Popular thanks to catching the "eye" of Michelin
In the small alley leading to the apartment complex on Lang Ha street, the bustling sounds temporarily subsided. The space became much cooler, immersed in the special aroma from the "homemade" rice shop.
Mr. Le Minh Tung (35 years old), the shop owner, said that the shop opened in 2020, right after the first COVID-19 epidemic ended.
Before that, he worked in the field of journalism - media, without experience or coming from the food service industry. The idea of turning direction originated from the time he was at home taking care of and cooking weaning food for his children during the epidemic season.
The restaurant is located on the first floor of an old apartment building, built in 1994. I chose this location because of the simple, cozy space, reminiscent of family meals of many generations of Vietnamese people," Mr. Tung shared.
At the time of opening, the initial business also encountered difficulties. The restaurant mainly welcomes Vietnamese customers and a small number of diners from Korea and Japan.
After being named in the Michelin list, the number of customers coming to the restaurant has increased significantly. Among them, tourists from Europe and America account for about 15%. The stable restaurant helps me focus more on improving the quality of food and service," Mr. Tung said.
Mr. Tung's shop serves two hours a day, lunch from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM, and dinner from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM.
The restaurant's menu changes seasonally, with protein dishes, vegetable dishes and side dishes. Most of them are familiar dishes in the Northern rice tray such as stuffed tofu, spring rolls with betel leaves, stir-fried water spinach, boiled pork legs, roasted peanuts, pickled vegetables...
As a "loyal customer" at the restaurant, Ms. Hanh (42 years old, office worker) often invites friends and colleagues to lunch.
The food here is delicious, with a flavor similar to my mother's cooked rice. I am also quite easy-going, so every dish is pleasing to my taste, but the most impressive are still fish soup, hot banh duc and pineapple ginseng tea," she shared.
Not only retaining regular customers, the restaurant also impresses first-time visitors. While looking for a lunch restaurant near Lang Ha area, Mr. Nguyen Long (26 years old) accidentally saw a restaurant suggested on Google Maps and decided to stop by.
Before that, he did not know that the restaurant had been honored by the Michelin Guide many times.
After enjoying a serving of rice with scallion-soaked beans and boiled vegetables, Mr. Long commented: "The food is palatable, the seasoning is light. The meal is full, the price is more than 100,000 VND but I think it is completely worth it.
Seasonal" meal
To maintain the quality of the dishes, Mr. Tung's restaurant chooses a "natural" cooking method, prioritizing seasonal ingredients and limiting industrial seasoning.
In the menu, boiled pork legs are the most popular dish. According to Mr. Tung, meat is imported daily from a farm in Phu Tho. Because it is only taken from one source, the amount of delicious pork legs is quite limited and usually runs out early.
Ms. Do Thi Tuyen (60 years old), the main chef of the restaurant, said that the meat is used up during the day, not preserved overnight to maintain freshness. The pork legs when brought home will be cleaned, rubbed with salt to deodorize and then boiled with dried shallots.
After boiling, pork legs are immediately soaked in cold ice water for about 30 minutes to firm the meat. Then, we wrap it tightly with food wrap to shape it, and then put it in the refrigerated compartment to stabilize the meat's texture before slicing," she shared.
When eaten, the meat has firmness, crispy skin, soft, sweet lean meat and is not dry. In addition, the dish is served with sour shrimp dipping sauce from Hue, which has been mixed with filtered water, lemon and sugar to suit the taste of Northern people.
Garlic stir-fried water spinach is one of the vegetable dishes chosen by many diners. Mr. Tung said that the restaurant uses 100% organic ingredients, taken from stable sources to ensure quality and flavor.
Vegetables are stir-fried over high heat, so they are still green, crispy and sweet. Small bulbs of garlic are peeled by hand daily, ground finely and then fried to create a fragrant aroma.
Besides the main dishes, pickled eggplant and pickled mustard greens are also two indispensable side dishes in every meal.
Eggplant after harvest must be soaked in salt water for 3-5 hours to remove seeds, resin and solanine that causes bitterness. Then salt is brought from the previous afternoon to ferment just enough for 24 hours. Depending on the season, the shop uses white or green eggplant," the shop owner shared.
With an area of about 70m2, the restaurant can serve a maximum of about 50 diners at the same time. The most crowded is at noon from Tuesday to Friday, mainly office workers. About 30-40% of customers book tables in advance, especially on peak days.
