BEN TRE-Pho broth but no noodles, because “Westerners are used to eating noodles”, according to the owner of Tan Thanh restaurant.
Mr. Tran Thanh Van’s Tan Thanh Noodle Shop is located in Hamlet 1, Shandong Commune, Ben Tre City. When entering the restaurant, patrons always call “give me a bowl of noodle soup” The shop named this “specialty” noodle soup because all stages of cooking are like pho, but use noodles, instead of noodles as usual.
“Westerners are used to eating noodles so when selling, the shop uses noodles,” said the 70-year-old owner. Noodle soup at the restaurant has all kinds, pho re, pho encrusted, tendons, beef tablets … Bowl of hot pho smoky, fragrant pink beef pieces, a bit of fatty waves on the surface of the bowl to make many diners even though far away, have eaten once is want to eat again.
The restaurant is so famous, visitors from far away to Ben Tre city just ask where “noodle soup” is, people will enthusiastically guide. After ordering, less than 5 minutes guests will enjoy two bowls of hot, fragrant pho.
The reason is to order two bowls of pho because in addition to a normal bowl of pho, the restaurant also adds a small bowl of meat and broth for guests. In the past, small bowls or cups were used as sauce cups, gradually became familiar, lacking a small bowl of patrons immediately asked “my part lacks a bowl”, Mr. Van smiled.
Tan Thanh pho is according to the taste of westerners, so in addition to the inherent pho taste, the aroma or spices are also reduced, less anolytuated, cinnamon instead is the aroma of noodles, sweet broth bar. Bowl of pho is brought out, guests soup a tablespoon of broth will see fresh people, refreshing. Take a chewy chopsticks, bite the freshly cooked beef to soft crispy lumpy is satisfied.
Vegetables served with cinnamon, coriander, raw sprouts, add slices of spicy chilli, squeeze pieces of sour lemon, one is out of bowl of pho. Ms. Thanh, a diner in Ho Chi Minh City, said: “Making strawberries in coconut country for 5 years, when I follow my parents-in-law back home, I get breakfast at this noodle shop. Sometimes parents do not visit, the sisters keep asking for it.”
Mr. Van said that the couple opened a pho restaurant in 1993, so far it has been 27 years, he him works as a chef. Every day, at 4:00 am, he wakes up to prepare a pot of broth, seasoning, checking all the stages to finish selling.
“Even though I was a man, I was fascinated with cooking from a young age, so I followed my grandmother to cook for an apprenticeship. After this, I also cooked pho restaurant. Since the shop does not take any days off, I do not go out all year round, just watch the cooking all the time,” Mr. Van said.
Currently, Ms. Kieu, Mr. Van’s daughter-in-law, is the main seller at the shop. About strawberry for 15 years is also about the year she was passed on by her father-in-law to cook pho.
Tan Thanh Noodle Shop is open from 5am to 10pm. Each bowl of pho costs 35,000 VND. Every day, the shop sells from 300 to 400 bowls, weekends, holidays are more crowded, the shop has 6 people serving but not always resting hands.
Thanh Thuy/vnexpress