The 30-year-old banh troi shop in Hanoi's Old Quarter is always packed with customers in winter. Two daughters follow in their mother's footsteps because they love the job despite the hardship.

(Fatherland) - In the cold weather, eating a bowl of hot banh troi tau, inhaling the fragrant aroma, enjoying the sweet taste of the sugar water, feeling the spicy taste of ginger on the tip of the tongue. Sipping the soft, sweet banh troi, we suddenly feel so comfortable.

In Hanoi, the weather in January gradually gets colder, so people often look for warm foods and drinks to ease the cold. Among them, banh troi tau is a favorite afternoon snack for many people when winter comes.

Banh troi tau, a winter afternoon snack in Hanoi

Unlike Banh Troi during the Cold Food Festival, Banh Troi Tau is a more elaborate dish. The ingredients are just sticky rice, green beans, and black sesame. But the broth is a combination of sugar water, ginger, and coconut milk, sprinkled with peanuts, sesame, or shredded coconut.

A pot of warm banh troi tau on a winter day in Hanoi.

Each bowl of banh troi tau usually has 2-3 balls with 2 types of fillings. The round ones are usually filled with mung beans, while the long ones are filled with black sesame. The soft and chewy cake combined with the fragrant filling creates a delicious blend.

A bowl of banh troi tau will include mung bean dumplings and black sesame dumplings.

However, what determines the quality of the banh troi tau is the warm ginger syrup. This syrup is simmered until it thickens, not too thick but not too thin. The syrup has a shimmering amber color, the flavor must be sweet and especially fragrant with the spicy ginger scent.

Ginger is an indispensable ingredient in banh troi tau.

In Hanoi, when winter comes, it is probably not difficult to find banh troi tau. For many people, this dish is simply a sidewalk stall, so they can stop by to eat a bowl of banh troi tau in the afternoon. In the cold weather, eat a bowl of warm banh troi tau, inhale the fragrant aroma, enjoy the sweet taste of sugar water, feel the spicy taste of ginger on the tip of the tongue. Sipping the soft and sweet banh troi, we suddenly feel very comfortable. After eating, the spicy taste of ginger sugar water still lingers somewhere, the body also feels warmer.

The filling inside the dumplings.

Banh troi tau is not a filling dish, it is simply a treat during the winter days. Therefore, sitting on the streets of Hanoi, eating a bowl of banh troi tau, watching the street and chatting with friends, indeed, sometimes just that is enough for happiness.

The banh troi tau stall is over 30 years old in the old town and is crowded with customers every winter.

Located at the corner of Hang Dieu Street, the intersection with Thanh Street, near Hang Da Market, Hanoi, there is a sidewalk banh troi tau shop that is crowded with people every afternoon. That is Ms. Bich's banh troi tau shop. If in the summer, this place sells all kinds of familiar traditional sweet soups, then every fall and winter, there are hot sweet soups, and the most prominent is banh troi tau.

Ms. Bich's banh troi tau stall is located on Hang Dieu Street, Hanoi.

A bowl of banh troi tau here costs 20,000 VND, each bowl will have 2 mung bean balls and 1 black sesame ball. The owner of this banh troi tau shop is Ms. Bich, 60 years old. It is known that Ms. Bich's shop has been open for 30 years. Ms. Dang Bich Phuong, Ms. Bich's daughter, said: "My mother opened the shop more than 30 years ago, before I was born. In the past, my family only sold sweet soup, then gradually added banh troi tau and hot sweet soups. In the summer, my family has sweet soups such as black beans, green beans, grapefruit sweet soup... around autumn, September, October, we switch to selling hot sweet soups, including banh troi tau".

Delicious tapioca pudding and banh troi tau at Ms. Bich's shop.

Hot and soft banh troi tau.

In addition to banh troi tau, Ms. Bich's hot desserts also include cassava desserts, black bean desserts, and ba cot desserts, all priced at 20,000 VND. Among them, banh troi tau is always the best-selling and most popular dessert. The remaining desserts are rated as okay. In particular, cassava desserts are quite unique when combined with sticky corn.

The dumplings after being made.

The long ball on the left is filled with black sesame, the round ball on the right is filled with mung bean.

Talking about the secret to having many customers, Ms. Phuong confided: "Maybe it's because my house sells cheaply. Other houses sell 20,000 for 2 balls, but my house sells 20,000 for 3 balls. A normal bowl of banh troi tau will have 2 mung bean balls and 1 black sesame ball. But if customers want to eat 3 mung beans or 3 black sesame balls, it's all fine."

The bowl of banh troi tau here has a harmonious flavor, the outer layer is smooth, the inside is chewy, the green bean and black sesame filling is also delicious. The ginger syrup has a strong aroma of spicy ginger, coconut milk, roasted peanuts, sesame... are also added in moderate amounts so that everything blends together reasonably and deliciously.

To make the syrup have a beautiful color and sweet taste, the shop uses palm sugar, and the ginger is also selected from good ginger. Every day, the shop opens from 9-10am and sells until about 10pm, but the busiest time is still in the afternoon and evening after dinner.

Cassava dessert is okay, not too sweet, the cassava is chewy, with added sticky corn, quite enjoyable to eat.

Cassava sweet soup, sweet soup with bamboo shoots, and black bean sweet soup are always hot.

"Selling this dish is hard because I have to do every step carefully. My family has to wake up at 6am to cook. Making many types of sweet soup requires many different preparations. And making the cakes also takes a lot of time. If you don't love it, you can't do it," Ms. Phuong added.

Che ba cot is also a popular dessert.

Ms. Bich's daughter accompanies her mother in running the family's sweet soup shop.

Therefore, Ms. Bich's two daughters now also follow their mother's profession, because it is a job that has been with the family for decades, and simply because her two daughters also love this profession.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/quan-banh-troi-30-nam-tuoi-o-pho-co-ha-noi-luon-dong-nghit-khach-moi-khi-dong-ve-2-con-gai-noi-nghiep-me-vi-yeu-nghe-du-vat-va-20250102223516945.htm