From 6 a.m., the mixed chicken vermicelli cart of Ms. Be’s family in Ho Chi Minh City was crowded with customers lining up. The lady who owns the chicken noodle cart sells it non-stop. Every day, the chicken vermicelli cart has hundreds of customers due to its cheap price and filling the stomach.
At 6 a.m., Ms. Be (45 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) pushed the cart of mixed chicken vermicelli to the corner of Pasteur – Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, starting her working day. While Mrs. Be was preparing everything, it took a while for her to open for sale, quite a few customers had already lined up to wait to buy.
“I’ll give you a bowl like usual, a little spicy today,” a customer ordered right at the cart, then stood waiting to receive the bowl of vermicelli.
With quick hands, Mrs. Be put vermicelli in a pot of boiling water, then added meat, chicken intestines, a little fried onion, and spices before pouring fish sauce into the bowl. Mixed vermicelli products must have 3-4 helpers, who take turns collecting money, adding spices, washing dishes, etc.
For diners, what determines the “popularity” of this mixed vermicelli shop is the pre-mixed fish sauce made by Mrs. Be. In particular, the ingredients include garlic, chili, sugar, fish sauce, ginger, green chili mixed and balanced… making the mixed vermicelli bowl retain its saltiness, sweetness and fragrant ginger scent.
Not long after, the plastic chairs arranged around the mixed vermicelli cart were filled with people. Many diners accept to bring their own bowl of vermicelli to surrounding cafes to sit or even sit under a tree along the road.
It is known that each bowl of vermicelli costs 25,000 VND and has remained the same for many years. Mrs. Be does not increase prices because she loves the customers who support her. Therefore, the shop owner said, selling goods is mainly “for profit”. Yet the vermicelli cart can feed the whole family.
“The price of 25,000 VND/bowl of chicken vermicelli like this is very difficult to find in the city center. Most of my customers are students and workers, so selling a bowl of vermicelli full of meat and vegetables at such a price is affordable. Everyone can eat it,” Ms. Be said.
Every day, hundreds of customers line up to buy chicken vermicelli. Therefore, Mrs. Be’s chicken vermicelli cart comes in and out continuously from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the owner rarely has time to rest.
As noon approached, the restaurant became more and more crowded. Mrs. Be had to move her mixed vermicelli products across the street, looking for a quiet place so as not to obstruct traffic.
This work has been going on regularly for more than 20 years, supporting Ms. Be’s entire family. Regarding family life and the hardships of making a living, Ms. Be confided that she rarely shares with outsiders. Partly because she was used to that hardship, partly because she did not want to attract much attention on social networks.
Phuong Nhi (21 years old, living in District 4) shared that Nhi has only been here a few times, but because she is fascinated with chicken vermicelli, she tries to get up early to come for breakfast.
“I study in District 10, I start school at 7:00, so I have to take advantage of 6:00 to come out here and eat chicken vermicelli. The vermicelli bowl here is affordable, the taste is delicious, a bowl full of meat and vegetables, it’s filling. noon,” Nhi said.
Mr. Nam (35 years old), a motorbike taxi driver, is also one of the regular customers of Ba Be’s chicken noodle cart. Mr. Nam said that in the past, when he was a student, his 4 years of university were associated with this mixed vermicelli shop.
Now that he has graduated and worked for many years, he still comes here to eat sometimes because he misses the familiar taste.
“Recently, I lost my job so my income is difficult. So the “frequency” of visiting Mrs. Be’s restaurant is more than before. The vermicelli bowls here are cheap, the owner sees that the workers always make a little more themselves. enough to fill my stomach to go plowing,” Mr. Nam laughed.
($1=24,000 VND)
Photo,Video: Internet (Vinlove.net)