The most famous crab restaurant in District 1 holds the secret to making domestic and foreign customers fall in love for 35 years, the owner reveals the confusing name

If you are in Ho Chi Minh City and want to eat crab dishes, Thuy 94 restaurant is a place that many gourmets often visit. There are many crab dishes with stable quality and reasonable prices. Recently, this restaurant was also named in the Michelin Selected list.

Thuy 94 Restaurant specializes in crab dishes at 84 Dinh Tien Hoang, District 1, HCMC.

The restaurant has been attracting domestic and foreign customers for nearly 35 years thanks to its quality crab dishes.

Thuy 94 Restaurant, located on Dinh Tien Hoang Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, is a place that crab lovers often visit. Right outside the restaurant, fresh crabs and soft-shell crabs are placed right in front of the door, as a way to let customers know that the restaurant only sells fresh food. The food preparation counter is also located in front of the restaurant, so customers can smell the delicious aroma of food before eating and enjoy watching the chef skillfully prepare the dishes.

Fresh live crabs are placed right outside as a prestigious affirmation of the quality of fresh crabs.

We visited Thuy 94 at around 7pm, the first and second floors were almost full, not only Vietnamese but also many foreigners. Recently, Thuy 94 was named in the Michelin Selected list. Therefore, the restaurant was always crowded, now it is even more crowded. At the same time, the number of foreign customers has increased thanks to Michelin.

Stir-fried vermicelli with crab and spring rolls are loved by many customers.

The three dishes that customers love and often order at Thuy 94 are crab vermicelli, soft-shell crab and crab spring rolls. These dishes range from 210,000 - 280,000 VND. It can be said that this price is not high nor cheap, but reasonable for the quality.

A plate of stir-fried vermicelli filled with fresh crab meat.

Evaluating the quality of the dishes here, a portion of stir-fried vermicelli is filled with crab on top, the vermicelli is loose and well-seasoned, the crab is firm and meaty mixed with the rich crab fat, quite delicious. The soft-shell crab has a crispy outer layer, the crab is soft and fresh, however, this dish will be quite greasy if eaten too much. The spring rolls are rich with a thin and crispy outer layer, dipped with a little sweet and sour sauce, adding some vegetables and vermicelli, it is really standard.

Crispy fried soft shell crab is also ordered by many customers.

Spring rolls are made in the Northern style, with a thin outer shell and a meaty interior. This dish is served with raw vegetables, vermicelli noodles and sweet and sour dipping sauce.

Talking about the selling price, the owner of Thuy 94 shared: "My family imports fresh crabs to sell on the same day, so customers will know right away. This price can be enjoyed by everyone, even ordinary customers. Because this is not an everyday dish, sometimes people go on holidays and stop by to eat crab, for example. Every year, my restaurant only increases the price by 10,000 VND per dish because prices are escalating."

Soft shell crabs are fried fresh when ordered, the outside is crispy and the inside is fresh crab meat.

It is known that every day the restaurant sells about 30 kilos of soft-shell crabs and 20 kilos of meat crabs. All are Ca Mau crabs and are imported from reputable and quality seafood sources. Therefore, anyone who comes here to eat must nod and praise the delicious crabs. Many people also stop by the restaurant to buy fresh crabs to eat at home.

"2 Sisters" Crab Restaurant and the Truth About Its Confusing Name

"Normally, Ms. Thuy and I split up, one person works 2-4-6-Sunday, the other person works 3-5-7, but today I came on the day both of us were at the shop!" - Ms. Mai, one of the two owners of Thuy 94 shop, shared about the work schedule, she also confided that because she is old, she split the schedule like that to have time to rest. It turns out, the shop's name is "Thuy" but in fact, the shop's owner is two people. Ms. Mai and Ms. Thuy are about ten years apart in age, in the family they are aunt and niece, but from the outside, people still think they are sisters.

Ms. Thuy (left) and Ms. Mai (right) are co-owners of Thuy 94 restaurant.

Mai and Thuy's family used to sell crabs at Ben Thanh market, when they were both in their teens they helped their family sell. Gradually, as they grew up, Mai and Thuy began to learn about cuisine , combined with their dining experiences and then started to open a crab restaurant with their own recipe.

Ms. Mai confided: "Many people still think that Ms. Thuy and I are sisters, but in fact we are aunt and niece. We lived together when we were young, so we were close and intimate. We have opened the shop for decades but we are still in harmony because we are family, so we understand each other and give in to each other. So whatever people call us, whether we are sisters or aunt and niece, for me, family is the most important. There is nothing like family affection."

Stir-fried crab vermicelli is a dish that customers order continuously, so the restaurant makes it without stopping.

Perhaps if anyone doesn't know, when they come to Dinh Tien Hoang street, they will be a bit confused because there are 2 crab noodle shops with signs related to the number 94. That probably makes customers quite confused about which shop to eat at.

Talking about her crab noodle shop, Ms. Mai said: "The shop opened in 1992 at address 94. In 1994, the owner took back the premises so the shop moved to a new address a few houses away from the old one. I was also surprised when they took back the shop and opened it like me. When I moved to the new shop, I named it "Quan Thuy 94" because number 94 was the old address, then added the word "old" so that customers would know. Since long ago, I used the word "old", right? Until now, the word "old" still follows me. I use the word "old" because this is the way our grandparents used to say things. But hundreds of people sell, thousands of people buy, the important thing is that customers come to my shop and eat to their liking. I sell with my heart."

Here, guests can watch the restaurant prepare food right outside.

After more than 30 years, Thuy 94 restaurant has always been a place sought after by many gourmets. Even customers from other provinces come here to eat and buy take-away. Ms. Mai said: "Customers from many places support us a lot, they stop by when traveling or on business trips. Many customers buy to take on the plane to take away. The spring rolls with soft-shell crab at my restaurant are fried first, then customers take them home to fry again or put them in an air fryer and they are delicious.

There are never any promotions here, the promotions here are very luxurious, the most important thing is top quality. The secret is that over the years she has maintained the quality, taken good care of customers, and communicated with customers. Pleased customers come and satisfied customers go, it has always been like that" - Ms. Mai shared more about the secret to keeping customers over the years.

The crab meat here is always fresh and of good quality.

When she learned that her restaurant was on the Michelin Selected list, Ms. Thuy said: "I was happy to know that my restaurant was Michelin-recognized, because I have been in business for decades and now it is recognized. At first, I didn't even know what Michelin was, until my son told me. When I found out, I was very happy because Vietnamese cuisine is very rich and I was chosen like that. I was very touched to be recognized, and many customers supported and congratulated me."

When it was on the Michelin Selected list, the restaurant became even more crowded and bustling.

Foreign guests enjoy the dishes at Thuy 94 restaurant.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/quan-cua-noi-tieng-nhat-quan-1-nam-giu-bi-quyet-khien-khach-ca-domestic-and-foreign-country-me-damaged-for-35-years-chu-quan-bat-mi-ve-cai-ten-de-gay-nham-lan-20240801210255408.htm