Khuong Thuong used to be a village on the outskirts of Hanoi, but now society has developed from a village into a bustling, crowded city. Ba Luong noodle shop opened in the 1970s, one of the first restaurants in Hanoi. The shop first opened in a small alley with only two motorbikes avoiding each other. Now it has moved closer to Truong Chinh street, opposite Khuong Thuong market.
Not only is it a familiar destination for people in the village, the banana snail vermicelli restaurant also attracts a large number of Chinese food lovers. The broth here is a bit thick because it contains powder from green bananas and tofu.
Every day, the owner often prepares a pot of snail broth, adding spices and ground tomatoes. A smaller pot next to it has stir-fried bananas and beans, cooked slightly.
It looks simple, but there are many steps involved in cooking this amazing dish. There are green bananas, peeled and chopped, soaked in salt water, snails from early morning, or freshly made turmeric beans that are still hot.
Mr. Tien, Ms. Luong's eldest son, shared: "In the morning, I have to get up at 4:30 a.m. to boil snails, until the snails arrive in time for guests to come eat at 6 a.m.." The snails you choose carefully must be fat, round, and chubby. Then, stir-fry onion and banana beans. Finally, prepare raw vegetables, banana flower perilla and eat with snail noodles."
While telling the story, Mr. Tien's hands still quickly made plump bowls of vermicelli. First, some tangy vermicelli, then scoop out the banana beans, snails and pour in the broth. Depending on the customer's taste, the restaurant can add beef, sausage or eat it with crispy fried dough, which is also very delicious. Finally, the maker doesn't forget to add fried onions and some chopped green onions.
The price of selling vermicelli here ranges from 45,000 to 55,000 VND. The restaurant is often crowded from early morning to noon, and in the evening there are often families or large groups of guests coming to eat the banana and tofu snail hotpot, which has a very unique taste here.
In addition to the specialties of snail vermicelli and banana and tofu snail hotpot, the restaurant also serves snail balls, snails wrapped in lolot leaves or the famous imitation spring rolls of Khuong Thuong village.
