Located at 9 Hang Chieu Street, Phuong Beo wonton noodles shop opens from morning until night every day.
When it first opened 20 years ago the shop served Saigon-style wonton noodles, a dish with Chinese origins. But the flavors did not suit local palates, and after the recipe was changed to a Hanoi-style version, the shop became a favorite in the Old Quarter.
Today customers can dine at three locations: 5 and 7 Hang Ma Street, and 9 Hang Chieu Street. The Hang Chieu branch mainly serves as the kitchen and preparation area. All the branches are packed during lunch and dinner hours.
Le My Phuong, 56, is from Ho Chi Minh City and from a family with a tradition of noodle-making. The craft is passed down through the eldest son of the family. But since many family members had settled abroad, her husband learned it from his grandfather instead.
According to Phuong, Saigon-style and Hanoi-style wonton noodles share many similarities in technique. Nevertheless, she and her husband continue to research and refine the recipe to better suit northern tastes.
"Flavor is our top priority when adapting our family dishes so that customers in the north can enjoy them," Phuong says.
The menu features seven main dishes, though most customers opt for wonton noodles either dry or in a broth. A bowl costs an average of VND50,000 (US$1.90).
Phuong says the Hanoi-style broth is light while the Saigonese version is sweeter and made with ground dried fish. That sweetness, sometimes combined with herbal flavors, tends to be less appealing to Hanoi palates.
At the Hang Chieu branch, trays of ingredients are constantly refilled to meet demand. Phuong says no food is kept overnight to ensure freshness.
Every aspect of preparation, from marinating and cooking to assembling each bowl, is handled by Phuong, her husband or their children. Staff members are responsible only for selling and serving customers.
Over the years many people have approached the family to learn the recipe, but they refuse to share the family secret.
"For people of Chinese descent, this is a trade you live by and take to your grave," Phuong explains.
Phuong sleeps for only around five hours a day, spending most of her time preparing ingredients. At dawn she begins processing shrimp and char siu pork as soon as supplies arrive.
While the noodles are supplied by relatives, other ingredients like broth and chili pepper sauce are made in-house. Phuong is always at the restaurant to oversee the cooking.
Each day the restaurant uses around 100 kilograms of pork bones, one kilogram of sa sung (peanut worms), and more than 10 kilograms of shrimp to prepare its broth. Shrimp shells are also used to enhance the sweetness.
Despite the thronging crowds, the waiting time is just five to 10 minutes since there are 10 workers per shift.
The shop serves soft fried dough sticks alongside its soups. Customers often remark that the broth is light and sweet, enabling them to finish it to the last drop.
Both the dry and broth versions of the noodles feature similar toppings like char siu pork, shrimp, dumplings, quail eggs, and vegetables.
"VND50,000 for a bowl of noodles like this in the Old Quarter is reasonable," Hoang Minh, a Hanoian, says.
Nguyen Thi Nhu (L) and Le Thi Thanh, after making their first ever visit to the restaurant, returned the very next day. Nhu says the broth is the reason for the dish's appeal.
