Special reason

At 9.30 am, the HCMC sun was already blazing. Hoa, born in 1944, quietly sat beside her shoulder pole baskets filled with banh tai yen (Vietnamese bird's nest cake) and banh quai vac (Vietnamese Crispy Dumpling) at the intersection of Le Thanh Ton and Hai Ba Trung streets.

She had arrived there at 2 am and was waiting for a familiar motorbike taxi driver to take her around nearby shopping malls to continue selling.

This year marks the 19th year she has sold banh tai yen on the streets of HCMC. Yet few people know the reason why the 82-year-old woman has continued this work for so many years.

Hoa’s life has been full of hardships. Originally from the former Long Xuyen province, she lost her mother at the age of 12 and had to work as a servant for a family that owned a hair salon.

There, she discovered her love for hairstyling and was taught by one of the male hairdressers at the salon. A few years later, the hairdresser opened his own salon and invited Hoa to join him.

In 1963, she followed him to HCMC to open a salon together. Over time, they fell in love and eventually became husband and wife.

After getting married, the couple worked as hairdressers while raising two children until their marriage eventually ended in divorce. Following the separation, Hoa lived with her two children.

Both of her children also became hairstylists. Later, her daughter got married and moved to the former Ben Tre province to open a salon, while her son stayed in HCMC to care for his aging mother.

“My son and I relied on each other. He was very filial and refused to get married because he wanted to stay by my side and take care of me. But then he suddenly passed away in an accident three years ago.

His death broke my heart. Because of financial difficulties, I could not afford a resting place for him in HCMC. I borrowed money to bring his ashes to a small temple and shelter in the former Ben Tre province, near where his sister lives.

Now the shelter is being renovated, and the temple will soon relocate. I want to bring my son’s ashes back to HCMC so I can look after and worship him more conveniently.

“But I am too poor and still do not have enough money. That is why I keep selling cakes to save enough to bring my son home and find him a proper resting place,” she explained.

Secret recipe

After her divorce, Hoa gave up hairstyling and tried to make a living selling snacks. But at an age when starting over was difficult, she struggled to figure out what to do.

Nearly 20 years ago, she suddenly remembered her grandmother’s traditional cake recipes. Whenever her grandmother made cakes, she carefully wrote the recipes down in a small notebook to pass on to future generations.

Remembering those recipes, Hoa decided to sell banh tai yen. To her, the cake is not only a rustic specialty from the Mekong Delta but also a cherished childhood memory for many generations.

Although she had inherited her grandmother’s secret recipe, Hoa still went through many failures before mastering the perfect cake.

Her banh tai yen has crispy edges and a soft, chewy, springy center similar to Vietnamese sponge cake. The flavor is rich yet lightly sweet.

Today, Hoa wakes up at 1 am every day to season and knead around 3 kilograms of batter. At about 2 am, she carries her shoulder pole to the corner of Le Thanh Ton and Hai Ba Trung streets, frying cakes for late-night customers.

She stays there until around 10 am before moving elsewhere to continue selling. Only after selling out does she return to her rented room in the former District 4.

Each banh tai yen sells for VND7,000.

She also sells banh quai vac sourced from a trusted bakery for VND15,000 each.

She revealed that each day she earns only around VND150,000. On rainy days when there are fewer customers, she sometimes cannot sell enough and even loses money.

I’ve grown used to living here and truly love HCMC. My only wish is to bring my son’s ashes back here so I can care for him properly with incense and prayers,” she said.

Ha Nguyen