The bun cha (grilled pork with vermicelli noodles) eatery at 38 Mai Hac De Street opens from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The shop is run by Tran Duc Linh, 32, who inherited the family business from his grandmother, who started it in 1986.
Linh and his wife work at the shop along with a few staff members who help with serving and parking. The shop is easy to spot from the street and it bustles every afternoon, especially on weekends. Customers can dine in or take away their orders.
The preparation of ingredients must be done early in the morning. Starting at 5 a.m., Linh's staff divides the tasks of washing vegetables, marinating meat and preparing other ingredients.
For takeout orders, meals are packed in advance and the staff only need to add sauce and grilled meat when customers place their orders. This helps speed up service and reduce the wait time for customers.
The open kitchen is at the front of the store, where customers can watch the food being prepared. They can see the steaming pot of dipping sauce, the spring rolls being fried and meat sizzling on the grill non-stop. The restaurant has about 10 staff who cook and serve the food quickly.
The meat is grilled at 8 a.m. and then one more time before the store opens. It is seasoned with lemongrass, garlic and caramelized sauce. The pork is tender and moist.
The crab spring rolls are fried lightly and then refried when ordered. They are crispy and golden, and drained of excess oil before serving. "The eatery only sold meatballs and grilled meat before. I added betel leaf wrapped pork to the menu when I took over the store, so customers have more choices," Linh said.
The bun cha dipping sauce is made with mineral water, fish sauce, sugar, spices and caramelized sauce, which gives it its nice brown color. It is not too salty and is both sweet and sour.
The eatery is quite small, with one floor and a mezzanine. It can seat up to 50 guests at a time. Most of the customers are regulars.
Linh said he quit his job as a civil servant in 2020 to continue his grandmother's legacy. "The shop has a long history since my grandmother's time. It was handed down to my father and now to me. For over 30 years, we have kept the bun cha flavor the same as when my grandmother first made it," he said.
A bun cha serving with "everything" includes meatballs, minced pork wrapped in betel leaves, and grilled meat for VND55,000 ($2.34). You can order a serving without the betel leaf rolls for VND40,000 ($1.70). Extra grilled meat or spring rolls cost VND20,000 (85 cents) and VND10,000 (43 cents) each.
"My dream is to grow the store and attract more customers, so I can honor the legacy of my grandma and my father, who devoted their lives to this work," Linh said.
