Chicken sticky rice sold at Tan Dinh market for 20 years, fried chicken skin eggs make Tran Thanh crazy

'The first time he came to buy sticky rice, Mr. Tran Thanh exclaimed: Oh my god, why has the sticky rice shop been here for so long that I just found out about it now! That is also a beautiful memory associated with our sticky rice shop' - Ms. Phuong, the daughter of the owner of the Sticky Rice Shop 315 Tan Dinh, told Tuoi Tre Online.

Chicken sticky rice cart full of toppings and fragrant sticky rice pot of Xoi Ga 315 Tan Dinh - Photo: LAN HUONG

Perhaps, for the people of Saigon, sticky rice with chicken and savory sticky rice have become an indispensable part of memories, associated with hurried breakfasts or afternoon rushes.

Sticky rice is not only a daily dish but also carries a strong street food culture, creating a special mark for this dynamic city.

'The sticky rice shop was born when my parents got married'

Located right at the beginning of Tran Quoc Toan Street, District 3, Xoi Ga 315 Tan Dinh restaurant is a familiar name to xoi lovers.

Without flashy, elaborate signs or grand spaces, the restaurant attracts diners with carts full of toppings, large pots of sticky rice, and fragrant aromas spreading over a corner of the street.

Tuoi Tre Online came to the Xoi Ga restaurant at 315 Tan Dinh one late afternoon. At that time, Ms. Ha Phuong (25 years old) and her mother and brother were busy preparing the restaurant, arranging each batch of sticky rice and each type of topping to be ready to serve customers.

Variety of toppings in sticky rice - Photo: LAN HUONG

While working quickly, Ms. Ha Phuong said: "The 315 Tan Dinh Chicken Sticky Rice Restaurant was established in 1999. At that time, my parents had just gotten married. Because my family had a tradition of doing business, my parents also followed this path.

But what to sell? My parents thought a lot and realized that no one around them sold sticky rice, so they started with a pot of sticky rice.

At first, our sticky rice was quite simple, with only shredded pork, pate, and pork roll... then gradually we added more new toppings thanks to customer feedback."

Sticky rice at Xoi Ga 315 Tan Dinh is a savory sticky rice dish made from delicious sticky rice, each grain is soft and fluffy without being dry. The sticky rice is ivory white and very sticky.

According to Ms. Phuong (45 years old) - the owner of the restaurant - to have a delicious batch of sticky rice, all stages from choosing sticky rice to cooking must be very meticulous and careful.

Sticky, soft, white, round, delicious sticky rice - Photo: LAN HUONG

In particular, the stage of soaking sticky rice before cooking is very important. Depending on each type of sticky rice, you must know how to measure the soaking time differently. Because, if not careful, the sticky rice can become mushy or dry, no longer retaining its characteristic sticky and fragrant flavor.

The two most popular sticky rice dishes at the restaurant are mixed sticky rice with chicken skin and eggs and full sticky rice.

In particular, mixed sticky rice costs 45,000 VND, including all the attractive toppings such as soft-boiled eggs, crispy chicken skin, Chinese sausage, fragrant fried onions, fatty scallion oil and rich pate.

The full sticky rice costs 85,000 VND, with an additional portion of large chicken thighs, soft and fragrant meat and some other toppings, easily filling diners. In addition, the restaurant also sells according to customer requests, with the lowest price starting from 30,000 VND.

The sticky rice dish is considered the "best-seller" of the restaurant - Photo: LAN HUONG

"When we first opened, our sticky rice shop encountered many difficulties. By 2009, we still didn't have many customers, but my parents persisted in the business, accepting that if we sold less, we would make less profit.

From 2011 until before the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant gradually became famous and had a large number of customers.

After the pandemic, although there are still many customers coming to buy, compared to the previous period, it is still not as good. On average, we sell 30kg of sticky rice per day, a little less than before" - she shared.

The taste of sticky rice with chicken is not the same as before?

On Google Maps review page, Xoi Ga 315 Tan Dinh restaurant received many compliments from customers, including many foreigners. Many of the restaurant's regular customers, some of whom came here thanks to recommendations from friends or social networks.

Ms. Phuong directly sells sticky rice to customers - Video : LAN HUONG

Mai Ng commented: "The sticky rice is delicious, soft, the grains are loose, there is sauce poured over it so all the flavors are very tasty, not dry, just a little greasy."

Similarly, Cassie De Leos - a foreign diner - also praised: "Fatty but super delicious and fragrant. The sticky rice with liver pate is fatty and rich. I saw many locals coming to buy and take away. I will definitely eat this dish again."

However, in the review section, many customers expressed regret that the sticky rice flavor is no longer the same as before.

Regarding this issue, Ms. Phuong said: "I think it's probably because many customers haven't eaten for a long time so they find it different because our family's recipe has been the same for more than 20 years. Maybe their taste changes, just like people, everyone will change every day.

In the past, there weren't many restaurants so people would find sticky rice delicious, but now that many new dishes have appeared, they have more choices so they gradually find this place not delicious, that place has changed, that's completely normal."

Customers came to buy goods right from the opening day - Photo: LAN HUONG

Ms. Phuong shared that her restaurant does not have any unique or outstanding recipe compared to other places, but is just the result of years of experience, from her parents' generation to the current generation.

The whole family cooks sticky rice with the mindset of "cooking as if we were preparing a meal for our own family".

Talking about happy memories related to the restaurant, Ms. Phuong said that artist Tran Thanh visited Xoi Ga 315 Tan Dinh twice.

"The first time he came to buy sticky rice, Mr. Tran Thanh exclaimed: "Oh my god, why has this sticky rice shop been around for so long that I just found out about it now!". That is also a beautiful memory associated with our sticky rice shop" - she recalled with a smile.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/xoi-ga-20-nam-ban-o-cho-tan-dinh-trung-non-da-ga-chien-khien-tran-thanh-cung-phat-me-20250216225740829.htm