Michelin introduces the famous place for its beef braised dish, which can be served with bread, egg noodles or instant noodles. The appraisers of the world-famous culinary manual evaluate the braised beef here as having a rich broth and a sweet taste. The restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The owner of the shop, Ta Thi Minh Nguyen, 46, said that her grandfather once opened a tea shop in 1975, passing it on to his daughter and granddaughter. More than 10 years ago, the tea shop no longer attracted customers, Ms. Nguyen switched to the morning beef braised business to feed the tea shop open in the evening. The shop sign with the number 1975 is not the year the braised beef shop opened, but in memory of his grandfather.
The recipe for braised beef was also left by his grandfather. In the early days of opening, the restaurant only served 2-3 kg of encrusted meat and beef tendons per day, the price of a bowl was 25,000 VND. Currently, each bowl costs from 50,000 VND.
Michelin's Bib Gourmand awards food establishments that meet the criteria of quality, affordable food. The space of the restaurant is still limited because of the sidewalk seats. When serving dishes for guests, instead of placing them on plastic trays or carrying them empty-handed, the staff arranges the dishes on aluminum trays. This method is clean, in addition, the tray is wide, the staff is easy to carry the calf because the bowl of braised beef is very hot. The tray is also reminiscent of a family rice tray.
The items and layout of this restaurant are synchronous, in the old style. Wooden tables and chairs, crockery, porcelain with rustic patterns. Each table, spices are not stored in bottles but in crockery jars, placed on trays, arranged around cups, and customers take them wherever they eat. Spices include satay, black soy sauce, chili sauce, pepper salt, chili salt, lemon, fresh chili.
The restaurant's "cabinet" dish is special braised beef with beef ribs, encrusted with beef, beef tendons, stored in an earthen bowl, priced at 110,000 VND. The ribs are taken from Cu Chi beef. The ribs are tender, bone-in, simmered in a red-orange broth, evoking the aroma of herbal spices. Beef broth and beef marinade use 5 main ingredients including cinnamon, anise, cloves, five spices and bay leaves. In addition, there are 3 other secret spices that make it delicious.
The clay bowl for the braised beef is stacked on a charcoal stove with a simmering fire (pictured) to keep warm, creating a fragrant smell of smoke. The bread before serving is also briefly baked over a charcoal stove to make it hot and crispy. Diners can order braised beef with fresh egg noodles, instant noodles or noodle soup. Each dining table has a basket of herbs, bean sprouts, and a sealed lid.
The effect from Michelin makes the restaurant crowded, selling more than 1,000 bowls per day, an increase of 30-50% compared to previous months.
Photo: Quynh Tran
According to VnE