Sometimes, just a bowl of hot duck porridge and a tray of Phuong Lang wet cakes are what many Quang Tri people wish to have on the last afternoons of the year, to feel a little familiar in this urban place…
In Saigon, there is no shortage of restaurants selling regional specialties such as Quang Tri dishes, Hue dishes, Hanoi dishes… However, there is a rather coincidental truth that after a few busy times of eagerness to go out to eat, I withdrew myself. give yourself a truth: “Except for the fact that the restaurant owner puts up a big sign with equally big words as if he wants to “solemnly declare” that the food here is “authentic”… Everything else is typical of Saigon, including the flavor of the food.”
Bringing raw materials over 1112km by plane every day
Ca Men Restaurant is located in the house number 3 Hoa Cau (Ward 7, Phu Nhuan District). The restaurant space is only 15 square meters with five sets of bamboo tables and chairs, arranged in two rows along the wall, leaving a path in the middle. We chose a table in the corner and ordered all four dishes on the menu, including: Phuong Lang wet cake, noodles with fish sauce, duck powder porridge and filter cake.
“That’s right, only Phuong Lang wet cake has the smell of rice like rice,” said the “Quang Tri thick” friend that I brought along to check the deliciousness, looking excited after tasting the dish.
Seeing that, a diner sitting at the next table turned and said: “I’m also from Quang Tri. I’ve gone to many restaurants that sell Quang Tri dishes but they’re not delicious. Only here is the true taste of the countryside. I eat a lot so I have become a regular customer. Try the duck powder porridge, it’s no different than eating it.”
The duck powder porridge of the Quang Tri people is similar to the noodle soup in the South, but does not have a variety of side dishes such as crab, shrimp, crab… but is only eaten with duck meat that is marinated and lightly fried. The “fire soil” duck powder porridge has moderate chewiness, clear broth, and is always eaten with lots of thinly sliced green onions and onions.
However, if you want to fully enjoy the delicious taste of this dish, you must have a bowl of country fish sauce filtered at home by the people of Quang Tri. Scoop up a spoonful of hot porridge and eat a piece of duck meat dipped in spicy chili fish sauce to see all the richness and sublimity of Central cuisine.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Nhat Thuan (27 years old, owner) said: “I imported all the ingredients here from the countryside. Fresh ingredients such as duck meat, pork, onions, bean sprouts… I import every day by air. As for fish sauce, seasoning sauce, garlic, and peanuts, they will be delivered by car.”
Seeming to know what we were wondering, he continued: “Importing goods every day like this actually has many limitations, such as shipping costs… But for me, once I sell the item Wherever specialties are, they must be made from ingredients from that place. Only then, when eating, people can feel all the deliciousness and love of the countryside. Cooking the right recipe is one thing, but if the ingredients are not from the right source, the dish will be a complete failure.”
According to Mr. Thuan, every day the shop will receive ingredients at around 6 – 7 am and start processing until around 10 am and then divide them into three branches in different districts. His shop is open from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., but is always sold out very early because of the extremely large number of customers visiting the restaurant.
And surely many people will be extremely surprised to learn that the story behind the success of this 9X boss comes from a… coffee shop.
The journey to bring Ca Men from the countryside to the city
Nhat Thuan is the youngest son in a poor farming family in Hai Lang district (Quang Tri province). During their childhood years, the Thuan brothers, outside of school, took turns going to the fields to help their parents with odd jobs.
Besides the delicious taste, the Banh Duc shop on Phan Dang Luu Street also attracts Saigon people because of the owner’s domineering sales motto: ‘Customers are not gods, gods are gods’. This restaurant is special because of 3 things: No name, no talking and no customers!
“Back then, my family was poor, I didn’t have money to eat out like my friends, so I always cooked rice at home and put it in coffee and brought it to school to eat. Many times when I came home from school and saw them eating this or that dish, I craved it but tried to hold back and quickly ran home to eat cold rice to quench my hunger,” Thuan recalled.
Maybe that’s why, in a class in 5th grade, when the teacher asked the class: “What is your dream?”, Thuan boldly said: “I wish my whole family could eat food from a restaurant once.” ”, instead of wishing for many beautiful toys or new clothes like other friends.
Time passed quickly, in 2009, Thuan passed the entrance exam at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and prepared for the days of studying away from home. Perhaps it was the turmoil of starting a new life in a strange land that helped open up opportunities for Thuan to find his own path.
“The most scary thing about going to school is the last few days of the month, my friends are competing to go back to their hometowns, but I don’t have any money so I stay and work part-time here and there. Many times I miss home so much that I only dare to call my parents to say a few words and then turn off the phone, afraid that after talking too long, my mother will cry,” the 9X boy confided.
Clicking his tongue, he continued: “When I was a kid, I wished I could eat at a restaurant, but now I just want to eat my mother’s cooking. Cold rice dipped in fish sauce is delicious.” So Thuan came up with a way to “cook rice and eat it in coffee” to avoid missing home.
Graduating from university in 2015, Nhat Thuan was accepted to work for an import-export company with a starting salary of nearly 10,000,000 VND/month. However, the plan to open a restaurant specializing in selling Quang Tri dishes to people far from home like him was always smoldering in his heart.
