From the end of March 2025, instead of continuing to make a living with popular dishes that were already sold by too many people, Thao and her husband decided to change direction and start a new business with a cart selling Central Vietnamese dishes. That is Tay Son rice rolls, a typical dish of Binh Dinh, xu xoa of Quang Ngai, mixed bean sweet soup, and tha sweet soup with Central Vietnamese flavors.

“There are few people selling these dishes here. I saw an opportunity and wanted more people to know about my hometown and the rustic dishes of the sunny and windy Central region,” Thao shared. Not only did she bring the dishes, but the ingredients were also ordered directly from Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai to Long An to ensure the right taste and quality.

Mr. Ho The Hai and Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Thao, each with a different job, always support each other in their work.

Few people expected that the petite, smiling woman behind the tea cart was a bachelor of Agricultural Economics from Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry, who had worked in an office for more than a year with a stable income. Hai was not a real "salesman", he studied electrical repair, then did many jobs to make a living. The two met in 2015 in Ho Chi Minh City, and became husband and wife in 2017. They had cherished the dream of returning to their hometown to start a business and realized it at the end of 2019. A small restaurant was born in their hometown, but just a few months later, the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and the dream was put on hold in regret.

“After the pandemic, my husband and I moved to Long An to start a business. Many of my husband’s relatives live here. My husband has been here since 2012. When we first moved in, we sold noodles with a small noodle cart but encountered many difficulties. Every time the premises were taken back, we had to move to another place. Customers gradually disappeared because we didn’t know where to move to,” said Ms. Thao.

Many times, they were discouraged and wanted to return to their hometown, but then the worry of "what will they do to survive after returning home" made them worry. And then they decided to bet once more on their hometown's dishes. The couple built a compact cart, placed next to their brother's noodle cart, which was easy to move and also saved money.

From the early days when there were only a few customers, now the banh cuon and che vans from the Central region have gradually had a stable number of customers. There are days when they even "sell out" early because they cannot sell enough. "Every time we hear customers say "it's been a long time since I've had banh cuon like this" or "che, xu xoa is exactly like my hometown" we are very happy!" - Ms. Thao said with a smile.

From simple dishes, Mr. Hai and Ms. Thao are striving every day, not only to make a living but also to preserve and spread the flavors of their hometown to more people./.

Khanh Duy

Source: https://baolongan.vn/thoi-hon-que-vao-tung-chiec-banh-ly-che-a193437.html