Muoi Sau Sweet Soup Shop Across Two Centuries: Our Family Still Sells Hanoi Sweet Soup

Since the 1990s, many types of sweet soup from the South have been imported to the North, but Che Muoi Sau shop still sells traditional sweet soups of Hanoi people.

Che Muoi Sau has the traditional flavor of Hanoi people - Photo: DAU DUNG

Hanoi has many famous sweet soup shops such as Che Bon Mua (Hang Can), Che Ba Thin (Bat Dan), Che Loc Tai (Hang Dieu), Che Xoan (Hang Giay)...

Among them, Che Muoi Sau, a familiar shop that has been around for two centuries, still retains the flavor of Hanoi people.

Unlike Southern sweet soups which are often colorful, have coconut milk added or are mixed with many flavors, Hanoi sweet soups are "as you see them". At first glance, they are a bit bland but are authentic and closest to nature.

Mr. Pham Xuan Thanh

Che Muoi Sau because 16 years old like to eat che

Che Muoi Sau originated from Mrs. Nguyen Thi Nghia Loc, who was born into a well-off, petty bourgeois family in Hanoi. According to her son-in-law, Mr. Pham Xuan Thanh, Hanoi girls at that time were taught to be virtuous, so she was very good at cooking.

In the years 1958 - 1960, the family fell into decline, he started cooking sweet soup, carrying sweet soup to sell on the street, then selling it permanently at Hom market.

By the early 1980s, her children followed their mother's footsteps, but instead of going to the market, they sold at 16 Ngo Thi Nham, which was also where the whole family lived at that time.

At that time, the shop did not have a name. Mr. Thanh was the one who named the shop Che Muoi Sau. Partly because it reminded him of the shop's address; partly because, according to him, 16-year-olds are the age group that often eats Che.

Not only young people but also old people and children like to eat sweet soup - Photo: DAU DUNG

Last year, Mr. Thanh and his wife separated and sold at their own facility in Lo Duc. The old address in Ngo Thi Nham was sold by his wife's brother's family. Both took the common name of Che Muoi Sau.

Mr. Thanh told Tuoi Tre Online that there are many types of sweet soup with eye-catching colors, but his family's Che Muoi Sau always tries to preserve the soul of the nation and the pure traditional flavor of Hanoi. He emphasized the element of "pure Hanoi" and said that it has been the restaurant's slogan for nearly half a century.

Old address, now run by Mrs. Tran's sister's family - Photo: DAU DUNG

Lo Duc address opened last year - Photo: DAU DUNG

Hanoi tea looks bland at first glance but is very natural.

So how is Hanoi tea different from Southern tea?

Che Muoi Sau has a light sweetness, not too sweet like many other tea shops - Photo: DAU DUNG

He smiled as he scooped the sweet soup into a cup for his guests: "Hanoi sweet soup has a refined, sweet taste, not as colorful as other regions' sweet soup. It reflects the playfulness of the old Hanoians."

Ms. Vu Thi Minh Tran - daughter of Mr. Nghia Loc, also Mr. Thanh's wife - revealed that the secret to making delicious sweet soup is not complicated, just need good, delicious and clean ingredients.

When cooking, do not mix. Green beans are green beans, black beans are black beans, sticky rice is sticky rice, no impurities mixed.

Besides some steps that require machines to free up labor, some tasks are still done completely by hand by the family, such as squeezing tapioca pearls from coconut...

It is known that Che Muoi Sau dishes are not stored from day to day. When one batch is finished, a new batch will be cooked because the dessert must be eaten within the day, so if left for another day, it is considered… useless.

Mrs. Tran and Mr. Thanh - Photo: DAU DUNG

In tea there is the rhythm of the seasons

The restaurant's menu has quite a few dishes. Among them, "the most traditional are lotus seed with coconut, green beans, black beans, green beans with lotus, black beans with lotus, sticky rice with sweet soup, banh troi banh chay, and sweet soup," Mr. Thanh listed.

The shop also sells some new dishes such as nine-layer cloud cake, sweet rice balls, mixed sweet soup... Especially mixed sweet soup is a "dish to please customers" because in the past, this dish did not exist.

Lotus is simmered until soft and crumbly but not crushed - Photo: DAU DUNG

He said that in the summer, people often eat lotus seed, coconut, green beans, and black beans to cool down. In the fall and winter, people prefer banh troi tau, which has a sweet and slightly spicy taste of ginger that warms the stomach. When Tet comes, sweet soup, honey sweet soup, and vo xoi and vo gac sticky rice are in high demand.

Just like the weather in Hanoi, each bowl/cup of tea has the rhythm of the season. As a New Poet once wrote: "The bottom of the plate of season moves with the rhythm of the sea".

The owner can't remember how many cups he sells on average each day - Clip: DAU DUNG

Since the 1990s, many sweet soups from the South have been "imported" to the North, but Ms. Tran said she is happy because "her family still sells Hanoi sweet soups."

Every time she remembers her old house, where she lived for 70 years, Mrs. Tran still misses it deeply.

In her memory, there is still the image of her hard-working mother who passed away and the traditional Hanoi sweet soup that "took the family through many ups and downs, hardships, but in the end, they overcame it strongly, gently, peacefully, and kindly like the way she cooked sweet soup".

To her, sweet soup has the flavor of Hanoi. When mentioning lotus seed, coconut, and sticky rice, everyone knows that these are gifts from Hanoi.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/quan-che-muoi-sau-vat-qua-hai-the-ki-nha-minh-van-ban-che-ha-noi-20250714163757282.htm