Chicken curry noodle shop is so popular that the owner is afraid she will win the lottery and have to stop selling.

In the heart of bustling Saigon, where eateries spring up and disappear like white-capped waves on the river, there is a chicken curry noodle shop that has existed for nearly two decades.

Golden bowl of chicken curry noodles - Photo: THUONG KHAI

Ms. Lan's chicken curry noodle shop is located in alley 565/44 Nguyen Trai, Ward 7, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City. For the past 19 years, Ms. Lan has been diligently working with the chicken curry pot, silently attracting many people with its rich, familiar flavor.

Chicken Curry Noodles 19 Years

Aunt Lan is 74 years old this year. Her life has been spent as a street vendor, working day and night to make a living. When she was young, she sold three-color sweet soup in Can Tho , then she followed her husband to Ho Chi Minh City to start a business in 1980.

This small Western woman has tried all kinds of jobs, from vermicelli with crab, vermicelli with fish sauce to vermicelli with Thai.

In the end, Aunt Lan chose to stick with chicken curry noodle soup because she found this dish special and very few people could cook it well.

Co Lan's simple chicken curry noodle shop - Photo: THUONG KHAI

The restaurant opens from 11am to 10pm every day. All the preparation, cooking, and serving are done by Aunt Lan. Each bowl of noodles costs about 50,000 VND.

Aunt Lan's chicken curry has a strong Western flavor, but the strange thing is that although it is rich and fatty, it is not greasy or heavy like some other curries. The secret lies in the way she cooks and seasonings.

“I cook with pure coconut milk, no fat, no added sugar or spices, which helps the curry retain its natural sweetness.

I create the curry yellow color from turmeric and cashew nuts. The chicken is not stewed in the curry pot all the time but kept separately, only reheated when customers order to ensure that each piece of meat remains soft and firm without being mushy, keeping all the sweetness intact" - Aunt Lan shared.

Golden chicken curry, always boiled to keep hot - Photo: THUONG KHAI

The bowl of bun bung was served piping hot, golden with a smooth, moderately thick broth, with a fragrant aroma of lemongrass, cinnamon and curry leaves. The chicken pieces were cut into bite-sized pieces, not dry, the chicken skin was crispy and fatty.

Chicken curry is served with raw vegetables such as bean sprouts, shredded banana flower, basil... and chicken dipping salt. Squeeze some fresh lemon, add some chili, then sip a spoonful of curry sauce, it feels rich but not greasy, rich but not harsh.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre Online , Mr. Phong (42 years old) - a regular customer at the restaurant said: "I live in District 7, every week, on free days, I drive my wife to Aunt Lan's restaurant just to have a bowl of curry noodles and then go home."

Aunt Lan is making chicken curry noodles for customers - Video : THUONG KHAI

'Sell until you run out of breath'

Aunt Lan cooks with passion, with memories of years of wandering around the countryside markets, learning how to cook from real-life experiences, not through any school.

“I cook based on my own taste and seasoning, not following trends or adjusting to the majority. Luckily, customers who come here all like it,” she said with a gentle smile.

Saigon is an open city, people from all over flock here and the taste has to change with the times. But Aunt Lan doesn’t. She believes that if the food is delicious, people will naturally come to visit.

Even though she is old, aunt Lan still has not thought about retiring.

Aunt Lan diligently sells at the age of 74 - Photo: THUONG KHAI

“Now that I am old, my bones and joints are aching. I just hope I have enough health to continue selling. My grandchildren are still young, and their parents are factory workers with low wages. I do business to help feed my children and grandchildren.

Both paternal and maternal grandparents are my grandchildren, I love them all equally, I can’t stop selling. Earn a little extra money, so if my children encounter difficulties, they will have someone to rely on. My friends are now reunited with their children and grandchildren abroad, enjoying life, I am the only one left here.

But I feel happy because every night after work, my children and grandchildren gather around to ask me how I am. One spreads blankets and pillows, another rubs oil on my arms and legs... Just that alone is enough to make me feel warm and comforted" - Aunt Lan confided.

She said that all the guests who came to eat loved her very much. She remembered the Vietnamese expatriate who flew back from the US every year and stopped by to eat. There was also a student from Long Xuyen who always craved a bowl of hot chicken curry before going home.

“Sometimes I joke with customers, saying that if I win the lottery, I will stop selling because I am too tired. But many people laugh and say: 'Auntie Lan, don't win the lottery. If you stop selling, who will cook chicken curry for us?'

Hearing that, I also laughed and replied: "Even if I won the lottery, I would still sell, I would not stop! I would sell until I ran out of breath."

Amidst an ever-changing Saigon, Aunt Lan's chicken curry noodle shop remains as steadfast as she herself - honest, dedicated and full of warmth.

And perhaps, as long as her hands are still strong enough to stir the fragrant curry pot, as long as there are still guests coming to eat and there are still familiar greetings, Aunt Lan will still diligently stand in the kitchen, diligently scooping each bowl of noodles, feeding her small family with the flavors of her homeland.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/quan-bun-ca-ri-ga-khach-me-den-muc-chi-so-ba-chu-trung-so-ma-nghi-ban-20250221002623244.htm