Nestled in the old Giang Vo apartment complex (Giang Vo ward, Hanoi), Ms. Duong Thi An's sticky rice ice cream - Thai sweet soup shop has been regularly welcoming customers for more than four decades. With a menu of only three dishes but the flavor has almost not changed over time, the shop has become a familiar rendezvous for many generations of Hanoians as well as tourists.
The restaurant is located in Giang Vo apartment complex with a simple space, imbued with the imprint of time. Tables and chairs are neatly placed, airy, overlooking the bustling Kim Ma street.
In 1985, Ms. An brought the recipes of dishes from the land of the Golden Temple to Vietnam to make a living. Initially, the restaurant served many different types of sweet soup, but over time, the family only kept three dishes that made the brand: sticky rice ice cream, Thai sweet soup and cloud-rising cake.
The most attractive point of the restaurant is the sticky rice cream with the traditional flavor of Thailand. The sticky rice is made from fragrant, sticky sticky rice, creating a natural green color with pureed sticky rice leaves. The sticky rice seeds are soft but still retain their looseness, not mushy and not dry.
The vanilla ice cream has a moderately sweet taste, soft and smooth, without ice chips. When eaten with hot sticky rice and crispy dried coconut, diners can clearly feel the harmony between the chewy taste of sticky rice, the fatty taste of ice cream and the characteristic saltiness of coconut.
Even the accompanying coconut part is prepared by hand by her. Coconuts after being grated are washed, dried and marinated according to a special recipe. The work is quite elaborate, so the family only prepares just enough customers each day.
Besides sticky rice ice cream, Thai sweet soup is also a dish loved by many diners. Not using too many ingredients like many other places, the bowl of sweet soup only includes minced green beans, sago seeds, fresh coconut, coconut milk and traditional jelly. Sweet, lightly fatty taste creates a cool and easy-to-eat feeling.
In addition, the restaurant also serves "chín tầng mây" cake - a rustic cake priced at only 5,000 VND per piece.
Ms. Ha Anh, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, came to the restaurant after reading many introductions on social networks.
This is the first time I've eaten sticky rice ice cream and I'm really surprised. Sticky rice, fatty and fragrant vanilla ice cream combined with mildly salty dried coconut create a very harmonious flavor. Enjoying this dish in the cool weather of Hanoi is even more interesting," she said.
With a flavor preserved for many decades, affordable prices and the dedication of the shop owner, the sticky rice cream - Thai sweet soup shop still regularly welcomes customers every day. This is one of the long-standing culinary addresses imbued with Hanoi's imprint, passed down by many diners and tourists when they want to find the old flavor again.
