Mushroom cacao dish 'growing from the ground' attracts customers in Hanoi's Old Quarter

Snacks in Hanoi's Old Quarter are shaped like mushrooms growing on the ground, attracting many curious children to try them.

Having been open for nearly two years, Thu Huyen's bubble tea shop, located on Hang Vai Street in Hoan Kiem District, attracts customers with several popular snacks such as crushed ice Milo, flower-shaped skewers, and Yunnan-style grilled bubble tea.

A week ago, the shop started selling mushroom cocoa (milo mushroom) and quickly attracted customers because of its unusual appearance, resembling a mushroom growing out of the ground.

While browsing some images of mushrooms on the internet, Ms. Huyen came up with the idea of ​​combining them with the shop's best-selling crushed cocoa drink to create a "cute snack."

The mushroom cacao is served in a bamboo steamer basket, approximately 15 cm in diameter. A layer of plastic wrap is placed at the bottom of the basket to maintain hygiene.

In the first step, the staff makes shaved ice, which they place at the bottom of the steamer, then sprinkle a layer of condensed milk on top to sweeten the dish.

Cocoa powder is the main ingredient in this snack. In each steamer, the staff adds two packets of pre-mixed cocoa powder, about 40 grams, then uses a spoon to spread it evenly over the creamy white condensed milk.

The final layer to complete the surface is made from cream-filled biscuits. After using a knife to remove the cream filling, the staff grinds the black biscuit shells into a fine powder. The base is then completed with four layers of shaved ice, condensed milk, cocoa powder, and biscuit powder.

The final step is shaping the mushroom. The mushroom is made from two pudding portions with different textures, shapes, and colors.

The stem of the mushroom is white, cylindrical, and widens at the bottom. The stem is denser than the cap, allowing the mushroom to stand upright.

The brown mushroom cap is also pudding-like, but with a more liquid consistency compared to the stem. Both the stem and cap are molded in silicone molds, making them easy to remove and maintaining their shape.

The mushroom stem and cap are attached together by a small bamboo skewer about 7 cm long. The attachment process requires skill because pudding is a soft, pliable jelly that can easily fall apart or break, Ms. Huyen explained.

With its shape resembling a mushroom growing from the ground, mushroom-shaped cacao attracts the curiosity of many diners. Many people are intrigued and order some to try, taking photos and sharing them on social media, which in turn attracts more customers. Diners also enjoy tapping the mushroom cap with a spoon, watching the mushroom "wobble" without falling over.

Seeing the new dish on social media, Diem Quynh, 21, and Minh Tuan, 20, went to the shop on February 13th and had to wait an hour to enjoy the mushroom-flavored Milo. According to Quynh, the dish's appeal lies in its "quirky" appearance and affordable price of 35,000 VND per serving.

"As soon as you cut it, the pudding rolls down, the crumbs stick to it, and it's both soft and crunchy, quite enjoyable to eat," Quỳnh said. However, the dish is sweet and can be cloying. Quỳnh advises that if you're going with two people, you should order one serving and you can order extra drinks or fruit tea to go with it.

On average, Ms. Huyen's shop sells about 300-400 steamers of mushroom cocoa pudding per day. Due to the loose consistency of the pudding, the shop only accepts dine-in orders and does not offer online sales.

The restaurant only has outdoor space, with about 6 tables that can accommodate around 30 guests at a time.

The shop is open from 9 AM to midnight, with 4 staff members: 2 are responsible for making mushroom cocoa behind the counter, and 2 cook milk tea on a charcoal stove set up in front of the shop.

As a trending snack, many customers have to wait quite a while to be served. According to Ms. Huyen, the trays of jelly used to make the mushroom-shaped dessert take about 4-6 hours to freeze. When a customer orders, the staff only then begin the process of shaving the ice and mixing the batter because if they prepared it in advance, the bottom layer of shaved ice would melt, compromising the flavor of the dish.

The restaurant does not have a designated parking area for motorbikes; customers can park their bikes at some local houses about 10 meters away for 5,000 VND per bike.

Article and photos: Quynh Mai

Vnexpress.net

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