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When talking about places to experience Chinese culinary culture, Ho Chi Minh City cannot be overlooked. Traditional Chinese dishes include: noodle soup (hu tieu), shumai, noodles, sweet soups (che), braised offal (pha lau), dumplings (sui gao), and especially the diverse selection of dim sum.
Located at 322 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, this authentic Chinese dim sum restaurant, which has been around for nearly 90 years, consistently attracts diners. It offers over ten different dishes, providing a variety of culinary experiences, including: dry siu mai, dumplings, chicken feet, large custard buns, wontons, sticky rice cakes, and more.
My first visit to the shop was around lunchtime, and I quickly ordered a portion of crab and mushroom shumai. The owner even showed me how to make the dipping sauce deliciously. With the first bite, I could feel the soft texture of the wrapper combined with the rich, sweet, and fragrant crab and mushroom filling. As I slowly savored the dim sum, I appreciated the deliciousness even more. I vowed to visit the shop many more times to try all the other dim sum dishes.
Located at 322 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, this authentic Chinese breakfast restaurant, which has been in business for nearly 90 years, consistently attracts customers.
Here, diners can enjoy more than ten diverse and delicious breakfast dishes.
Visiting the shop just as it was closing was fortunate enough to give me the opportunity to chat and listen to the owner's stories. Mr. Hoa, the owner of Tan Sinh Hoat shop, shared: "The shop has been in business for 87 years, founded by my uncle. He was a Chinese immigrant to Vietnam in 1930, and the shop opened in 1937 at this very location. It has been passed down through five generations, from my uncle to his eldest son, then to his youngest son. His youngest son went to Australia, so he passed the shop on to me, and now I'm passing the business on to my son. Previously, the shop was called a 'drink shop' because it always sold breakfast items like dumplings, shumai, steamed buns, coffee, soft drinks, and pastries. Later, we added rice noodles and regular noodles because customers who only ate breakfast items wouldn't be full."
Here, diners can enjoy more than ten diverse and delicious breakfast dishes.
Uncle Hoa shared that to maintain the flavor for nearly 90 years, the first thing is to pay attention to the food source. All ingredients must be fresh, authentic, and sourced from reputable suppliers and trusted suppliers. According to Uncle Hoa, buying individual ingredients from outside sources makes it difficult to verify quality. Secondly, all dishes are prepared on-site, not purchased from other sources and resold to customers, thus ensuring quality and freshness.
Around afternoon, everyone prepares the ingredients together because the shop opens early in the morning and offers a wide variety of dishes. According to Uncle Hoa, the broth is made by simmering bones for many hours to ensure it's delicious and nutritious; it can't be cooked for just 2-3 hours. The breakfast items are pre-packaged by the family and stored in the refrigerator, only to be steamed when it's time to sell. The number of items steamed depends on the number of customers that day, as steaming multiple times would reduce the flavor.
"On Saturdays and Sundays, the shop is busy, so we prepare large quantities, cooking and steaming the food as needed to maintain quality," Uncle Hoa shared. Not only breakfast items, but also the various types of noodle soups and Chinese-style noodles at Uncle Hoa's shop are very popular. Because the shop offers a wide variety of dishes, customers usually choose two or three breakfast items each time they visit, and then choose other dishes to try on the next day.
Customers always appreciate the rich flavors in every dish, from breakfast items to noodle soups and other types of noodles.
Mr. Hung, 70 years old, a regular customer of the restaurant, shared: "I've been eating here for 10 years now, the dishes are delicious and easy to eat." Ms. Phung, 33 years old, from Nha Be, shared the same sentiment, saying this was her first time visiting the restaurant after being recommended by friends as a long-standing establishment with delicious food, so she and her family came to try it. Ms. Phung shared: "I ordered the dry noodles; the broth was delicious and perfectly seasoned, and the char siu pork was also very appealing."
The shop is open from 4 AM until around 11:30 or 12 AM. Prices vary, with noodle soups, wontons, and other dishes ranging from 55,000 to 60,000 VND; dumplings at 70,000 VND; large steamed buns, shumai, and shrimp dumplings at 40,000 VND; sweet steamed buns, char siu steamed buns, and shumai at 20,000 VND; and drinks ranging from 2,000 to 20,000 VND.
Prices here vary, with noodle soups, wontons, and other dishes ranging from 55,000 to 60,000 VND.
