This is a restaurant that has been passed down through 3 generations of Mr. Tran Vinh Thanh's family (46 years old) located next to Cho Lon Post Office (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City). With each bowl of noodle soup costing from 100,000 - 150,000 VND, or more depending on demand, customers still jokingly call this "rich people's noodle soup".
4 sisters sell together
It was a cool weekend morning in Ho Chi Minh City. I rode my motorbike to a familiar noodle shop near my house on Nguyen Thi Street (District 5). It was owned by Vinh Thanh's family.
Every morning, Thanh's family noodle shop is full of customers.
As always, as soon as I arrived, I immediately had to look at the old sign with the words “Hu Tieu Lam Hue Vien” written in a classic style. The shop opened at 6 o’clock. Customers came to eat regularly, one after another.
In the restaurant, the four Chinese brothers and sisters in Thanh’s family each had a job, making the fastest and most meticulous dishes of noodles, vermicelli, and rice noodles, etc., and bringing them to the tables so that no one had to wait long. The restaurant was bustling with laughter and conversation.
Thanh confided in me that his family restaurant has been passed down through three generations, from his grandparents. The restaurant was opened before 1975, and before that, it also sold many kinds of drinks in addition to the typical, traditional Chinese dishes.
Mr. Tran Vinh Thanh, Owner 
A full bowl of noodles costs 100,000 VND.
A bowl of noodles costs 150,000 VND.
The restaurant is known to many people for its high prices, the cheapest bowl is already 100,000 VND. Talking about this, Mrs. Tran Vinh Diep (58 years old), Mr. Thanh's sister and also the eldest sister in the family that runs the restaurant, said that this price is reasonable.
Accordingly, each bowl of mixed noodle soup will have kidney, heart, liver, shrimp balls, fish balls, shrimp, lean pork, and cobia fish for 100,000 VND. According to Ms. Diep, all the ingredients chosen by the restaurant are the freshest, "selected goods" processed according to the family's traditional recipe, the ingredients are all used on the same day... that's why they have this price.
“You get what you pay for,” when customers eat, they will feel that, and it is no coincidence that the restaurant has been supported by customers for generations, according to the owner.
Is it as good as rumored?
My favorite dish at this restaurant is the mixed noodle bowl, with the addition of cobia. For me, the taste of the noodle bowl here deserves a score of 9/10, worthy of the price. What impressed me most in the noodle bowl here is the fresh, crispy and sweet tiger prawn.
[CLIP]: 'Rich people's noodle soup' in Ho Chi Minh City for half a century, cheapest 100,000 VND/bowl: Customers love unique and strange dishes.
The owner prides himself on the freshness and quality of his ingredients.
Furthermore, the pork kidney is quite large, cut into checkered stripes, crispy when eaten without any unpleasant smell, proving that it is very skillfully prepared, although kidney is not an easy ingredient for me to eat. The combination of clear, sweet broth, delicious traditional noodles and the above fresh ingredients is the reason why I am a "regular customer" of the restaurant.
Mr. Hua Thanh (46 years old, living in District 11) said that he and his family have been regular customers of the restaurant for decades, he has been eating here since he was young. Because he likes the taste of the noodles here, he comes here at least once or twice a week, usually on weekends.
“Every time my mother visits me, she asks me to buy noodles here. She likes to eat them. Today, I went to buy some for the two of us to have breakfast together. The shop is closed from 6am to 1pm, so I took advantage of the opportunity,” he said, then brought two portions of mixed noodles home.
4 sisters in Thanh's family.
Ms. Nhu Le (28 years old, living in Thu Duc City) said that she accidentally visited the restaurant 3 years ago, when she had work to do at Cho Lon Post Office, and immediately liked the food here.
Since then, every time she has a chance to go to District 5, she stops by to support the restaurant. The customer said that what she likes most is the combination of cobia fish in the noodle soup, something she has not seen in other restaurants she has been to. That is also one of the reasons she is especially impressed with this restaurant.
Through many ups and downs, the restaurant is still there in Cho Lon area, every day still bringing meals with recipes passed down through many generations in the Chinese family to customers.
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