On the morning of February 26 (ie, the 10th day of the first lunar month), although Ho Chi Minh City had light rain in the early morning, the atmosphere in the snakehead fish-grilled capital on Tan Ky - Tan Quy street was still bustling. Crowds braved the rain to flock to buy offerings for good luck, causing this street to experience localized congestion at many times.
At large stores, employees are working almost non-stop. At Trung grilled snakehead fish restaurant, the urgent working atmosphere started a day earlier to promptly "launch goods" to serve customers.
Mr. Le Duc Duong, representative of Trung fish shop, while packaging fish for customers, shared: "This year, the shop imported about 2,000 snakehead fish. To keep up with the schedule, employees started cleaning and grilling from 6 am on February 25 (ie, the 9th day of the first lunar month). The charcoal stoves are always on hot fire, employees have to take turns grilling fish continuously to serve a large number of orders on today's main festival day".
Regarding the price, Mr. Duong said that this year's fish price is basically stable. Each fish is sold for 120,000 - 200,000 VND. This price includes all raw vegetables, vermicelli, rice paper and dipping sauce to eat with.
In harmony with the busy atmosphere of the whole street, Ms. Ngoc Cuc (owner of Cuc Bui snakehead fish shop) is also excited to welcome each visitor in and out. "It's just a little rain to cool down, but there are still many customers. Every year, people still maintain the custom of offering very thoughtfully. We sell very well, some regular customers trust us and order 10-15 fish at once to bring home for worship and gifts," Ms. Cuc said.
Besides grilled snakehead fish, accompanying items such as giant river prawns, roasted pork... along both sides of the road are also bustling with buyers. The image of people patiently waiting to buy a satisfactory set of offerings has become a cultural beauty, expressing the wish for a prosperous and wealthy new year of city residents.
