Customers have been returning to this small Ho Chi Minh City stall for generations, drawn by handmade shrimp noodles, a family recipe and memories of old Saigon.
For nearly a century, three generations of one family in Ho Chi Minh City have kept alive the distinctive flavors of bun suong, a shrimp noodle soup. Today, its 60-year-old owner still serves the dish from an old shoulder pole inherited from her mother-in-law, even though she no longer carries it through the streets.
The small noodle stall draws a crowd every morning and often sells out by around 9 a.m. Photo: Ha Nguyen
Tucked into the corner of an alley off Ben Van Don Street, Pham Thi Luong’s bun suong stall is considered by regulars to be one of the oldest eateries in Khanh Hoi Ward.
The tiny shop fills with customers every morning. It opens at 6 a.m., but by around 9 a.m., the day’s food is usually sold out. Those arriving too late often have little choice but to leave disappointed.
Most customers are older regulars. Many have been eating bun suong here since they were children.
Lan, 68, a resident of Khanh Hoi Ward, is one of them.
“This stall is older than I am. I started eating here when I was 10 years old. Back then, it was run by Luong’s mother-in-law,” she said. “I still eat here today, and it still tastes wonderful. Every time I have it, the dish brings back memories of my childhood.”
Lan explained that the dish takes its name from suong, elongated pieces made from shrimp and flour and shaped somewhat like coconut palm larvae.
“In the Mekong Delta, people call them duong, after the coconut palm larva, but when the dish came to Ho Chi Minh City, the pronunciation gradually changed to suong,” she said.
A noodle stall approaching its centenary
Lan, carrying a red bag, has been eating bun suong at the stall since she was 10 years old. Photo: Ha Nguyen
Pham Thi Luong says the family’s bun suong business dates back to her husband’s grandmother. Photo: Ha Nguyen
The heart of the dish is suong, made by hand from shrimp and flour. Photo: Ha Nguyen
Luong said the family’s bun suong business dates back to her husband’s grandmother.
As her mother-in-law grew older, responsibility for the stall was passed to Luong, the family’s daughter-in-law. The business has now survived through three generations and, according to Luong, has a history stretching back nearly 100 years.
In taking over the family stall, Luong also inherited recipes for both the suong and the broth that have been handed down through generations.
Her working day begins at 1 or 2 a.m., when she wakes to prepare the ingredients. Making the suong is the most important - and most difficult - part of the process.
Luong selects fresh, high-quality shrimp, pounds them into a smooth paste and works the mixture together with flour.
Every stage, from mixing and kneading to shaping, requires its own technique. If even one step goes wrong, the suong may lose its shape or disintegrate when placed in water.
“The difficult thing about this dish is that it cannot be made by machine. Everything has to be done by hand,” Luong said. “If the suong goes wrong, we cannot open for business that day, so every step has to be done carefully and meticulously according to the recipe.”
Once shaped, the suong is boiled and removed from the pot.
The cooking liquid is then reused to simmer pork knuckles and ribs. Luong adds coconut water, dried squid, seasonings and several other ingredients to create the naturally sweet, rich broth that defines the dish.
A bowl built around shrimp, broth and memory
A bowl of bun suong at the stall costs VND50,000 (about US$1.90). Photo: Ha Nguyen
Customers can choose from a range of toppings to accompany their noodles. Photo: Ha Nguyen
The finished bowl is immediately recognizable by its broth and vivid reddish-orange pieces of suong.
Customers can add boiled shrimp, pork ribs, pork knuckle, pork belly or congealed blood, depending on their preference.
The broth has a distinctive aroma and a naturally rich, slightly fatty sweetness without becoming overly heavy.
The plump pieces of suong have a springy, slightly crisp texture, with a rich and distinctive flavor.
A generous selection of vegetables accompanies the noodles, including bean sprouts and garlic chives, water spinach, shredded banana blossom and fresh herbs.
Even the dipping sauce has its own character. Tamarind sauce is combined with hoisin sauce according to the family’s recipe, producing another distinctive layer of flavor.
A bowl of bun suong costs VND50,000 (about US$1.90).
Over the years, Luong said the family has made some changes to the dish to reflect changing customer tastes, even while preserving the original recipes for the suong and broth.
In earlier years, the noodles were relatively simple, served mainly with suong, pork and congealed blood. Pork ribs, shrimp, squid and other ingredients were added later.
Yet one thing has remained unchanged.
An old shoulder pole becomes a family keepsake
Luong continues to use the old shoulder pole as a family keepsake and a symbol of the stall’s tradition. Photo: Ha Nguyen
Despite adapting the dish over time, Luong continues to serve her noodles using the traditional shoulder pole and baskets that have long been associated with the family business.
After decades of use, the old carrying pole has become a familiar sight to residents of the alley.
Luong no longer needs to balance the food on her shoulders and walk from place to place looking for customers. But she refuses to abandon the old setup.
“I still use the shoulder pole to sell the noodles even though I no longer have to carry the food around the streets,” she said. “The shoulder pole has been part of our family’s bun suong since the earliest days when we began cooking and selling the dish.”
Her mother-in-law also carried the noodles through the neighborhood using the pole. When she became too old to continue working, she passed it on to Luong along with the family business.
“That is why I regard it as a keepsake from my mother-in-law,” Luong said. “For me, continuing to serve noodles from the shoulder pole is also a way of preserving a family tradition.”
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