The "stainless steel beef" restaurant of Mrs. Thai Thai Phuong (67 years old) is located in a house on Chau Van Liem Street (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City), nearly half a century old.

Why 'stainless steel cow'?

I met Mrs. Phuong on a hot afternoon in Ho Chi Minh City, when customers regularly came to the restaurant to dine. When I met her, the owner greeted me warmly, while her relatives were still busy preparing dishes to serve the customers.

My first impression of this restaurant was the unique name "stainless steel beef" on the sign in front of the restaurant, which was also made of... stainless steel. Inside the restaurant, there were dozens of tables and chairs also made of shiny stainless steel. Immediately, I asked the owner about this question.

Slowly, the Chinese woman recounted that the reason many things in the restaurant are made of stainless steel comes from the special hobby of her late father, Mr. Thai Xuan (who passed away in 1996, at the age of 73).

“When my father was alive, he loved stainless steel very much. No matter how much he made, he would buy stainless steel items to use and collect. People called him a stainless steel enthusiast. But back then, it wasn’t as popular as it is now, and the price of stainless steel items was very expensive. He loved stainless steel so much that when my mother passed away in 1992, he made incense burners and lamp stands from stainless steel to worship her...", she said.

The owner continued, saying that in 1976, when her house was still located next to the central post office in Cho Lon, Ms. Phuong opened a shop selling porridge and coffee to make a living; her father helped sell. Later, she switched to selling fried eggs (served with pate, sausage and bread). The restaurant should be successful, Ms. Phuong said that at that time, the customers were so crowded that there were days when they had to wait in line.

Pointing to two long, shiny stainless steel tables placed at the back of the shop, Ms. Phuong said that those were the two tables her father bought and that the family has carefully preserved them until now. Based on her father's preference for stainless steel, all the tables and chairs in the shop have been made of stainless steel and have not changed since then.

Ms. Phuong also added that currently her father's two stainless steel tables will be used to serve customers on weekends when the restaurant is crowded.

Many customers have been eating for 'decades'

Talking about the current business situation of the restaurant, the owner said that it is no longer as good as before as more and more restaurants are opening up. However, she is still happy to serve her dedicated meals to customers from near and far every day.

When it first opened, the owner said she only sold fried eggs. But later, to meet the diverse needs of customers, the number of dishes increased to more than ten. Currently, the cheapest dish at the restaurant is fried eggs at 55,000 VND. The most expensive is beef steak at 90,000 VND. In addition, the restaurant also sells other dishes such as spaghetti, stir-fried noodles with beef, etc.

The price is "expensive", but the owner believes that you get what you pay for, and customers will not regret spending money on food at her restaurant. Ms. Thuy (living in District 8) went to Ms. Phuong's restaurant with her husband this afternoon. She said she has been a customer here since 30 years ago, when her father brought her here to eat.

“Since then, this place has become my regular restaurant. Later, when I got married, I also brought him here to eat, it has been 20 years now. The food here is delicious, suitable for my taste, the best thing is the beef is extremely fresh and retains moisture, unlike other places I have eaten. My husband and I have the opportunity to come here. The restaurant is also my memory with my father!", the female diner added.

Thanks to this restaurant, Ms. Phuong raised her 3 children to be successful. Now, 2 of her children are living and working in the US, while the remaining son and his wife inherited and developed their mother's restaurant. In the past, the restaurant was open in the morning and afternoon, but for many years now it has only been open from 6am to 1pm every day, because her health is not as good as before.

“I can’t bear to stop selling because the restaurant is my life’s work and effort. Even though business is difficult and there aren’t as many customers as before, I’m happy because I get to meet customers every day and cook with my children, grandchildren, and sisters in the family. Looking at the stainless steel table, I think of my father…”, she said.