O Thanh snakehead fish noodle shop in Ho Chi Minh City changed premises, overcame pain: How is it now?

Many people still remember the haunting memories of Ho Chi Minh City during the Covid-19 days in mid-2021. Now the restaurant has moved to a new location with many changes.

Moving premises to overcome painful past

These days, after more than a year of moving the restaurant from alley 287 Nguyen Dinh Chieu street (District 3) to 2J Nguyen Thuc Duong street (Binh Tan district), O Thanh snakehead fish noodle restaurant still has regular customers coming in and out.

O Thanh snakehead fish noodle soup has moved to a new location for over a year.

Ms. Thu was passed down the recipe by her mother-in-law and together with her husband, inherited the restaurant.

In the restaurant, Ms. Kim Thu and her husband, Mr. Thanh Tinh (both 44 years old) are making dishes for customers who order by phone as well as for those who come to eat. They are the eldest son and daughter-in-law of Ms. Thanh (the owner of the noodle shop), and now their mother has passed on the noodle shop.

According to Mr. Tinh, after the Covid-19 pandemic, Ho Chi Minh City loosened social distancing, his family returned to their daily lives and started trading again. Because of the trauma of the old premises, where his mother had sold for nearly 10 years, the whole family decided to start over at a new address.

“My sister passed away during that pandemic, making it impossible for the whole family to do business at that location anymore. To overcome the loss, my family chose this location and has been doing business until now. The other location was 20 million VND/month, while this one is only 6 million VND. Although the number of customers is not as high as in District 3, they are still regular,” he confided.

The shop has regular customers, although it is not as crowded as when it was still in District 3.

Besides banh canh, the restaurant also sells bun bo to serve the diverse needs of customers.

Although many people in District 3 and other central districts still miss the taste of O Thanh snakehead fish noodle soup and come all the way to Binh Tan District to buy it, or ask the restaurant owner to send it to them, in the new location they have to find customers from the beginning. At first, it was a bit difficult.

“Many people passing by saw O Thanh noodle soup and came in to ask: “Is this the Covid-19 noodle soup shop?”. They were surprised to see us move here and then supported us and tried the food. They found it delicious and gradually became regular customers,” Ms. Thu recounted as she served the dish to the customers.

More than a month ago, Mrs. Thanh had a stroke and her health was poor. She is currently in Hue . The couple also inherited their mother's noodle shop. Ms. Thu received all the recipes from her mother-in-law and is in charge of the kitchen. Her husband takes care of the outside, from welcoming guests to delivering dishes to regular customers near the house.

Rich broth.

The owner of the restaurant confided that unlike the previous location in District 3, when at noon, the restaurant was packed with office workers and laborers. At the new location, they often have to deliver to regular customers in the surrounding area.

“In the past, the restaurant only sold rice noodles, but now it also sells beef noodles to meet the needs of customers. My mother also sold beef noodles in the countryside, so she has all the recipes and cooking secrets, so the children just have to follow them and make changes to suit the reality. In the past, my mother opened the restaurant at noon, but now my husband and I sell from morning,” the couple said about the changes in O Thanh snakehead fish noodles today.

The secret to "retaining" customers

According to her family, more than 12 years ago, Ms. Thanh moved from Hue to Ho Chi Minh City. Her family in the countryside has a long history of selling beef noodles, but Ms. Thanh still chose to sell snakehead fish noodles in alley 287 Nguyen Dinh Chieu to… avoid duplicates. Having a knack for business, thanks to the support of many customers, her noodle shop has had a loyal customer base for decades.

Price per bowl from 35,000 - 45,000 VND.

Mr. Hung likes to eat noodle soup here.

At that time, Thu and her husband only helped their mother, but their love for the family's bakery gradually grew. Now that their mother has handed over the banh canh shop, for them, it is both happiness and a great responsibility.

They said that is the reason why they try their best every day to bring the best and highest quality bowls of noodles to customers. According to the owner, the special thing about the snakehead fish noodle soup here that customers like is the freshness of the fish meat. With a special way of processing, the fish meat is not fishy, sweet, and soft. Here, the price of each bowl of noodles ranges from 35,000 - 45,000 VND depending on the type.

A regular customer of the restaurant since it moved to Binh Tan District, Mr. Hung (44 years old) said that he visits this bakery almost 2-3 times a week. He likes the broth here because it is richly cooked and the snakehead fish meat is delicious.

“Moreover, the prices at this restaurant are reasonable, suitable for working people like me, and the owner is also friendly and lovely. I liked it from the first time I ate here, so I keep eating here," the customer added.

As for Mrs. Thai Thi Lan (56 years old, living in Binh Tan District), she said that once she happened to pass by this street and saw O Thanh noodle soup, out of curiosity after having heard the name before, she stopped by to try it. Finding the taste to her liking, she often comes here to buy some to eat as well as to buy for her children and grandchildren in the house.

Mr. Tinh and Ms. Thu confided that their efforts to "start over" after the family incident were gradually rewarded, as the restaurant received more and more love from new customers. That was also the motivation for them to maintain their mother's snakehead fish noodle soup stall for as long as possible.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/quan-banh-canh-ca-loc-o-thanh-o-tphcm-doi-mat-bang-vuot-dau-thuong-gio-ra-sao-185230209121415314.htm