Beside the intersection of Nguyen Tri Phuong and Tran Phu in District 5, a small wooden cart sits on the sidewalk in front of a noodle shop at 451 Tran Phu. The cart entices passersby with an array of sweet treats.
Every night, the cart sees a steady stream of customers. People generally buy one or two packages of sticky rice alongside several types of cakes.
This snack shop is a favorite among the Chinese community in Chinatown (known as “Cholon,” a section of the city’s southwestern District 5), and consistently ranks high on recommendation lists made by Saigon street food online groups.
Hue Trung said his restaurant has no official name but has been well-known to Ho Chi Minh City residents, especially the Chinese community, for decades. He and his siblings have been making and selling sticky rice and cakes since they were young. For 60 years, their cart has persistently remained in one location.
Every morning, Trung and his family prepare ingredients at their home on An Binh Street, nearly two kilometers away. By 9 a.m., they're cooking sticky rice and making cakes. Around 5:30 p.m., the work continues as they push the cart to their point of sale.
The offerings draw such crowds that lines of customers sometimes cause traffic congestion. To keep up with demand, the family often requires three or four members to be selling at the cart, while others back home continue preparing fresh food. The shop remains open until around 11 p.m.
The most popular item is sticky rice with ca de, or coconut curd. The sticky rice’s smooth and fragrant grains are kept hot. The ca de is smooth, with the rich taste of eggs, milk, and coconut. And it’s not overly sweet.
This treat is perfect for breakfast, but this cart mainly serves it as a nighttime dessert or a satisfying snack. While many shops in Ho Chi Minh City offer similar options, Kieu, a local from District 5, has remained loyal to this particular cart for years. For Kieu, the ca de here hits the spot: it's moderately sweet, exactly to her taste, and always presented with cleanliness in mind.
Photo by Trang Han
Sticky rice, cooked in a large aluminum pot, is scooped and compressed onto a banana leaf. A thin layer of coconut milk adds richness, followed by a teaspoon of the ca de filling. The seller then wraps it all up, securing the pyramid-shaped package with a toothpick.
In a single daily session, the cart sells over 10 kilograms of sticky rice transformed into these treats.
Han, a customer who travels all the way across town from Binh Thanh District, can't resist going back for seconds of this sticky rice. Even Hieu, a District 1 resident accustomed to a wider variety of street food, finds himself drawn to the unique flavor. While the VND20,000 (80 cents) price tag might seem high for a single serving, the “addictive taste,” as he describes it, makes it well worth it.
Compared to many other places, the shop's ca de is smoother. The dish’s mixture of eggs, milk, sugar, and coconut milk is steamed for about 15 minutes.
Ca de is transliterated from 'kaya' - the name of the sauce in the local Malay language. In Cantonese, this word also means adding coconut.
Ca de arrived in Vietnam with Chinese immigrants. It quickly found particular favor in the southern region, especially Ho Chi Minh City's Chinatown (Districts 5, 6, 8, and 11).
There, sweet tooths rejoice in its versatility, enjoying it not only as a dip for bread and steamed buns, but also as a filling for banh bo - steamed rice cakes.
Ca de is steamed in a large tray and then cut into small pieces. In addition to being served with sticky rice, it is also sold individually.
Besides the sticky rice, Hue Trung's cart sells nine types of cakes and jelly as desserts. The cassava cake is golden and rich in flavor, infused with the crunch of coconut meat.
The steamed layer cake banh da lon is visually appealing, with a chewy, thick crust. It is made of mung beans.
To make smooth, sweet mung bean cake, the shop owner goes through many stages: soaking the beans at night, then peeling, steaming, and rolling them until smooth.
Longan jelly, featuring longan fruit, is another popular choice here. In traditional Chinese medicine, longan is believed to have calming and warming properties, benefiting the mind and spleen, aiding digestion, and promoting circulation.
Water chestnut jelly offers a crunch and is said to be good for digestion. Yellow egg jelly boasts a vibrant color but has a subtle flavor.
The shop also offers cocoa jelly, coconut jelly, and green tea jelly. All cakes and jellies are made fresh daily, selling for VND6,000 (24 cents) per piece.
The family keeps making the sticky rice to meet the constant stream of customers. Video by VnExpress/Phong Kieu
