilled rice paper rolls with tamarind dipping sauce at the shop cost 30,000 and 40,000 VND respectively.

Thai-style chicken feet cost 50,000 VND and 70,000 VND. I quickly ordered a portion of each to enjoy. The rice paper rolls were rolled into large, round rolls, filled with minced pork, carrots, cassava, and wood ear mushrooms. They were served with a sweet and sour tamarind fish sauce and unripe mango. The Thai-style chicken feet were mixed by Mr. Hoang after the customer ordered, and included boneless chicken feet, star fruit, unripe mango, and lemongrass. "Both dishes are made with freshly sourced ingredients every day," Mr. Hoang said.

The restaurant scores points for its neat and clean arrangement.

According to our observations, although they work slowly, the couple cooperate well and are very enthusiastic, so customers don't get annoyed by the long wait. They work continuously without a break, occasionally saying to customers, "Please wait a moment, sir/madam." When asked why they chose to sell these two dishes, Mr. Hoang said, "I think the grilled rice paper rolls are still quite unfamiliar to people in this city."

"I noticed that there aren't many places selling these in Ho Chi Minh City, so I chose this dish. Furthermore, Ly's mother makes these two dishes very well, and she passed on the recipes to Ly, giving her the confidence to start her business." It's known that Ly's family previously sold Thai-style chicken feet and grilled rice paper rolls in their hometown, which were very popular with customers.

Ms. Thanh Tam (Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City) is standing in line waiting for her food. She has eaten here 3 times. "I love the grilled rice paper rolls here. Each roll is big and delicious. The other day I passed by and saw many people waiting, so I was curious and stopped to try it. After eating it, I've been hooked ever since," the customer said.

Live for your dreams.

"I once read a quote that said, 'If you don't build your own dreams, someone else will hire you to build theirs.' I think I have to try living for my dreams, living to fulfill them, and seeing how far I can go. That's why our Uncle Beo snack cart was born," Ly shared.

Every day, the couple asks a friend to help film the entire selling process and post it on TikTok. Thanks to these videos, which have hundreds of thousands of views, Uncle Beo's food truck has become more widely known. "I think what makes us so popular is our startup story. In the beginning, people came not to try the food, but to support and encourage us to continue our entrepreneurial journey. I really appreciate that," Ly shared.

"Many customers from Binh Chanh and Thu Duc found us thanks to the videos we saw online." The biggest challenge for the shop was the lack of experience. Both of them are still young, so when starting out, they faced difficulties with premises, capital, and manpower. They shared that although the startup business is risky and tiring, it offers freedom and the ability to do what they want without constraints. Currently, Ly also runs a fashion business on e-commerce platforms.

Ms. Nhu Quynh (29 years old, Binh Thanh District) bought a portion of chicken feet from the stall and said she came to the stall after seeing a video shared on social media. "If I find it delicious after eating it today, I will come back to support the two of them again. Because they are very enthusiastic and lovely, and the food is presented cleanly. I always want to support young entrepreneurs like this," she shared.

We sell about 100 boxes a day.

Ly said many people called her a workaholic for juggling two jobs at once. "I didn't get upset when they heard that. Being able to do many things means I'm capable, right? I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so I have to work harder than others," she shared.

Looking ahead, they said they plan to hire more staff to meet customer demand. Both hope to bring the flavors of their restaurant's dishes to provinces and cities throughout Vietnam.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/xe-do-an-vat-moi-mo-cua-cap-doi-o-tphcm-khach-tim-den-nho-xem-clip-185231014084850678.htm