Traditional Quang noodles with chicken and ribs. Noodles have banana flower as a salad, and a bowl of fish sauce with garlic and chili is indispensable - Photo: HOANG LE
Sam is the husband's name. The owner of the restaurant and the main chef for many years is Mrs. Hoang Lien - his wife.
Mr. Chuong, the son of Mr. Sam and Mrs. Lien, explained: "The restaurant was named after my father because my father came to Ho Chi Minh City before my mother. The person who thought of opening a noodle shop to earn money to support the family was also my father."
Drive a cyclo to earn money to maintain the shop
Mr. Vo Van Sam was a teacher living in Que Son, Quang Nam . Life in the 1990s was difficult, so he decided to move to Ho Chi Minh City to start a business. Feeling that he could live a better life in this land, he brought his wife and three children there.
Scoop the broth into a bowl at Mi Quang Sam
In 1993, Mr. Sam was a motorbike taxi driver. His wife carried a pot of Quang noodles to sell. Every day, he used some of his money from driving to gradually buy chairs for customers to sit and eat.
The shop was then placed on the sidewalk corner, then moved into a house on Vo Thanh Trang street and is now located on Ca Van Thinh street.
"When the shop started to stabilize and the number of customers increased, my father stopped driving and came back to help my mother sell at the shop.
The shop operates two shifts a day: from 6am to 1pm and from 3pm to 9pm. Thanks to the Quang noodles shop, my brothers and I can go to school and have a more stable life. My father passed away, and I am the son who manages the shop with my mother," he said.
Mr. Chuong said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were a lot of customers coming to eat. Selling directly and on the app, there were times when he could sell nearly 2,000 bowls a day. "But now, there are many restaurants opening around, life is more difficult, so the number of customers has decreased significantly."
Sam Quang Noodles: various toppings, order whatever you like
One weekend morning, a regular customer at Mi Quang Sam said: "My God, what a busy boss, watching the car, mom sitting in the kitchen preparing a bowl of noodles, wife holding a walkie-talkie to order food". Mr. Chuong smiled and said to the customer: "I'm from Quang Nam, I do everything. If I don't work, how will I eat?"
Mr. Chuong's mother makes Quang noodles for customers - Photo: HOANG LE
Originally, Quang Sam noodles only had pork filling. Now the toppings are quite diverse: pork ribs, pork leg, pork belly, shrimp, eggs, mackerel, tuna, snakehead fish, and sausage.
Mr. Chuong explained: "The restaurant's customers are all regulars, eat regularly, there are many toppings for them to choose from, so they don't get bored."
When his father was alive, Mr. Chuong made handmade noodles and rice paper for the restaurant. Now he is in charge of the operation, so the noodles are ordered from a separate factory outside, the rice must be selected to be delicious, and the rice paper must be handmade.
A plus point of Quang Sam noodle shop is the sweet broth, simmered from marrow bones. Shrimp, meat, bones… are fresh, stir-fried to taste. The bowl of fish sauce with crushed garlic and chili to pour over the noodles of the shop is praised by all customers as delicious. The fish sauce is taken from Nha Trang.
Large bowl of Quang noodles with chicken and ribs costs 55,000 VND/bowl. Fill up until you're full - Photo: HOANG LE
On the sign at the restaurant is written: Please order in advance: More soup, less soup, more fat, less fat, no onion, no beans, blanched vegetables, hot noodles.
"In general, the restaurant serves everyone. Southerners like their food with lots of broth, Northerners like it hot, and Centralers like their broth moderate. Whatever you like, just order it, we'll serve it all," said Mr. Chuong.
A regular bowl costs 43,000 VND, including an extra 1/4 rice paper, cold towel, hot tea, and free parking.
In the book Quang people eat Quang noodles , writer Nguyen Nhat Anh wrote: "In Saigon, if you see a customer walk into a Quang noodles restaurant, order a bowl of noodles, finish eating and nod in praise, pay and leave, without any worries, then you can safely conclude: the customer is not a Quang person.
Quang people do not have such a carefree attitude when eating Quang noodles. They are always worried, "I wonder if this Quang noodles restaurant really has... Quang noodles?"
The notice board of Mi Quang Sam has detailed and specific information - Photo: HOANG LE
On culinary websites, there are many comments praising the deliciousness of Quang Quan Sam noodles, but there are also many criticisms.
But in fact, Mi Quang Sam is still one of the most popular Quang noodle restaurants in the Bay Hien area today.
The existence and development of the restaurant is closely associated with the image of a Quang Nam family working hard to make a living in Saigon - the land they have chosen as their second home for nearly 40 years.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mi-quang-sam-tu-quan-le-duong-den-ngay-ca-ngan-to-20250609235037926.htm
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