Tran Bich Ngoc's restaurant is always full at lunchtime. Ngoc started her catering business in 2017, after moving locations twice.
Her shop is currently located at 10B Tang Bat Ho Street (Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi). This address is known for its diverse menu, which changes daily and features typical dishes from various regions such as Hue-style spicy beef noodle soup, fermented fish noodle soup, or thick noodle soup.
On Thursday and Friday, the restaurant serves hu tieu - pork and seafood noodle soup for VND100,000 and VND110,000 ($3.90 and $4.30).
"After many trips throughout Vietnam, I discovered and enjoyed a series of dishes from the north, central, and south regions. With a passion for local cuisine, I tinker and learn recipes to create dishes with a personal touch," Ngoc said.
“When I first opened, I encountered many difficulties with Hanoians' meticulousness in eating. I have adjusted the spice ratio so that the broth retains its original flavor but is not as sweet as in the south, while still meeting the preferences of Hanoi people."
With an open kitchen counter, diners can observe every step in the process of creating a bowl of noodle soup right from the moment they enter the door.
The ribs are simmered for one hour to achieve richness and softness. Weighing 250-350 grams, each rib must have both lean and fat parts. Otherwise, the ribs will become dry when simmered.
"In Saigon, diners often favor pork bones, which have less meat. However, Hanoi diners have the opposite preference. In early 2019, the restaurant started selling hu tieu but I realized Hanoi customers wanted to enjoy more meat, so the restaurant decided to switch to serving ribs," Ngoc said.
"Instead of selling it permanently, we only serve hu tieu every Thursday and Friday. In fact, if this dish was served every day, diners could easily get bored. That's why the restaurant decided to rotate between different dishes every day of the week. This gives customers the opportunity to enjoy more diverse dishes, creating newness and excitement."
The liver is soaked in salt to remove odors. After the soaking process, the liver needs to be washed and squeezed of all the blood inside, then marinated with spices and boiled for several hours. At selling time, the staff will cut the liver into pieces just enough to put in the ingredient tray waiting to be served to diners.
Ngoc explained the price of VND100,000 for a bowl of noodle soup.
"Currently, on the market, the price of a bowl of hu tieuusually ranges from VND40,000 to VND60,000 ($1.50 to $2.30). However, at my restaurant, each bowl is served with a large piece of ribs, weighing about 300-400 grams, priced from VND40,000 to VND50,000 per piece," she said.
"This is not to mention the other ingredients used. With such a variety of ingredients, one bowl can be enough for two people to eat, and the price of the restaurant is reasonable in my opinion, not expensive at all."
The restaurant has two floors, serving 50-60 diners at a time. During lunchtime from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the restaurant is often crowded. And during peak hours, many customers have to wait for 20-30 minutes, leading some to leave due to long waiting times.
Travelling nearly 12 kilometers from My Dinh to the restaurant to enjoy noodle soup, Dao Manh Tuan (R, 2nd), 37, shared: "I was introduced to this place by a friend, so even though the distance is quite far, I still accepted to come here to enjoy the noodles. The food here has a slightly different flavor than what I ate in the south, but overall it suits my taste."
"I like the noodles as they are not too soft. The ribs are a bit tough and need to be simmered more tenderly. If the ribs are deboned and only meat remains, eating will be more convenient and will not take much effort to gnaw. I don't think the price is too high," said Ngo Thuy Lan in Dong Da District.
A portion of noodle soup, priced at VND100,000, includes a piece of ribs, two shrimp, two quail eggs, three pieces of liver, a little minced meat with chives, and a bowl of dipping sauce. Meanwhile, a bowl of dry noodle, priced at VND110,000, features the same toppings, plus peanuts, pork rinds, and dried onions.
The restaurant opens from 7 a.m., serving fixed dishes including banh mi, beef pho, and crab noodle soup. However, from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., diners can choose daily dishes.
Customers can park their cars in the adjacent alley for VND5,000 (20 cents) per vehicle.
