Customers line up to eat “independent” noodle soup

It was past 9am, and although it was already time for people to go to work or school, this unpopular nameless noodle shop was still packed with customers. Some people sat down to eat, while others parked their motorcycles to buy takeout. Everyone waited patiently for their turn.

In the alley in the middle of the Zifa Market on Chenyouzhuang Street in Furun District, such scenes are common these days. Since Auntie Ba’s restaurant became famous on the Internet, the originally crowded street corner has become more lively.

This simple shop consists of a few aluminum tables close to the wall of the old building. The tables are filled with enough satay, chili sauce, fish sauce, fresh chili, lemon…; small cups are provided for diners to brew themselves, and free iced tea is provided for diners to enjoy by themselves.

From the outside, Ba Yi’s noodle shop looks no different from the thousands of street food shops out there. What is particularly curious is the way the restaurant owner serves customers.

Diners no longer order food at the table, but stand on the street and call upstairs (on the second floor) to tell Auntie Ba how many portions, what dishes, dry or liquid. Each portion of food is placed in a rectangular box and delivered along the alley via wires.

Whoever’s turn it is, that person will eat by themselves and put the correct amount of money in the box. If you don’t have cash, you can scan the QR code posted on the wall to pay for your meal. The shop owner didn’t check the money, so why did the customer believe it when he said it was a quid?

Explaining this strange way of selling, Auntie Ba said that she opened the store in the early 2000s and had been operating normally like any other store for many years. Due to the pandemic, she was unable to sell, but many people asked to buy. So she came up with a solution to send food to everyone. This is also how she bought food during the Covid-19 period. This sales method has been maintained by her until now.

Aunt Ba sells noodles, pasta, pasta, and banh canh for 30,000 VND. Each portion is full of bread, fragrant and fragrant with the aroma of fried onions. Aunt Ba does not serve shrimp, pho, pork liver, minced meat and many other things like other restaurants, but only uses lean pork. The soup is made from pork bones without adding soup powder, and the taste is sweet and pleasant.

The restaurant’s most popular dish is the dry mee. The noodles and numbing noodles are cooked to perfection, springy but not chewy, drizzled with soy sauce and overflowing with spicy satay flavor.

Aunt Ba claims that her noodles and taste for noodles are inherited and true to the Cha Rong style. From the age of 8 to 9, she worked in her father’s noodle shop. After living in the city for many years, she opened a restaurant with the taste of her childhood memories. She also imports noodles from her hometown every week.

Bone soup is a favorite side dish among diners.

Since the day the restaurant’s image was commented on online, Auntie Ba has been laughing non-stop and the restaurant has become more crowded. Many curious people come to try her food and ask her about her situation. “Let’s say I sold 10 bowls before, but now I sell 70 bowls,” she said.

In order to sell from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, Auntie Ba starts working at 4:00 am every day. On crowded days, her goods are sold out by early afternoon. There is only one son in the small shop to help her clean up. Many neighbors enthusiastically guide customers to where to park and sit down to eat.

The 72-year-old lady has a bright voice and speaks enthusiastically. She likes to call her guests “dear”, while many guests of Generation Z affectionately call her “grandma”. For more than ten years, she is proud to have many loyal customers.