Went to Ho Chi Minh City as a 'servant', now a boss

Not far away, it is the Sinh Ky chicken curry restaurant of Mr. Tran Quoc Uy (54 years old) and his wife, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thuy (46 years old) that few residents in Cho Lon area do not know.

10 years old already helped sell, now following in parents' footsteps

In the afternoon, Ho Chi Minh City had a light rain and the weather was cool. There was nothing more "pleasant" in this weather than eating a hot bowl of curry, so I drove from District 8 to my familiar restaurant on Trieu Quang Phuc Street (District 5). At this time, Mr. Uy and his wife had just set up their stall, the fragrant smell of curry wafted into my nose, making my stomach rumble.

Mr. Uy is meticulous with each meal he makes for his customers.

Chicken is marinated with spices.

The restaurant is small, with only a few tables and chairs. As usual, I sat at the table and ordered a familiar portion of chicken curry (with thighs) along with a bowl of blood pudding, the restaurant's "best seller". At this time, there were not too many customers, so I leisurely enjoyed my favorite dish and looked out at the bustling street with people and vehicles.

The food here is delicious, but the story behind it also makes many long-time diners curious and pass it on year after year. Mr. Uy confirmed that the first person to open this restaurant was his father - Mr. Tran Tieu Sanh.

Mr. Sanh is a Cantonese, came to Saigon long before 1975 and worked for a Chinese newspaper in Saigon, also on this street selling food.

Chicken curry is cooked entirely on charcoal stove.

With 7 children, Mr. Sanh's salary as a journalist and his wife's job as a tailor were not enough to cover the expenses, so the couple thought of another way to make a living to support the family. At that time, he decided to open Sinh Ky restaurant to sell chicken curry, even though this is not a traditional Chinese dish.

At first, the restaurant relied on the support of acquaintances, but later, because of its delicious taste, it became famous in the area and attracted a steady stream of customers. “My father said the reason he chose Indian curry was because at that time curry was still a strange dish in Saigon. The restaurant sold well partly because of its delicious food, and partly because it was located near many schools and had a lot of people passing by,” the youngest son commented.

Before 1975, Mr. Sanh's restaurant sold duck curry. Later it changed to chicken curry and became a favorite of diners.

When he first opened the restaurant, curry powder was very rare, so Mr. Sanh had to use turmeric powder. Gradually, buying Indian curry powder became easier as the dish became popular and became an indispensable part of the cuisine of the people here.

Recalling that time, he said that when he was 10 years old, he and his siblings helped their parents sell chicken curry. His family's curry shop at that time was actually just a curry cart on the sidewalk, but it was crowded with customers. It was only in the last ten years that his family started renting space and then stably selling this place.

Special hostess

Just like that, this curry shop has supported Mr. Uy's family for nearly half a century. 9 years ago, Mr. Sanh passed away at the age of over 90. 2 years ago, his wife also passed away at the age of 90 due to Covid-19. The passing of their parents is an irreplaceable loss for Mr. Uy's siblings.

Mrs. Thuy has been selling curry for 20 years, since she got married.

Mr. Uy inherited the curry recipe from his father.

After his mother passed away, his siblings scattered, each doing a different job instead of gathering together to do business like before. He and his fourth sister, Mrs. Tran Tu Thanh (57 years old) continued to inherit the restaurant that their parents had devoted their whole life to.

In the restaurant, there is also a very special owner, Mr. Uy's wife. As a beloved customer of the restaurant, she told me about her life story, when 25 years ago she moved from her hometown in Tien Giang to Ho Chi Minh City to work as a "servant", in the owner's simple way of saying.

[CLIP]: The owner couple of Sinh Ky chicken curry restaurant happily prepare dishes for customers.

From here, she and Mr. Uy had the chance to meet, fell in love with each other and officially got married in 2003. After 20 years of being husband and wife, she gave birth to 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl.

From a girl from the West who came to Ho Chi Minh City to work as a maid, now Ms. Thuy has tied her life to her husband's family restaurant.

Ms. Thanh is the fourth child in Mr. Sanh's family and happily inherits her parents' restaurant with her younger brother.

Since becoming a daughter-in-law, she has also helped her husband's family sell curry and is determined to learn her parents' recipes. Because of her diligence, hard work and eagerness to learn, she is loved by her husband's family and for the past 2 years, she has become the owner of this long-standing restaurant, together with her husband and sister-in-law, inheriting and developing her parents' passion.

“I’m not rich because I only sell enough to eat and I know enough to live. But I feel happy and peaceful when selling this dish with my family. I’ve been selling it for 20 years now and I’m used to it. I don’t know what to do if I quit. The special thing here is that the restaurant cooks with a charcoal stove. The pots get very dirty, but I clean them every day until they’re shiny like new and have been doing so ever since,” the owner said with a humorous smile.

Each portion of curry here costs from 70,000 - 80,000 VND.

Next to him, Mr. Uy also added, saying that he and his wife were extremely grateful to this restaurant for raising his parents, his siblings, and now his children to become good people. He was proud to have children in college.

“My second child just dropped out of school in 9th grade. I also hope that if he has the chance, he will inherit our family restaurant. I don’t force him, what’s important is his choice. Normally, when the kids have free time, they also help their parents and teachers,” the father said about the next generation in the family.

Attraction thanks to the "top" blood dish

Mr. Sanh's youngest son said that in the beginning, the restaurant only sold curry noodles and no bread. When customers asked for bread, they had to go out and buy it many times, so the restaurant decided to sell bread to go with it. So there was chicken curry and chicken curry bread.

According to Mr. Uy, before 1975, each bowl cost 3 - 4 dong, but now each meal here costs from 70,000 dong - 80,000 dong depending on the customer's need to eat curry noodles or curry bread.

Curry noodles are a favorite dish of many customers.

The blood part is "loved" by many customers.

"I have kept my father's recipe unchanged until now and over the years customers still love it. Customers love the blood served with curry the most. Some people come and buy only 5-6 portions of blood to eat," the owner proudly said.

Honestly, this curry restaurant suits my personal taste when the chicken is chewy and well-marinated. The curry smell here is not too strong, just a little bit so it is not unpleasant. The curry broth is cooked by the owner according to his own recipe, very rich, sweet aftertaste suitable for Southerners like me. Even though I don't like blood, the blood here is chewy and soft, it is worth trying. Personally, I give it 9/10.

Mrs. Van likes the curry of the restaurant.

This afternoon, Ms. Van (51 years old, living in District 5) and her husband and pet dog stopped by Mr. Uy's restaurant to buy a portion of curry after work. She said she is a regular customer of the restaurant, and because she is so familiar with it, she can't remember when she first ate there. She only knows that she loves the taste of chicken curry here and often stops by to buy it.

“The blood here is extremely delicious, there is nothing to complain about. Of course, eating depends on each person's taste, but this place suits me the best. This restaurant is very famous, everyone here knows it," she said and said goodbye to the restaurant owner.

Just like that, every day from 5pm to 11pm, Mr. Uy's family still works hard by the charcoal stove to make curry dishes that carry the passion of generations of his family to many diners in Cho Lon area...

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