The small shop changes the menu every day, customers get their own food because they are so used to the generous hostess
The small shop changes the menu every day, customers get their own food because they are so used to the generous owner:“Yours is 21 thousand, I’ll take 20 thousand.”
“Buy 5 pieces, get 1 more free. Thank you.”
That is always the “price” of Aunt Gai, the owner of a small restaurant hiding in an alley at 211 Hoang Hoa Tham, Phu Nhuan district, Ho Chi Minh City. HCM. The restaurant that buyers often say: “Sell for fun“Because every guest she meets, she will reduce money and give more.
The owner is generous, ask for something
This little restaurant on the corner of the street has been around for nearly 40 years, according to Aunt Gi, “from the time I was a daughter to the time I got married until now”. The small shop, or rather a stall, displays all kinds of food, which is cake, sticky rice, tea, every day must be at least 3 dishes the new owner accepts because… “Selling from the past until now has been like that. I can’t stand it anymore”.
Therefore, despite her advanced age, Aunt Girl still stays up late and gets up early to cook a full menu of 3 dishes every day, only 2 dishes on Wednesday and Sunday, because: “Why are you so weak?”. In particular, on the full moon day, she also sells vegetarian food for everyone who is vegetarian.
Aunt Girl’s shop is simply a tall wooden stall, a canvas, an umbrella along with a long bench in front for guests to sit, eat and chat with the owner. Guests come to this place, and then come back because of the exclusive way of talking of Aunt Girl: Proud, joking but also sincere.
– “Is 5 thousand for sale, aunt?”.
– “Sold out. Five thousand for a piece of cake.”
Auntie is funny, meets any guest, whoever it is, she calls me yes, confessing yes. Auntie also calls guests brother, sister, and sister, so people respect her at places of conversation.
Guests came to ask what to buy, she also continued to talk, if she asked for more food, she would give it.“This is all homemade, so you won’t lose money.”Aunt Girl said while adding more food along with the diner’s words.
There are guests who are too “familiar” with the owner, eating here for more than a dozen years, so when they come, see Aunt Girl busy, they also come in to get food and serve themselves. When Aunt Girl’s hands are free, the bill will be charged later.
It is this ease of approach that Aunt Girl’s shop is always crowded. People come not only to buy food, but also to sit around her aunt’s stall, listen to her tell stories, and watch her pick up food for customers. So that’s just fun.
Auntie said, mostly selling”take the work for profit“. Sales for nearly 40 years, now aunt’s health has weakened, no longer have the strength to do much. Selling for only 2 hours a day, the profit is not much, but the auntie refuses to take a break.
Simple and popular gifts
The menu here changes by the day. In order to make it easier for customers to choose “What to eat today?”, Aunt Gi also carefully printed all the dishes on the board and hung it in front of the shop. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, she sells banh beo, and Thursday and Sunday will sell banh khot. As for the tea, it changes every day, with boiled bananas, black beans, fried bananas with coconut, coconut jelly,… All kinds of tea and cakes for diners to choose from. Every day, Aunt Gi will cook different dishes, changing them to make them taste better.
Asked if she had any difficulty in having to change so many dishes, she smiled: “Sold for decades. What’s more difficult?”. It’s not difficult, but it’s great, because all the dishes here are cooked by my aunt.
Aunt wakes up at 4 am, if any day has a customer order tea, sticky rice, it must be 3 o’clock. Cook 3 dishes for a day sale. At nearly 14 pm, aunt put the goods to the shop. Although her health is not the same these days, she still tries to cook: “Business is new, it’s boring if you lie down.”
Every day, my aunt only sells a certain amount, then it’s gone, and she doesn’t sell more. So, one day, I just moved out for an hour and a half and moved in because… ran out of food. If you want to eat at Aunt Girl’s restaurant, you must not only choose the date, but also choose the time, because if you are late, there will be no food. Many dishes were sold out in less than an hour, the customer that day asked if there was no black bean soup, so they turned around and left.
People go in and out of the shop, and the benches in front of the stall are always full. Guests who do not have a seat, take a stool and sit next to it, while eating and listening to their aunt talk.
When we arrived, my aunt had just moved out, but by 3:30 p.m., the sticky rice and tea were all gone, and the bowl of banh beo and banh beo was already more than half empty. Aunt said: “Now it’s a slow sale. But normally now, there is nothing left. It’s raining these days, so it’s harder to sell.”
The menu board hangs in front of the restaurant, every customer who comes will stop to look. If you don’t have what you want today, come back tomorrow.
The things that Aunt Girl sells are nothing new. It’s sticky rice, molded cake, common tea… easy to eat, easy to make, but not easy to find in this crowded Saigon anymore. There are diners who have to travel from far away to enjoy the simple dishes here. Auntie proudly says: “In addition to regular customers here, there are many people from far away, Thu Duc, Binh Chanh, etc. also. Foreigners also come here.”
Auntie’s gifts are sold at very affordable prices. A full box of food costs only 20 thousand VND. A cup of bean tea eaten on the spot only costs 7,000 VND, as much as you want, I will give you as much coconut milk as you want. It’s so cheap, but if people eat “acceptably”, I also give it away! “If people remember, they come to pay, if not, they don’t, it’s not much”Aunt Girl said while always handing food for guests.
Hard to find a place in Saigon that sells food at such affordable prices. That’s why when they come, Aunt Gi’s customers usually buy a lot. Some people live far away, every time they come here, they buy 10 boxes to share with their relatives.
Ms. Huong – a “relative” at Aunt Gai’s shop said, she ate at her aunt’s restaurant from the time she was a girl to the time she got married and then returned to be a bride for more than ten years. And Ms. Ngan, a neighbor nearby, said: “Aunt Girl’s shop sells cheap but delicious food. I eat here every day. If you don’t eat, come here and talk to ‘she’ for fun.”
This little eatery seems to have become part of a generation’s memory around the area. People come here not only for the delicious food, but also for the cheerful, close-knit auntie’s stall like home.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Kenh14.Vn – Read the original article here
