Cho Lon Food Festival: Customers are still happy even though they have to wait in line

Lễ hội ẩm thực Chợ Lớn - Ảnh 1. — Steaming dumplings and dim sum at the festival - Photo: TRUC NHI

With the theme "Fragrance and Colors of Five Flavors", the 3rd Cho Lon Food Story Festival brings diners a journey to discover rich Vietnamese - Chinese cuisine.

Even though it was already the second day, the heat of the festival had not cooled down. The stream of people continuously poured in from morning to night, creating a bustling atmosphere throughout. At each booth, the staff barely had a minute to rest to serve the increasing number of customers.

Selling without counting

For the third consecutive year participating in the Cho Lon Food Festival , Tang's bread stall still attracts a lot of visitors. Sharing with Tuoi Tre Online , Tang Chieu Quan said that the number of customers coming to buy was too large, the staff was only focused on making and could not count how much was sold.

According to Mr. Quan, the dishes brought to the festival have been discounted to make them more accessible to diners. He also considered making smaller sandwiches so that diners could try more dishes, but it was very difficult to do.

Lễ hội ẩm thực Chợ Lớn - Ảnh 2. — Bread The price of a meatball sandwich has been reduced from 30,000 VND to 25,000 VND - Photo: TRUC NHI

“We went to many bakeries, but they couldn’t make small loaves. And if we cut them in half, the whole loaf would break. So we were helpless,” he said.

Also among the popular stalls, Baoz Dim Sum, a brand that has been serving dim sum for more than 10 years, always has two long lines waiting to buy. The best-selling items include soy sauce chicken feet, glass dumplings and crab meatballs.

Ms. Hoang Truc, Baoz representative, said: "The kitchens of all three branches had to prepare a week in advance to serve customers at the restaurant and meet the huge number of customers at the fair."

She added that at the festival, Baoz Dim Sum is sold by the piece so that customers can easily choose dishes and try more flavors, and the price is also a bit cheaper than at restaurants.

Queuing is also an interesting experience.

Despite being well prepared, the high number of visitors still caused some dishes to sell out early. Gia Hung (HCMC) shared that he traveled a long way to the festival and was surprised by its large scale. “There were so many stalls and dishes that I didn’t know what to choose first,” Hung shared with Tuoi Tre Online .

Lễ hội ẩm thực Chợ Lớn - Ảnh 3. — Customers lined up to buy dimsum - Photo: TRUC NHI

Gia Hung waited for about 15 minutes at the Baoz Dim Sum booth, but still felt regretful when he couldn't buy the dish he wanted. "Lychee and salted duck dumplings, those were the two dishes I was recommended to try, but in the end I didn't have them, so I felt a bit regretful," Hung said.

Ms. Hoang Truc explained: “Lychee gold sand is a very elaborate dish, so each day the kitchen can only make it within a certain time frame. We always prioritize quality so we do not dare to make too much or mass-produce it.”

Attending the Cho Lon Food Festival for the first time, Ms. Thanh Ha (HCMC) said that she missed it last year, so this year she was very excited. Waiting in line to buy Tang bread, she said the wait was “also interesting, because a lot of people means the shop is good”. Although she had heard of Tang bread for a long time, she only had the chance to try it when she came to the festival.

Ms. Ly (HCMC) decided to try the milk tea from Tao Tao Shop. She said: “Chinese-style milk tea has a very unique flavor, more distinctive than regular milk tea.” However, the Yang Chi Cam Lo that she wanted to try was soon out of stock.

Lễ hội ẩm thực Chợ Lớn - Ảnh 4. — In addition to food, the festival also sells many desserts such as sweet soup and milk tea to give diners more experience - Photo: TRUC NHI

Commenting on the festival, Ms. Van (HCMC) wished that the organizers would provide more seats for visitors. In addition, she also suggested rearranging the stalls by type of dish, similar dishes should be placed close together so that diners can easily find them.

“I read the reviews first so I chose a few dishes I wanted to eat. If I had walked around, I wouldn’t have known what to eat,” she said, laughing.

Selling without counting

Queuing is also an interesting experience.

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