1,000 grilled meat skewers and 1,000 cheese dumplings are the number sold every day at the grilled meat dumpling shop in Go Vap district (HCMC). Every evening, customers come in droves, lining up to wait for food.
Customers agree to wait 1 hour
In the last months of the year, the grilled meat dumpling shop on Nguyen Van Nghi street (Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City) is crowded with people queuing up. Inside, several plastic tables and chairs were filled with people. The shop is open from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., but as soon as it opens, there are already customers waiting to buy.
Quickly grilling dozens of meat skewers on a hot charcoal oven, shop owner Thanh Tuyen (26 years old) regretfully repeatedly announced to new customers: “I have no more tables, please wait a bit!”.
At this moment, the guests happily nodded. Ms. Tuyen said that many customers even agreed to wait up to 1 hour to eat grilled meat dumplings.
“The most crowded is from after October to the end of the year and the few months after Tet, especially in the cold seasons. However, in rainy months, the shop is still sluggish,” she said.
According to the owner, her restaurant is famous for its pulled cheese buns and grilled skewers. The dumplings at Ms. Tuyen’s shop especially have added cheese, which she makes at home herself to sell.
The grilled meat is also marinated in a “special” sauce by her family. When grilled, it will have a faint aroma. When you eat it, you will feel the moderate salty and sweet taste, blending together. The meat is pork belly, carefully selected by Ms. Tuyen. The piece of meat is not too thick or thin. When grilled, it will be just the right size so you won’t feel bored eating it.
Not only that, Ms. Tuyen’s restaurant is always crowded with customers not only because of the delicious food, but the staff at the restaurant always have a bright smile despite their busy work.
At the price of 12,000 VND/grilled skewer, 8,000 VND/dumpling, every day she can sell 800-1,000 sticks and about 1,000 cakes. Revenue can be more than 16 million VND/day.
Regarding the price, Ms. Tuyen shared that because most of the diners are students, the prices are reasonable and suitable for your budget, helping the restaurant retain many acquaintances.
“Because I use good ingredients and sell at cheap prices, I mainly make a profit. Each profit is very small, but thanks to your support, the number sold is large,” Ms. Tuyen said.
As a regular customer of the grilled skewer restaurant, Gia Nghi (22 years old, living in Go Vap district) shared that she often comes here to eat because she likes the moderate sweetness of the meat.
“When eaten with vegetables and chili, you can feel the meat marinade is very rich, making the meat fragrant and sweet. There are also cheese dumplings here, eating with meat will not make you feel bored and the price is cheap,” Nghi said.
The owner loves starting a business and only sleeps 4 hours a day
Previously, Ms. Tuyen tried to start a business selling many different products. Three years ago, she happened to eat grilled meat on a stick at Ho Thi Ky food market (District 10) and was very impressed. From there, she decided to start a business selling this dish because there were very few sellers in the area where she lived, and if she wanted to eat it, she had to go quite far to the center.
“When I first opened, there were no customers, the road was under construction, so I had to sell and take a break. Not only that, the Covid-19 outbreak forced me to stop selling for a while,” Ms. Tuyen confided.
Not long after, after just 1 month of reopening, diners came to support Ms. Tuyen’s restaurant in large numbers thanks to the pictures of her grilled skewers posted on social networks.
With the “momentum”, her family also supported her and went to the restaurant to help Ms. Tuyen serve customers. At the restaurant there are 5 people serving, but at home there are also 5 more people working on food preparation.
Every day, Ms. Tuyen works from afternoon until dawn the next morning. To the point, she could only sleep 4 hours a day to gain strength to sell.
“Selling this product makes a small profit, but it’s very profitable. Because I sell it cheaply, have good ingredients, and make it myself, so it takes a lot of time. No matter how many customers there are, I can only make 1,000 dumplings every day.” , the female owner said.
Since the day many people came to support, Ms. Tuyen shared that she felt very grateful and happy when her restaurant developed.
“Starting a business requires hard work. For me, this job is not difficult. Just know how to try every day and you will be able to do it,” Ms. Tuyen said with determination.
($1=24,000 VND)
Photo,Video: Internet (Vinlove.net)