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From the first batches of bread to the fire of loss
On September 4, 2019, in a small house at 172B Phu Dong Thien Vuong, Blue Dream - the dream of Mr. Nghia Truong, a European baker with pure passion, was officially realized. At that time, the shop only had five people, and the number of customers was not too crowded. But for Mr. Nghia, that was not as important as selling happiness from cakes, he once said.
The bakery in the early days at 172B Phu Dong Thien Vuong
Every day, the shop produces more than 60 different types of cakes, all handmade, not on an industrial chain. The warmth of the first batches of cakes, the smell of butter, flour, tea and the soft chatter between customers and workers create the soul of the shop - a sweet dream in the heart of Da Lat.
Anyone who has ever visited remembers the feeling of sitting and watching the bakers through the glass window, sipping tea and smelling the freshly baked croissants, puff pastry, danish, baguette, bagel or cinnamon roll… Mr. Nghia said he doesn’t want to make things too complicated, he just wants people to feel the joy from the first bite of the cake.
Then one day, fire struck. The 2023 fire burned everything down: the shop, the house, and the items he had collected over the past five years. “Blue Dream burned. Burned to the ground, completely burned, beyond anything that could be used again. But the best thing is that no one was hurt,” he said, his voice light as if he were telling someone else’s story.
What he regrets most is not material things, but memories: “I regret it very much, but it’s okay, I will do it again. I still have customers, relatives, neighbors, everyone loves me.”
What remains of the bakery after the fire in 2023
A few days after the fire, another shock came when he lost his grandmother - a very important person in his life and in his childhood memories. "The shop and money can be recovered, but when my grandmother is gone, it is gone forever" - he admitted with a choked voice, that was a time when his spirit fell to rock bottom.
Amidst the ruins, old dreams are rebuilt
The day the bakery went up in flames, people thought that dream was over. The familiar kitchen was devastated, the ovens, the baking trays, the souvenir display cabinets were all just ashes. But for Mr. Nghia Truong - who spent almost his entire youth on that buttery aroma - Blue Dream has never really disappeared. "If I could start over, I would still want to bake, still want to see the smile of the customer when they take their first bite," he said.
Passion for cake flour and kitchen smoke helped Mr. Nghia rise from the ashes.
Mr. Nghia began his journey to rebuild the shop with all that was left - faith, the cake recipes he made himself and the affection from the people around him. "Da Lat is the root of the shop. I will never let it disappear." Thinking so, the process of rebuilding the shop was not as easy as Mr. Nghia imagined. "Maybe because of my early success, I was confident that I could do everything by myself. But when I found a contractor to follow my shop's ideas, unfortunately, that contractor went bankrupt and I lost a large amount of money at that time," he recalled.
In the midst of the difficulties, Mr. Nghia had to struggle to make ends meet, collecting every penny at the Saigon shop, placing each brick by hand, and editing each decor drawing himself because the old contractor abandoned it. There were times when he was discouraged, wanting to give up “twelve times”, but then he told himself: “It’s okay, it’s just a game, the more difficult the level, the higher the challenge”.
A new Blue Dream but with a hint of the old
After about 7 months, Blue Dream reopened once again at 14 Van Hanh, Da Lat City, now Da Lat Ward.
No longer the old house on the familiar slope, the new bakery has a larger space but still has the faint shape of the old house. The space still retains the "handmade" spirit: from the wooden table, the wall color, the small fireplace, to the handwritten menu. Everything in the shop bears the mark of revival - rustic, cozy, and a bit quiet, very Dalat.
Large sunny yard in the middle of the garden
The room was painted cream yellow, with a few wooden tables, the windows always open to let in the sunlight, the smell of cakes mixed with the scent of tea wafting throughout the space. Everything was still gentle there as if no loss had ever passed. He said he personally chose every item, arranged every vase of flowers, mixed every color in the kitchen, as if he were completing his own dream.
Over time, decorations gradually covered the room, the cramped scene but seemed to contain every moment that this small shop had gone through, from ashes to a bakery in Western fairy tales as commented by customers who had visited the shop.
Decorations hung around the room and on the ceiling
Every day, the shop produces more than 70 types of cakes, from classics such as croissants, puff pastry, danish to natural yeast breads and sweet cakes such as lemon cake, carrot cake, brownies or tarts. Nothing is pre-made, everything is baked fresh, slowly and with care.
The shop space has sunny windows for visitors to enjoy tea and cakes.
Visitors can take a tour, choose their favorite cakes, then sit by the window, listen to melodious music, sip hot tea and feel the sweet taste of cakes on the tip of their tongue. The scent of cakes mixed with old decade music, brings the feeling of this place as a peaceful space away from reality, where time passes slowly, gently and fully.
For Mr. Nghia, the rebirth of Blue Dream is not just about rebuilding a bakery, but also a journey to find himself after the incident. Now, in the middle of the foggy city, the small bakery is lit up again, the smoke from the oven mixed with the smell of flour and tea, like a gentle affirmation: this dream, though burned down, has never disappeared.
