About 5 years ago, when I returned to Hanoi from Japan to visit my family, my wife and I stopped by Pho Bat Dan restaurant on Bat Dan street (Cua Dong ward, Hoan Kiem district). At that time, my wife and I had to queue with more than a dozen other guests, waiting for our turn to order, pay and bring the pho to the table ourselves. The waiting time was more than 20 minutes. I took a photo of my wife queuing and shared it on my personal Facebook with the status: "On a weekend morning, a newlywed couple queued for half an hour waiting for a bowl of Hanoi pho."

Many friends "half-jokingly, half-seriously" commented: "Are you too free to queue so patiently?", "There are so many delicious pho restaurants in Hanoi, why is it so hard?", "Come over and let me cook pho for you, it's guaranteed to be more delicious and served to your teeth, no need to queue, no need to carry things around"...

Only one British friend, who studied abroad with me in Japan, came to compliment me: "You and everyone else lined up in such an orderly and civilized manner. The food here must be worth the time you spent waiting." I replied to this friend: "It's worth it! Because it's the time for me to find my childhood memories."

Bat Dan Traditional Pho is the pho restaurant where, when I was a student, every weekend, my father would take me on his "red" motorbike from Cau Giay to have breakfast. A bowl of Bat Dan pho was like a gift my father gave me after a week of hard study, and it was also the time when we "escaped from our wives and mothers" to talk about men's private matters.

Over the years, I have read many controversies about waiting in line to order, pay and serve food at the Bat Dan traditional pho restaurant. Many negative people criticized "humiliating for food", "suffering for food", "what era is this still waiting in line to eat pho", "only people with free time and too much time line up to eat pho"...

Sometimes, I feel sad because of those criticisms. I wonder, if that was the image of Japanese people lining up to enjoy sashimi, Koreans lining up to eat cold noodles, Italians lining up to buy ice cream... would the online community criticize them for "suffering from eating"? I remember, in early 2019, a Microsoft employee witnessed and took a picture of billionaire Bill Gates lining up, waiting for his turn to buy food at a fast food restaurant in Seattle (USA). The item that one of the richest people in the world bought was worth about 7.68 USD (about 180,000 VND). On June 12, 2015, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stood in line for 30 minutes at an outdoor food center to buy fried chicken wings, causing a storm in the media. That action shows culture, respect for others, no matter who you are, how rich, how busy you are.

I know, all comparisons are lame, but in my opinion, queuing to buy something is a civilized and polite act. It's not only when I came to Japan that I got used to it. Since the 2000s, when I went with my father to eat Pho Bat Dan, he taught me that courtesy. Later, when I went to many developed countries for work or travel , I saw that they considered queuing to buy things a natural thing.

I was even extremely proud when I saw diners lining up to eat Pho Thin in Tokyo, Banh Mi Phuong in Seoul... That shows the appeal of Vietnamese cuisine in the eyes of international friends.

As for me, why do I wait 30 minutes to eat Pho Bat Dan? In fact, I don’t do it once but many times. Every time I go back to Hanoi, I stop by the pho restaurant.

I admit, compared to more than 20 years ago, I no longer feel the "craving" for the rich aroma of pho broth, "swallowing saliva" when seeing the beef brisket on a hot, steaming bowl of pho. Back then, sometimes when I ate half a bowl, my father would pick up more meat and pho from his bowl for me. When I was 14 or 15 years old, I had to eat 1.5 bowls of Bat Dan pho to satisfy my craving. Now, I find Bat Dan pho still delicious but not special compared to the places I used to eat. Maybe because now, I am full, have enjoyed many other delicious dishes. It is also possible that the taste has changed over time. Even once, I tried Khoi Hoi pho and had to nod to my wife: "It's really delicious, sometimes better than Bat Dan".

In terms of appearance, over the years, Pho Bat Dan restaurant has hardly changed, still old, a bit dark, old tables and chairs, old utensils, cramped kitchen area, even the price list seems to be "out of date". The service here is somewhat not as warm and enthusiastic as other places.

However, I am still willing to queue for 20-30 minutes to enjoy a bowl of Pho Bat Dan. The biggest reason for me, perhaps, is to rediscover the feeling of my childhood, recalling the days of wandering with my father to the old town to eat Pho for breakfast. While driving, queuing, sitting and eating... the whispering stories of father and son still seem to echo in my ears. Perhaps, many customers, like me, come to Pho Bat Dan to find memories or flavors that carry a bit of the past.

Once, while standing in line, I chatted with some middle-aged customers. They were not in a hurry or impatient because they knew in advance that to eat Pho Bat Dan, they would have to wait in line. "Usually, I only come to eat Pho Bat Dan on free days, and on busy days I choose another restaurant," they said. While waiting in line, they took the opportunity to surf the internet, read newspapers, and move step by step until they reached the counter. Even if someone cut in line, I saw that customers rarely argued because they knew that they were usually passersby, tourists from far away, who did not understand the "unwritten rules" here.

I read somewhere that "Food is something worth waiting for, then being rewarded with taste. It is those flavors that create memories over time."

Everyone has different tastes. Some people like clear pho broth, with rare meat pounded like Thin Bo Ho, some like rare, with lots of onions like Thin Lo Duc, some like the cloudy broth of Pho Tu Lun... but there are also people like me, who like the rich, shimmering broth, with meat sliced ​​as it is sold at Bat Dan. Only when you eat the right flavor do you feel "satisfied". That's why people don't mind waiting. Even if they have to arrange plastic tables to sit on the sidewalk, they still don't mind.

Maybe I'm an "easy-going" person. I don't care if the restaurant I eat at is spacious and luxurious. As long as it's clean. In this old town or the city I live in Japan, it's equally crowded. It's normal to jostle for a seat. But I like a bowl of pho with a traditional flavor like Pho Bat Dan, not the "instant noodle" or industrial way of cooking. The vinegar and chili sauce also have a similar flavor to homemade. The oldness of the restaurant space also unintentionally creates a very unique old Hanoi feature.

Of course, to be fair, I hope the owner and staff are more welcoming and cheerful. Although serving too many customers is hard and tiring, the service attitude plays an important role in creating quality in the hearts of customers, especially the impression with international customers.

We have countless pho shops, but how many places are praised by CNN and many international media channels like Bat Dan Traditional Pho? Thanks to that, international visitors know more about Vietnamese pho, Vietnamese cuisine and the beauty of Vietnam. I find that a source of pride and respect. I think, unlike young people today who line up to buy milk tea, coin cakes, lemon tea... for a few days and then "cool down". Pho shops like Bat Dan Pho, Tu Dn Au Trieu,... have been able to maintain queues for decades because they have affirmed their quality in the hearts of diners. Therefore, if you have time, lining up to eat pho is also a worthy pleasure!

Reader Ngoc Khanh (The article represents the author's personal opinion)

The image of diners lining up to eat pho at some famous restaurants in Hanoi recently received mixed opinions. Many netizens said that it was "suffering and humiliating to eat", "it's not the subsidy period anymore, why do we have to wait for food". Besides, many opinions on the contrary said that, not only in Vietnam but also in developed countries around the world, tourists also have to line up to enjoy delicious dishes. Many restaurants and shops have become destinations that attract international visitors thanks to the image of queuing.

VietNamNet Travel section invites readers to share stories and opinions on the topic of Queuing for food: Civilization or 'humiliation'? to email [email protected]. Appropriate articles will be published according to editorial regulations.

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