Thu Thao stood in line behind a dozen people, and waited more than 15 minutes in front of the fast food truck on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, Tan Binh District to buy 6 grilled sausages on the evening of January 16.
The 25-year-old girl said she was curious because this dish originated from China. Fresh sausages are arranged on a gravel tray, and underneath is an electric stove. The heat from the gravel cooks the sausage, turning the crust golden brown. The seller uses Chinese chili powder to sprinkle on the sausage to enhance the flavor.
“Delicious, fragrant and spicy,” Thao described. “Even though I had to wait in line for a long time to buy it, I felt it was worth it.”
The grilled sausage dish has just appeared in Saigon for more than a week now with 10 selling points located on Phan Huy Ich street (Go Vap district), Cach Mang Thang Tam street (Tan Binh district), Le Van street Sy (Tan Binh district), Pham Van Xao street (Tan Phu district).
Mr. Ly Thanh Liem, 20 years old, owner of a gravel grilled sausage cart on Le Van Sy street, said the customers are mainly young people. He has varieties such as traditional sausage, salted egg, salted egg shrimp, beef and Hekou. Among them, Ha Khau sausage is imported directly from China, most chosen by customers, priced at 15,000 VND per stick.
He learned about Chinese street food through TikTok, so he went looking to buy baking tools to sell in Vietnam. “Not all types of gravel can be used for grilling. I had to buy black gravel for 50,000 VND per kilogram to serve this dish,” Liem said.
“The black gravel cooks the dish evenly, and the sausage is rich and fatty, without the smell of smoke. The sausage flavor is rich, a bit sweeter than Vietnamese sausage,” he explained further.
Every day, he sells 600 sausages, with the largest queue of customers after 4pm. The dish was well received because it fits the snacking culture of Saigon youth, along with being unique, quick to prepare, and can be taken away.
Mr. Nguyen Chi Thanh, owner of a grilled sausage cart on Le Van Sy street, said that chili powder sprinkled on the sausages is a flavor factor. This type of powder is imported, has a spicy, mild aroma of crushed spices. “People who can eat spicy food will love it,” Mr. Thanh said.
The dish became a trend because it was shared by some TikTokers on social networks. During the first week of opening, customers queued up to a maximum of 20 people at a time between 6pm and 8pm. Sausages sell for 15,000 VND, consuming about 500 pieces per day.
Thanh Van, 25 years old, is a person who likes to eat according to social media trends and also lined up to buy sausages on the evening of January 16 in Tan Binh district. She said she tried this dish twice and still came back because “the advertising is true to reality”.
However, some customers think that this dish will soon “disappear” like previous trending dishes such as coin cake , hand-pounded lemon tea , custard cake … The common point is that when it first appeared, Buyers are very crowded and often have to queue for a long time to get their turn, but after a few weeks, the customers almost disappear.
($1~24,000 VND)
Photo,Video: Internet (Vinlove.net)