​A Can Tho restaurant waxes nostalgic

The name of the restaurant is evocative: Hoi Do, meaning ‘back then’. At the restaurant’s entrance, a bicycle leans on a wall explaining its name and theme.

“This is a place for old people to find a part of their past, for young people to get a glimpse of how their parents and grandparents lived and for visitors to find out a little bit about how southern people lived in the 80s,” the owner says.

In a neat yard with outdoor umbrellas and the shade of trees, rustic wooden tables and chairs await customers.

The kitchen has been designed like an old grocery store.

Inside the house attached to the restaurant, the 1980s theme continues in very authentic fashion, every inch a reminder of the past.

The life for a middle-class family in the 80s is played out in detail. The husband is a teacher in his 50s, the wife has an eatery in front of the house, and all members of the family live together in the small house.

The husband uses one room to tutor students, and it is furnished in a classroom format with a blackboard and benches.

The dining room has floor tiles with patterns popular in the 80s, and furniture that was in vogue then.

Some customers feel a pang when they see this black and white TV, a coveted treasure back then.

Thermos flasks, hurricane lamps and glass bottles with conical paper caps are objects that senior and middle-aged customers will easily identify with.

A sewing machine and fabric. The eighties were a time of self-reliance with families undertaking most tasks on their own.

A sedge bag carries the menu, which lists reasonably priced food and drinks.

A typical southern meal with savory dishes, vegetables and dessert costs VND40,000 ($1.7) while a drink costs VND14,000 ($0.6).