Mr. Pham Hong Tuoi - owner of Tam Quen restaurant (left) talks with a tourist.
Everyone has a childhood associated with old-fashioned household items such as flour mills, chicken irons, oil lamps, kerosene lamps, black-and-white televisions, and ox carts... Items that seem to have been forgotten in the hustle and bustle of modern life can now be seen in a coffee shop.
On a weekend afternoon, I stopped by Tam Quen Coffee Shop (Hiep Dinh Quarter, Hiep Tan Ward, Hoa Thanh Town) to take shelter from the rain and saw a group photo of myself, which was hung solemnly on the wall by the owner. The photo was 40 x 45cm in size and laminated. In the photo were dozens of young people and middle-aged men and women, dressed neatly, gathered at Hoa Thanh Park, next to old Vespas.
So many memories of a vibrant youth came flooding back. Over a cup of coffee, the sound of rain pattering outside the porch, I remembered the image of people who shared the same passion for vintage Vespas gathering on weekends, then strolling around the main roads in Tay Ninh city.
Many stories about Vespa were shared by the brothers. What is the history of this type of vehicle; how this type of vehicle appeared in the first world war; how to distinguish genuine Italian and other types of vehicles. Interspersed in those stories were concerns about life, education, sharing work experiences, etc. From strangers, we became friends until today.
The shop also displays hundreds of items from the previous decades. I especially noticed the black and white TV. In the first years after the liberation of the South, my family moved from Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Thap to build a new economy . Our luggage to the new land included a black and white TV.
At that time, the remote countryside where my family lived did not have electricity. During the day, the children would go pick up the fallen candlenuts in the garden, split them open, take out the seeds, slice them, and thread them to use as a light to study at night. On days when my father could buy a few liters of oil according to the standard, the family would use oil lamps for several months.
When we could buy oil, the TV came into play. A middle-class family in the neighborhood had a diesel engine to generate electricity. So the two families “pooled” to watch TV. On weekends, he used a sampan to transport the diesel engine to my house, turn it on, and generate electricity.
On Saturday and Sunday nights, my father took the TV out into the yard. The neighborhood filled the yard. Cai luong plays like Tiếng ho song song Hậu, Tim lai cuoc doi, Cay durian tro bong or black and white films Canh dong hoang, Mua gio chuong, Van bai lat ngua, Biet dong Sai Gon, etc. shown on TV became part of our childhood and that of many neighbors.
Many people are crazy about cải lương, watch TV so much that they know by heart the vọng cổ verses, short versions, and cải lương excerpts. During the flood season, when the water is white on the fields or on the rivers, people sometimes hear the echoes of the folk songs and vọng cổ of people casting nets, fishing, and setting traps... Perhaps the Southern cải lương amateur art form originated from such underground streams.
An old motorbike collected by the owner of the shop, hung from the ceiling.
In Tam Quen cafe, there are hundreds of old household items, collected, repaired and restored by Mr. Pham Hong Tuoi - the owner of the shop over the past 20 years. All items are arranged and decorated in a delicate, skillful and separate theme.
Vintage car enthusiasts can find Goebel, Vespa, and early Hondas in corners, under stairs, or hanging from the ceiling. Farm tools such as plows, harrows, carts, etc. are kept in a separate space.
Household items such as pestles, rice mortars, flour mills, oil lamps, kerosene lamps, and water pipes are kept in a relatively separate area. Electronic items such as radios, cassettes, televisions, and fans are gathered on tables, tops of cabinets, etc.
The owner of the shop - Mr. Pham Hong Tuoi - is not an artist or painter but used to be an engineer in the postal and telecommunications industry and has many years of experience working at the provincial post office. Retiring early, he spends all his free time collecting antiques to decorate his home.
When opening a coffee shop, these objects became the highlight of the space. Explaining the name of the shop, Mr. Tuoi said: forgetfulness is a vague state. There are memories that seem to be forgotten but are actually still stored in the memory. Just having the opportunity to recall them will make those memories resurface.
The TVs bring back many memories in Tam Quen restaurant.
According to Mr. Tuoi, recently many overseas Vietnamese have come to the shop to enjoy coffee and, seeing the household items on display, they were very moved and recalled many stories about their time living in the countryside.
There are tourists from Western countries who come to the shop and are very curious about the function of these buckets and what the harrows are used for. The shop owner happily introduces them to our rice farming system, thereby helping them understand more about Vietnamese culture and people.
Sitting and sipping a cup of coffee, looking at the familiar objects, I feel like I'm drifting into memories with so many beautiful memories that I thought had been forgotten...
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