HO CHI MINH CITY – The shop has only 6 tables, every day sells 40 kg of vermicelli, customers go in and out continuously from 13:00 to 18:00.
Vermicelli with grilled meat is a familiar dish to Saigon people, there are many places that sell vermicelli for many years, which is delicious and supported by diners. The small noodle soup of Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, born in 1977, on Nguyen Cong Tru Street is an example.
For many diners, their impression is that the grilled meat is hot and sold anywhere. Mr. Thien, waiting to buy 17 portions of vermicelli to take home, said this was his first visit to the shop. The kitchen is small, so he waited for about 10 minutes to get enough food. After that, there were a few people who bought grilled pork vermicelli but then switched to grilled spring rolls and spring rolls because they couldn’t wait for the barbeque.
The whole restaurant has only two small grills, up to 20 skewers of meat, on average it takes about 10 minutes to cook. The shop chooses the lean pork cutlet marinated with spices and refrigerated overnight, grilled the next day. The shop sells about 40 kg of vermicelli every day.
According to the owner, the small noodle shop has been around for more than 40 years, attracting customers from year to month thanks to grilled meat and spring rolls that can be sold anywhere. The load is neat, but 5 people are new to doing it, just grilling meat, serving vermicelli, making vermicelli, and paying for customers, all of whom are in the owner’s house.
When the customer ordered, Ms. Lan took a handful of green vegetables and put them in a medium-sized bowl with a variety of salads, fresh sprouts, lettuce, vermicelli, pickles and roasted peanuts. The full meal includes meat, grilled spring rolls and spring rolls cut in half. The hot grilled meat is still full of fat, fragrant, and on top is a layer of onion fat. Accompanying the meal is a separate cup of chili fish sauce, lightly fragrant with the smell of pickled papaya, if you like, you can ask for more crispy papaya to eat.
The medium-sized vermicelli is quite tough, the meat and spring rolls are soft, marinated in medium spices, not too bold, blended with fish sauce to absorb the flavor. Guests do not appreciate spring rolls because the outer shell is soft, not crispy. Next to the shop, there is a small beverage cart of all kinds, customers can order separately.
The noodle shop is located at 338, Nguyen Cong Tru Street, District 1, open for sale from 13:00 to 18:00 every day. Peak time around 2 pm, customers may have to wait for the barbeque or change dishes. In addition, the space is small, serving plastic tables and chairs, guests can feel hot at noon. The shop only has a place to park motorbikes, which many people like to buy and take away.