A pot of fragrant broth and spicy flavor of chicken noodle soup in a small alley of Phu Binh residential area

On Sunday mornings, the small alley of Phu Binh Residence, Lac Long Quan Street, Binh Thoi Ward, Ho Chi Minh City is bustling with people coming and going. This area is a familiar address for diners who love the typical Chinese dish of chicken noodles.

Dry chicken noodle soup - Photo: HOANG LE

Among them, Ms. Long's chicken noodle shop at the end of the alley is one of the oldest: 35 years.

Long is her husband's name. Her name is Nhat Linh, now 65 years old. She shared: "The shop has been around for 35 years, counting from the time she started selling. Before that, her mother-in-law started selling chicken noodles, but she doesn't know when because she wasn't a daughter-in-law yet."

Spicy and healthy chicken noodle soup

Chicken noodle soup is a typical Chinese dish. Instead of using salt and pepper as usual, Chinese people dip chicken in the water of the ginger root - a spicy root - mixed with soy sauce, lemon, chili, sugar... depending on taste.

Miss Long's Chicken Noodles has been in business for 35 years - Clip: HOANG LE

Chicken pieces dipped in the Xa Ken sauce are more delicious and good for health. Some customers even add a little Xa Ken to their bowl of noodles, vermicelli, pho… to enhance the flavor of the broth. Ms. Linh buys Xa Ken from Dong Nai , washes it, and grinds it as needed.

And of course, besides that special dipping sauce, the quality of the chicken and the flavor of the broth determine the success of the xa ken noodles.

The chicken is boiled just right, the meat is tender, the skin is golden yellow, take a bite and you can feel the characteristic aroma of the meat, mixed with the scent of herbs in the carefully cooked broth. This is the secret of each restaurant. Chicken noodle soup is served with bean sprouts and chives.

She said that to have a delicious bowl of Xa Ken noodles, the chicken must be firm and fragrant. The restaurant does not cook at night but cooks early in the morning to make the dish fresh and delicious. She and her husband get up at 3am to go to the restaurant, cook the broth, boil the chicken, and prepare the tables and chairs. The restaurant opens at 6am and closes at 11am.

The restaurant also doesn't have a menu with dishes and prices. "When I renovated the restaurant, I also got rid of the menu. The customers are all acquaintances. They know all the dishes and prices so it's not necessary anymore," she said.

A normal bowl of chicken noodle soup here costs 45,000 VND. If you like more meat, it costs 75,000 VND/portion, with double the chicken and placed separately in another bowl. Customers do not know how to mix the dipping sauce, the staff will help, happily instructing: "Stir the sauce vigorously and wait a bit for the flavor to come out."

The term “staff” is for variety, but in reality they are all the couple’s daughters, sons, and daughters-in-law. The warmth and happiness of the family members is also a plus for the restaurant to exist and develop to this day.

Trade in groups

"Buy with friends, sell with partners" is one of the communal sayings in Chinese business activities.

Starting from one or two shops, now the small alley of Phu Binh residential area, Binh Thoi ward (old district 11) Ho Chi Minh City has nearly a dozen more chicken noodle shops for customers to choose from. Depending on taste and preference, some people like this shop, others like that shop.

Ms. Linh said, the more shops open, the greater the competition. Therefore, quality must be guaranteed to retain customers.

There are people from District 1 (old) who do not mind the long distance to come to the restaurant to enjoy the chicken noodle soup and they have been loyal customers for decades. What makes her happy in the decades of running the restaurant is that the typical Chinese dish has now become widely available to many people and her family life is also stable.

"Only my family continues the chicken noodle shop that my husband's family built. The whole family is involved in this shop, thanks to it, my husband and I have enough money to support our children. Now that I'm old, I'm preparing to pass it on to my children so I can rest," she shared with a smile, her hands still nimbly chopping chicken and scooping broth into bowls for the last customers before closing the shop.

The owner, Ms. Hong, is always scooping broth into bowls for customers - Photo: HOANG LE

Chicken noodle dish costs 75,000 VND - HOANG LE

Xá khen is also known as địa liên or thien liên, tam nai, son nai, sa khuong, a root of the ginger family, widely used in traditional medicine to treat health problems.

Chinese yam is good for health - Photo: HOANG LE

The root of the plant is warm and spicy, used to treat symptoms such as cold stomach, stomach ache, indigestion and problems related to the digestive system.

It also cures bone and joint pain and restores bone health, cures toothache and reduces inflammation effectively, is anti-inflammatory and reduces swelling, relieves pain...

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HOANG LE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/noi-nuoc-leo-thom-va-huong-vi-cay-nong-mi-ga-xa-ken-trong-hem-nho-cu-xa-phu-binh-20250916110041488.htm