A job where he dares not sit

Every Monday and Saturday evening, passersby at the corner of Tran Hung Dao and Phung Hung streets in Cho Lon, Ho Chi Minh City, often notice an elderly man with silver hair standing quietly beside a small charcoal stove, baking bright green pandan coconut cakes.

Next to an old glass display cabinet, he carefully flips each batch. The gentle fragrance of pandan leaves drifts through the night air, drawing curious customers who pause for a taste of the round, emerald-colored cakes.

The man is Tran Bo, 79, from An Giang, who has spent more than half his life selling pandan baked cakes.

As a young boy, Bo was fascinated by stories of the vibrant city of Saigon told by traders who had done business there. Growing up in a large family, he eventually left his hometown to seek a living in the city.

In Ho Chi Minh City, he found work with a family that made pandan coconut cakes.

When he reached adulthood, the shop owner entrusted him with pushing a street cart to sell the cakes. The work offered a steady income and was not overly strenuous, so he continued with it for decades.

Despite working with the bakery family since his youth, Bo never learned the secret recipe. What he does know is that preparing the batter takes time - usually between 12 and 24 hours.

The finished batter is smooth and light green, infused with the fragrance of pandan leaves. When baked, the cakes rise evenly, forming small round shapes with a mild sweetness and distinctive aroma.

The cakes are small, roughly the size of half an egg, and sold for VND5,000 each (approximately US$0.20).

“To this day, I still receive the batter and the cart from the shop owner at a fixed price before I start selling,” Bo explained.

“At the end of the night, I return the agreed amount to him. Whatever remains after that is my income. If sales are good, I earn more. If not, I have to pay the difference from my own pocket.”

According to Bo, the job is not physically demanding, but it requires experience in controlling the heat.

The cakes are baked over charcoal. If the heat is too strong, the cakes burn before they have time to rise. If the heat is too low, the cakes cook but fail to puff up properly, making them difficult to sell.

“When I bake, I cannot sit down,” he said.

“If I am even a little slow, the cakes burn, fail to rise properly, or collapse after rising. Burnt cakes or ones that do not puff up evenly simply will not sell.”

That is why he never brings a chair and remains standing throughout the entire time he works.

“At first, my legs went numb and ached badly. Now I can stand for hours, even at the age of 79.”

Only two nights a week

Despite its small size, each pandan baked cake sells for VND5,000 (US$0.20). Bo’s modest cart often sells out quickly, even though he operates only at night, from 8 pm to 11 pm.

A young couple who stopped to buy 20 cakes said it was their first time trying Bo’s baked cakes. They found them delicious, though not easy to buy because he only appears on Monday and Saturday nights.

To get the cakes, they had to stop by after picking up their children from extra classes.

Vy, 21, from Ho Chi Minh City, also came with a friend before heading to a music lesson.

“I first learned about Mr Bo through social media,” she said.

“Since he travels from An Giang to Ho Chi Minh City twice a week to sell cakes, I wanted to come and support him. The cakes are a bit expensive, but they taste good and look beautiful.”

Bo lives alone in his home in the former Chau Doc district of An Giang province. Because of his age and ongoing health issues, he only has the strength to sell twice a week.

He chooses to work at night because the daytime heat exhausts him.

From his hometown, Bo boards a bus to Ho Chi Minh City at noon on Mondays and Saturdays. After arriving, he stops by the bakery to collect the batter and the cart.

At exactly 8 pm, he pushes the cart to the sidewalk and begins baking until all the cakes are sold.

Once finished, he cleans the cart, the display cabinet and the baking tools before returning them to the bakery. After settling the payment, the shop owner helps cover the cost of his journey home.

Bo lives alone and never married.

“In my younger years, I knew many women, but I never ended up marrying anyone,” he shared quietly.

“Living alone in my hometown, I do not need much besides money for food and medicine.”

By traveling to Ho Chi Minh City twice a week to sell cakes, he earns a little more than VND1 million each trip (US$40).

“That amount is enough for me to manage my daily life,” he said.

“I also try to save some money, so that when I am no longer strong enough to work, I will have funds to enter a nursing home.”

Ha Nguyen