'I eat it every day because… I'm addicted.'

If you visit Hoc Mon Market (Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City) and ask about Mrs. Kim Yen's dessert shop, almost everyone knows it, because it's known as the "most expensive dessert shop in Hoc Mon". That's why many vendors in the market jokingly say that if you want to know whether the market is busy or not that day, just look at Mrs. Kim Yen's dessert shop!

"Out of seven days a week, we eat sweet soup eight days!"

At around 4 PM, the dessert shop opened for business. Three employees—one with over 20 years of experience, the other younger, who had only been working there for a few years—busily prepared and arranged nearly 30 different types of desserts on the table, creating a visually appealing display. Here, you can find everything from hot desserts to cold desserts (served with ice), and I was particularly surprised by the many types served in enormous basins.

At 4 PM, the dessert shop at 13/125 Tran Binh Trong Street begins selling its wares.

Since opening, Mrs. Kim Yen's dessert shop has been constantly attracting customers.

As evening approached, more and more customers gathered in front of the restaurant. Ms. Thanh Hang (wearing a red hat) has been a regular customer of the restaurant for decades.

As soon as it opened, customers started coming in continuously, as if they had been familiar with the shop's hours for a long time, mostly for takeout. There was a wide variety of sweet soups to choose from, including steamed banana sweet soup, taro sweet soup, corn sweet soup, steamed bananas, glutinous rice balls, apple jelly, mung bean sweet soup, red bean sweet soup, black bean sweet soup, and more.

A staff member with 20 years of experience at this dessert shop mentioned that they offer nearly 10 types of hot desserts and almost 20 types of cold desserts, providing a wide variety for customers to choose from. Typically, the shop opens at 4 PM and usually sells out by around 11 PM.

Most of the customers here are regulars, mostly residents of the Hoc Mon area. However, many people have heard of this dessert shop and come from neighboring provinces like Tay Ninh, Dong Nai , and Binh Duong when they have the chance to visit the city.

The three staff members in the restaurant had made thorough preparations before the customers arrived.

A wide variety of hot and cold teas are displayed attractively.

As the afternoon progressed, the restaurant became increasingly crowded. At peak times, customers crowded the place, waiting as the owner and staff, sweating profusely, prepared complete meals for them. Accustomed to the work, he worked quickly and efficiently, trying his best to minimize customer wait.

Ms. Thanh Hang (54 years old, residing in Hoc Mon) said she has been a regular customer of the shop for decades, since the time of the current owner's mother. Because she has been eating there for so long, she laughed and said she doesn't remember when she first ate there, only that the taste of the dessert suits her palate, so she comes to support them every day.

Teas of all colors.

With cooking methods passed down through generations.

"I don't know what the owner cooks, but I'm addicted to it and buy some every day. My husband is the same; when he sees me buying some, he tells me to buy a portion too. The desserts here are just right, not too sweet, and there are many varieties so you can change things up every day without ever getting bored," a regular customer commented.

Ordering a portion of steamed bananas with coconut milk and sweet soup to take away, Ms. Thanh Loan (27 years old) excitedly said that almost every time she comes to buy, the shop is crowded with customers. According to Ms. Loan, she has been eating sweet soup here since she was a child, and she always stops by to buy it on her way home from school or work as a habit.

The price of a serving of sweet soup here ranges from 12,000 to 25,000 VND.

"I buy and eat here 8 out of 7 days a week! I'm just joking, but actually I'm really addicted to the desserts here. I have a sweet tooth, and the owner is so cheerful and lovely. There might be a little wait, but it's okay. I'll definitely eat here again because it's a childhood dessert shop for my generation," the customer added.

This recipe for making sweet soup has been passed down from my grandmother.

The dessert shop is named after Ms. Pham Thi Kim Yen (57 years old, the current owner), but many long-time residents still affectionately remember it as "Ms. Tu's floating rice ball dessert shop" because Ms. Yen's mother opened this shop before 1975.

Speaking in a calm and elegant tone, she recounted that back then, the dessert shop wasn't as spacious and well-rented as it is now. Instead, Mrs. Tư carried her wares around the Hóc Môn area in a basket. "I was very young then. I only remember that every day my mother would cook the dessert, leave the house, go around for a while, and then it would all be gone," the owner recalled, remembering her late mother.

Ms. Kim Yen, the owner of the tea shop.

[CLIP]: Ms. Yen inherited her mother's tea stall.

Many people have been regulars at the restaurant for decades.

Her mother recounted that the recipe for the sweet soup was passed down to her by her maternal grandmother, and it was thanks to this recipe that her grandmother, Mrs. Tư, raised six children to adulthood. Now, her siblings all have their own jobs, and only she continues to inherit the dish from her maternal grandmother and mother.

After 1975, her family continued to make a living from her grandmother Tư's tea stall. Her childhood was spent helping her mother cook and sell tea. Thus, the tea stall became a cherished part of her childhood memories, even to this day.

"Later, my mother and I stopped selling our tea door-to-door and opened a fixed tea cart at a corner of Tran Binh Trong Street. At that time, we sold it by oil lamp at night to laborers, so people also called it 'oil lamp tea.' Later, when we were a little more financially stable, we rented a space and installed electric lights," the owner recalled.

Customers commented that the dessert wasn't too sweet and tasted just right.

Back then, she and her mother sold about 5-6 basic, familiar types of sweet soup. Later, to cater to customer demand and to stay afloat over time, she started making more new types of sweet soup. According to Ms. Kim Yen, her shop currently has a stable customer base. On weekends or full moon days, the shop is busier than usual.

Two years ago, Mrs. Tư passed away at the age of 78. That was also when she officially inherited her mother's lifelong passion for the dessert shop. Speaking about her late mother, she emotionally said that even in her final days, her mother helped her with the dessert-making. When her mother passed away, she felt a sense of loss.

Ms. Thanh Loan has been eating sweet soup here since she was a child.

The owner is determined to keep her beloved dessert shop running for as long as possible.

"While my mother was still alive, she helped me with everything. Now it's just me and my son, so we've hired more staff. This dessert shop is the culmination of my mother's life, my childhood and youth. It has supported many generations in my family, and my son might be the one to inherit it," Ms. Kim Yen expressed, determined to maintain the shop until she no longer has the strength to do so.

And so, customers kept coming in, buying, and leaving to enjoy the sweet flavor that generations of Mrs. Kim Yen's family had preserved for half a century...

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/khach-nuom-nuop-ghe-quan-che-nua-the-ky-o-tphcm-ngay-nao-cung-an-vi-ghien-185230530215627264.htm