From carrying small goods
Although she has stopped selling for many years and transferred her "rest" to her son due to poor health, Mrs. Vu Thi Chien still clearly remembers her journey with tofu.
Her store opened in 1995, but it was not until 1998 that it became really crowded, and it has been nearly three decades since then. Initially, the tofu shop was just a small street vendor in the market.
The accident of bringing her to sell tofu was also a coincidence. After 28 years of working in Thai Nguyen, when goods were unsold, she was encouraged to retire early.
During her visits to Hanoi to visit her son - Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh (current owner of the restaurant), who was working as a driver for the Northern Bus Company at that time, she saw people selling tofu in high demand.
"That day, tofu was very cheap, only 500 VND per bowl. Hearing people encourage me to sell a lot, I started following the profession from that day on, she recalled.
From there, the street vendors' goods roamed everywhere from Cau Giay market to Lang Cot market. At first, the restaurant was deserted, but over time, thanks to its delicious taste, more and more customers came to enjoy it. Ms. Chien sells continuously from noon to afternoon.
After nearly 10 years of working as a tofu shoe, from the gate of Yen Hoa Ward Party Committee to all the alleys in the small market, Mrs. Chien finally chose a fixed selling location. To date, the tofu shop in the ancestral church has been in use for nearly 20 years, becoming a familiar place for generations of diners and students of Yen Hoa High School.
Three Decades - One Flavors
According to Ms. Chien, to have a special flavor that "attracts" long-time diners, it is not only the simplicity or familiarity of the restaurant, that dish is also the secret that she diligently preserves for the unforgettable flavor of each bowl of tofu.
Many people still say that cooking tofu is easy, but making it delicious is not simple. To have a soft, smooth bowl of tofu without holes or breakage, Ms. Chien shared that the soybean blending process must be thorough, smooth and even.
The biggest secret is probably the taste of sugar water. Unlike some shops, they use regular pre-mixed sugar water. The tofu flavor of Mrs. Chien's family has a very unique flavor thanks to the sugar water hand-cooked, marinated with fresh jasmine flowers.
Thanks to that, each bowl of tofu not only has a sweet taste but also occasionally retains a light aroma of jasmine, the gentle, delicate scent that has been preserved over many years, making diners remember it forever.
"When doing business, you have to be honest, maintain your reputation for customers to trust them. My family never uses chemical sugar, only uses white sand sugar, she shared.
Selling more than 200 liters of tofu a day
Yen Hoa tofu shop is located at 100 Nguyen Khang, located in the grounds of the ancestral church of a clan. Thanks to its convenient location, a day the restaurant is so crowded that it cannot be counted as a bowl, it has to be counted as a put in a put in a put, each put up to 20 liters, some days she sells more than a dozen put in a put.
On rainy days, there are fewer visitors, but overall there is always a lot of goods. In particular, this place is like a childhood gathering place for many generations of Yen Hoa high school students because of its delicious flavor and reasonable price.
"Selling must have a heart, be careful and clean," she said.
Perhaps because of her sincerity and "heart" in that profession, many generations of customers or students still love her very much, visit her closely and familiarly call her "bu".
Now that she has stopped selling, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh took over the " family fortune" from his mother, still diligently working every day to keep the avocado flavor here intact as a part of the memories of long-time diners and many generations of students.
Currently, when tofu shops "catch the trend" creating many new flavors to attract young people to visit, Mr. Tuan Anh never thought about changing or "modernizing" the dish.
He believes that the best flavor is the original flavor. It is this integrity that creates the true spirit of a dish and retains regular customers many times.
For him, this small shop is not only a regular tofu shop but also a place to preserve the youth of many generations of students at Yen Hoa High School, a familiar corner of many families here.
In particular, the restaurant's name is the pride that his family has been Persistently building over the past 30 years. Therefore, he always wants to continue to preserve and develop that valuable achievement.
A full bowl of tofu will cost 15,000 VND. Depending on each type of tofu, the price will range from 12,000 - 15,000 VND. An extremely affordable price and many options for diners to experience. In addition, the restaurant also sells some types of snacks such as fried foods and bim.
