Herring salad

With herring salad as its signature dish, Ngoc Hoa restaurant, located at 415 Lam Quang Ky Street, Vinh Lac Ward, Rach Gia City ( Kien Giang Province), has long been a familiar destination for many diners.

HIGHLIGHTS

Ngoc Hoa restaurant is bustling with customers almost every day. Many customers still order the herring salad to enjoy. Dipping a piece of fresh herring in lemon juice, wrapping it in a rice paper roll with the herring topped with grated dried coconut, finely chopped white and red onions, some sawtooth coriander, peanuts, and fresh herbs, then dipping it in the restaurant's secret fish sauce, almost every diner raves about how delicious it is.

The sweetness of the fish, the richness of the coconut, the nutty flavor of the peanuts, and the savory taste of Phu Quoc fish sauce captivate many discerning diners. And herring salad is one of the dishes that has made Ngoc Hoa restaurant famous.

Almost every day, at 10 a.m., Ms. Ho Mong Ngoc, the owner of Ngoc Hoa restaurant, goes to pick up fresh herring sent from Ba Hon, Kien Luong district (Kien Giang province), then stops by the trucking station to pick up another box of seafood that her husband sent from Ha Tien city (Kien Giang province).

After that, she and her staff prepare the fish, wash the snails, and get everything ready until 3 PM before opening the restaurant to welcome customers. "The restaurant has 80 tables and 40 staff, but every dish has to go through the owner's hands to ensure customers are satisfied. When customers are happy, word spreads, and that's why the restaurant is always busy," Ms. Ngoc said with a smile.

The herring salad dish at Ngoc Hoa restaurant.

Nine years ago, Ms. Ngoc entered herring salad into the Golden Spoon competition, jointly organized by Minh Long I Company Limited and the Business Support and Research Center (BSA) in Kien Giang. Surprisingly, the dish won third prize and also received the "Most Popular Dish" award.

Ms. Ngoc said: "Thanks to this competition, Kien Giang's herring salad dish has become known to many people. We've received many invitations to enter our herring salad in subsequent competitions, but our restaurant is always busy, so we haven't been able to go."

Besides herring salad, Ngoc Hoa restaurant offers many other dishes that are frequently mentioned by customers, such as banh xeo (Vietnamese savory pancake), banh cong (rice cake), spring rolls with taro and mung bean fillings, steamed shrimp, etc. The steamed mixed snails at Ngoc Hoa are also quite a unique dish, as with just one dish, customers can enjoy many different types of seafood from the Kien Giang coastal region.

What's special about Ngoc Hoa restaurant is that customers don't need a menu; they just choose their favorite dishes from the fresh seafood counter and have the restaurant prepare them without worrying about being overcharged, as the prices here are quite reasonable. Explaining this, Ms. Ngoc said: "Everyone has their own preferences, so whoever wants to eat something just comes to the restaurant and orders. The ingredients are readily available, and we only prepare the dish after the customer orders. We don't pre-make dishes that would spoil the taste."

DISTINGUISHED

Having become more successful, Ms. Ho Mong Ngoc's family life is now much better, but for her, the arduous days of starting her business in Rach Gia City feel like they were just yesterday.

Ms. Ngoc was born in Ha Tien City. After getting married, she opened a small eatery selling herring salad and other dishes to help her husband support their children's education. The restaurant was popular for a few years thanks to the owner's cheerful personality and delicious food, but it had to close down because the premises had to be returned due to urban planning.

Unable to sit idly by, she discussed with her husband the possibility of finding another place to do business. After trying Cambodia without success, she returned to Ho Chi Minh City, lingering for a while at Vuon Chuoi Market, but still couldn't find a suitable location. The rent was too high, so she decided to return to Kien Giang to start over.

Ms. Ho Mong Ngoc advises customers on choosing dishes at the fresh seafood counter.

Unable to afford renting a storefront on a main road, Ms. Ngoc had to rent a space on Lam Quang Ky street from an acquaintance, then worked late into the night and woke up early to run her seafood restaurant. Twice a day, at 5 a.m., she would go to the Rach Gia Commercial Center to buy vegetables and spices, then look for the freshest and tastiest seafood to sell, from herring, snails, clams, and other sea fish...

Initially, Ms. Ngoc slept only two or three hours a day. She lost 9kg in the nearly two years the restaurant had been open, and the profit each night was over 1 million dong. Gradually, more people learned about Ngoc Hoa's restaurant, and from then on, her family's income became more stable.

With fresh and delicious food and a friendly owner, Ngoc Hoa restaurant quickly attracted many customers. Seeing that Ms. Ngoc was doing well, many others opened restaurants nearby to compete. Seeing that others were selling cheaper, she thought about it a lot, but ultimately decided not to lower prices but to increase the portion sizes for customers.

Word of mouth spread, attracting diners from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi , as well as from An Giang and Ca Mau. From a small eatery with just a few tables under a dilapidated roof, after nearly 7 years of operation, Ngoc Hoa restaurant now has a stable customer base.

"As my grandparents used to say, 'Eat little, feel full for a long time.' Our restaurant sells delicious food at affordable prices to create a positive impression on tourists from near and far whenever they come to Kien Giang. And this is also how Ngoc Hoa restaurant expresses its gratitude to customers who have supported us for nearly 13 years," Ms. Ngoc shared.

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