“I want to help her.”
Ms. Bui Thi Dung (56 years old, living in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) opened a Pho restaurant in February 2.2021 after 5 years of breast cancer treatment. The first foreign guests were her daughter's friends. The good news is far away, now 70% of the restaurant's customers are foreigners.
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Mike likes the taste of pho here and is impressed with Mrs. Dung's friendliness and enthusiasm |
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Mrs. Dung's Nam Dinh noodle shop sells 70-100 bowls of pho per day. In addition to the traditional pho, Mrs. Dung also has a rather special Western pho, called "pho tine". This is a dish that combines crispy french fries, beef noodle soup and cheese. Rickard Qualley account once shared online: "The experience of "pho tine" is wonderful. The sauce is delicious, the beef is fresh and delicious. I will definitely come back here.”
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In addition to traditional pho, the restaurant also has "pho tine" which is a combination of french fries, cheese and pho seasoning sauce. |
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Mr. Mike Scott (British) was introduced to Pho restaurant by his girlfriend (American). He said that his girlfriend is someone who does not like to eat pho but gives many compliments to this restaurant. “I usually come here about twice a week, and order home delivery a few more times. I enjoyed the pho here, excellent. Mama Dung (Mrs. Dung's intimate name) is very friendly and enthusiastic every time I come. I know she's not well, but I'm still trying to help people, so this is also a way for me to contribute," said Mike.
Co-morbidities
In 2016, Mrs. Dung was diagnosed with stage 3B breast cancer. The couple decided to stop working to focus on her treatment. “I had surgery on the right mammary gland and went through 8 chemotherapy prescriptions and 25 radiation treatments. Treatment from March to June 3 is complete. So much pain and fatigue have all gone through. Fortunately, I have a husband, my children are always there to take care of me," Dung said sadly.
With constant time in and out of the hospital, experiencing physical pain, she understands and empathizes with other patients. Seeing that the patients had difficulty in eating and drinking, but the food was sometimes not nutritious, Ms. Dung and her husband cooked chicken and mushroom porridge and distributed it to the patients in the same room each time they were hospitalized.
“A sister at the hospital really liked my porridge. That day, lying down because of a headache, she sat up when she knew that I had come in and ate the whole box of porridge. The next day, I came back, but she was nowhere to be found. Other patients say you left last night. I was surprised. This is what motivates me to continue cooking for people. When they are about to leave, they wish to eat a delicious meal, "said Dung.
Pho Hi was opened with the purpose of using part of the profits to help cancer patients. Mrs. Dung is ready to share her decades-old recipe and cooking method with anyone who wants to learn. During her treatment, she also opened a free baking class for cancer patients.
Not only her, Mr. Nguyen The Luc (60 years old, her husband) also accompanies his wife to help cancer patients: “Now I just hope that my wife is healthy, I am healthy to work, sell a lot of pho to help people. The children also support us, so there is nothing to worry about."
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Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang (45 years old, breast cancer patient, currently the owner of a bakery in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) confided: “From a person who never knew about cakes, now I have a job that I love and earn my income. All thanks to Ms. Dung's enthusiastic and thoughtful teaching. I learned from her many kinds of cakes. What kind of wrongdoing, she forced to do it in front of her to show me where I was wrong and to do it until I got it."
And Mr. Vo Pham Minh Tam (33 years old, living in Cai Lay Town, Tien Giang) - a patient with metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer, was also helped by Mrs. Dung many times. “Ms. Dung gave me money for surgery, and then gave me more every time I went to chemotherapy. She helped me not once but many times. She cares a lot about other co-morbidities. Thank you very much for that,” Mr. Tam shared.
