The white porridge shop for more than 10 years has only sold for 1,000 VND for an elderly couple in Saigon: “Sell it cheap and let people eat enough.”

The special porridge shop has existed for nearly 20 years in a small alley in Saigon.

In a time when prices are constantly increasing, it is almost impossible to get warm meals for a few thousand dong in big cities.

Yet, in a small alley in District 6 (HCMC), the “Come here you” porridge shop of Mr. and Mrs. Thai Cong Minh made that “unthinkable” come true when selling a bowl of white porridge with just a bowl of white porridge. with the price of 1,000 VND for the past ten years. Over time, the porridge shop has gradually become a familiar place for the people here.

The special porridge shop “Come to me” is located in a small alley in District 6 (HCMC).

The simple, clean porridge shop is always busy with people passing by. Laughing voices, ordering dishes resounded in the small street corner.

The restaurant is small but clean.

Mr. Thai Cong Minh, the owner of the porridge shop happily recounted: “Uncle’s porridge shop opened in 2003, due to the family’s economy, she opened a porridge shop in the neighborhood with a co-income to help her uncle and raise two children to eat. learning to the place. At first, there were very few customers. At first, it was only 500 VND, in 2012 it went up to 1,000 VND/bowl.”

When asked about the idea for a unique and emotional name for the shop, Mr. Minh shared: “The name of the restaurant I thought about with my wife for a long time before opening the restaurant. love between husband and wife, brothers and sisters, friends, … everyone can call.”

Besides each cup of white porridge costing 1,000 VND, the “Come here” porridge shop also has additional side dishes that only fluctuate a few thousand. The increasing number of visitors each day became the motivation for Mr. and Mrs. Minh to persist in “collecting every penny”: “The uncle and aunt prepare in the morning to open the sale in the afternoon. Every day is busy from morning to evening.”

Mr. Minh said that the customers who come to eat are usually people with relatively modest incomes such as students, students, lottery ticket sellers, workers, masons… Later on, there are also people with good incomes. than to eat.

When talking about the “secret” of retaining customers and getting a taste that is pleasing to the palate, Mr. Minh shared that he himself has no special secret, only regularly asks if the customer is satisfied with the dish, if Guests with bad feedback will advise their wives to adjust.

Little joy when “collecting every penny”

Although the shop is getting more and more crowded, the price per ladle of white porridge is always kept at the price of 1,000 VND by the owner and his wife. Mr. Minh said that because the cost is not high, the premises do not need to be rented, so it is still possible to keep the price so low.

When asked about the joy of selling each bowl of white porridge every day, “gathering every penny”, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong – Mr. Minh’s wife shared: “People just eat enough to make me happy. Take a day off without selling today. Then people ask about it, so sometimes I want to take a break, but I don’t dare to take a break.

“Rice is not very expensive. Cooking food with firewood does not take much. Everyone laughs and talks happily while eating. Selling cheap to people is okay. There are old people, children do not feed, people are too poor. so I often find cheap places like this to eat,” – Ms. Phuong explained the reason why after 20 years, she always keeps the price low.

Her swift hands scooped up each ladle of porridge while smiling and said: “You won’t raise the price, you still sell it. 4-5 years later, too.”

Ms. Phuong said that the amount of money collected every day is only enough to buy food for the day for the family. The most popular day is about 800,000 VND, weekdays are only about 500,000 – 600,000 VND, the profit is about 100,000 – 200,000 days.

Although she collected every single penny every day, her life was full of simplicity, but her life was always happy: “Uncle often said, selling enough to eat is fine. She also liked it, not thinking about being rich or poor. A hundred days a day. Thousands of people eat meals, sometimes go to friends’ houses to play, and it’s fine to save up for Tet and have clothes.”

Mr. Thai Cong Minh – the owner of the porridge shop “Come back here”.

Referring to the fact that the porridge shop “Come here to me” is becoming more and more famous on social networks and in the community, Mr. Minh happily said: “The number of customers is now increasing. Since 2009 someone has come to film and become famous, enough people. I eat here a lot in places. Being famous on social networks, I’m very happy.

“My uncle often told her, this is my wish. All the workers who come here to eat well and affordably are very happy. It’s like I do charity work when I can’t help people with my own money. Even though the value of a bowl of porridge is small, the sharing heart of Mr. and Mrs. Minh makes the delicious dish even more warm and welcoming.

According to the Fatherland