Cho Lon Food Festival: Customers complain that even with money, it's hard to buy, wontons, dumplings, and chive cakes sell out too soon

58 food stalls packed into the grounds of the 2nd Cho Lon Food Story Festival create a diverse and representative display of delicious Chinese cuisine in Saigon.

Tang's banh mi stall attracted visitors to the Cho Lon Food Story event thanks to its Chinese-style design and tempting trays of steamed dumplings and grilled pate - Photo: TO CUONG

The Cho Lon Food Story festival remains crowded with people. Staff at the stalls are working tirelessly, selling food without rest. Some stalls have even closed due to running out of stock.

Even with money, you can't buy it.

Go straight through the main entrance of the festival on Tran Hung Dao Street, and you'll find the Cuu Long restaurant. Staff are cleaning up.

Ms. Duyen, the owner of the restaurant, had to explain to customers that the shop was closed and wouldn't reopen until after 5 PM. Many customers expressed disappointment. Some sighed, "There are still several hours left, how can we wait until then?" Another group of customers joked, "Oh my God, even with money you can't buy food anymore."

The Cuu Long food stall sells out in just a few hours - Photo: TO CUONG

Speaking to Tuoi Tre Online , Ms. Duyen explained: "Actually, we had prepared enough food for the entire holiday. But there were so many customers that we ran out of food early. The staff are rushing to prepare a new batch, but they can't keep up."

Besides the restaurant's traditional dishes, we also serve dishes exclusive to the festival: four-treasure braised offal and Hong Kong-style beef offal braised offal, which are very popular with customers."

The stalls selling chive cakes and fried dough, famous in Xa Tay market, are also facing a similar situation.

Customers visited this stall selling authentic Teochew (Chinese) chive pancakes for two consecutive days but were unable to buy any.

A stall overflowing with delicious food at the Cho Lon Food Festival - Photo: TO CUONG

Upon inquiry, I learned that because the shop only makes a few trays of cakes each day and there are so many customers, they have to close early when they sell out. The price of one cake is only 9,000 VND, so they sell out even faster. On December 7th, the shop closed around noon.

Delicious food at the Cho Lon Food Festival.

Tang Bread is a famous eatery in Thu Do Market (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City) with a history of over 50 years, established in 1968 by a family of Chinese origin.

Appearing at the Cho Lon Food Story festival, Tang's banh mi attracts diners with its signature steamed pork dumplings and grilled pate, which have made it famous. A full, hearty loaf costs 25,000 VND.

A box of dumplings, complete with chives, cabbage, celery, corn, and steamed buns, costs 40,000 VND. - Photo: TO CUONG

Experiencing the famous Cho Lon banh mi for the first time, Linh (24 years old) shared: "I've seen many reviews of Tang's banh mi on TikTok but haven't had a chance to try it yet. I came to the event to look for dim sum, but the shumai looked so tempting that I had to stop by."

Hoa's dumpling stall was tucked away in a corner of the event but still attracted many customers.

Tang bread was established in 1968 - Photo: TO CUONG

The staff were constantly picking up dumplings with their hands. Ms. Hoa's small dumpling and shumai stall, located on a corner of Tran Phu Street (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City), just a few hundred meters from the event venue, has become a familiar address.

Therefore, some people noticed that this stall at the festival seemed to be missing a rather unique item from the original shop: taro dumplings and salted duck eggs. A full box of dumplings, including chives, cabbage, celery, corn, and steamed buns, costs 40,000 VND and is quite filling.

Two final-year university students, Thu and Nhu, who live in District 3, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, also took the opportunity to invite each other to the festival to enjoy the delicious food.

Thu and Nhu bought two dishes from Hoa's restaurant, "Bitter Gourd and Cà Chớn," to enjoy.

As suggested, some dishes and drinks were quite expensive, and there were many leftover food containers scattered on the table, which didn't look very appealing.

Explaining, a representative of the organizing committee said: "Participating in the Cho Lon Food Festival are reputable restaurants and shops that guarantee quality. Therefore, the prices of the dishes will not be reduced."

Instead, the store has other promotional policies such as fixed prices or free extras. As for hygiene, we've also mobilized extra staff to ensure cleanliness. With so many customers, we can't keep up with the demand."

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/le-hoi-am-thuc-cho-lon-khach-than-co-tien-cung-kho-mua-ha-cao-sui-cao-banh-he-het-qua-som-20241207172515693.htm