My Tho Thanh Xuan noodle soup, a journey of 80 years of attachment to Saigon

1 Introducing My Tho Thanh Xuan noodle soup

Address: 62 Ton That Thiep, Ben Nghe, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Opening hours: 6:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m

Website:

In the heart of bustling Saigon, My Tho Thanh Xuan noodle soup has retained its simplicity and traditional flavor for more than 70 years. Time may pass as quickly as a glimpse of youth, but this brand’s “Youth” still remains forever in the memories of countless generations of diners. Those who have been away from Saigon for a long time, when returning, often immediately go to the small noodle shop located next to Cha Pagoda, as a way to rediscover the familiar flavors of youth.

In the past, Saigon was small, only around a few central districts and Thanh Xuan noodle shop was a name that almost everyone knew. People often call the restaurant Cha Pagoda noodle shop because it is located right next to a long-standing Hindu temple built by the Cha Va community.

My Tho Thanh Xuan noodle shop is modestly located right at the beginning of a small alley only about 2 meters wide. The stove, glass cabinets containing noodles, shrimp, meat, heart, liver… are neatly arranged to one side to make way. Three sets of tables and chairs placed along the alley create a simple but familiar dining space, true to the “old” noodle shop in the heart of District 1. For Saigon tourists, this is also a very unique and interesting culinary experience.

2 The journey to create the Thanh Xuan noodle brand

Mr. Thanh (58 years old, owner) said that the restaurant was founded by his grandfather Do Van Khue in 1946 after fleeing the enemy from My Tho to Saigon. “Because I’m the youngest grandchild and the most beloved in the family, my grandfather took my grandchild’s name and named the shop. My name is Xuan Thanh, the shop’s name is Thanh Xuan” – Mr. Thanh confided.

Mr. Khue was originally a teacher. When he first came to Saigon, the Cha Va people let him live temporarily in a house in the alley next to the Hindu pagoda on Ton That Thiep street. The noodle shop was opened, placed right in front of the alley entrance to conveniently look after the house for the Cha Va families living in the alley.

The good news spread far and wide, Mr. Khue’s My Tho Thanh Xuan noodle shop was famous throughout Saigon. At that time, the restaurant had a dining table that stretched all the way down the alley to the street but there was not enough room for customers to eat. The most famous is the dried noodle dish.

Ms. Tuoi, Mr. Thanh’s wife, currently the owner of Thanh Xuan restaurant, said: “The sign looks like that, but there are Westerners who want to buy it, but I won’t sell it. If I leave it as a souvenir, it belongs to my grandparents and parents, so how can I sell it?” Not only keeping the sign, Thanh Xuan noodle soup has also kept the flavor and soul of the dish for more than half a century.

3 The unique flavor of My Tho Thanh Xuan noodles

3.1 Unique flavor that is not mixed with anyone else

Thanh Xuan’s dry noodles have a very different style from the Chinese dry noodles in Cho Lon. Instead of using oil sauce, the owner sprinkles the noodles with a special tomato sauce, making the noodles more rich and attractive in color. When asked about the secret, the owner just smiled gently: “It’s easy to make” but anyone who has eaten it will understand that creating that flavor is not a simple matter.

3.2 Meticulous processing, preserving the old flavor

Each bowl of noodle soup is prepared right at the small kitchen at the end of the alley. The hostess puts the noodles in a mesh net, until it’s just cooked, then pours it into a bowl, layering on toppings: char siu meat, minced meat, fresh shrimp, heart, liver and a little crab meat.

Next is a layer of fragrant onion fat and secret spices in a familiar glass jar. With water noodles, the bowl will be filled with hot broth simmered from pork bones, giving off a gentle aroma. As for the dry noodles, they will be drizzled with a thick layer of tomato sauce, which creates a unique impression that cannot be found anywhere else. Finally, the owner sprinkles pork rinds and cilantro to complete a bowl of “Saigon-style” noodle soup.

3.3 Clear and chewy noodles, secret from filtered flour

The noodles at the restaurant are mixed with filtered flour, creating a characteristic toughness and clarity. Many diners prefer to eat dry noodles to fully experience the deliciousness of the noodles, which are both flexible and fragrant, soaked in the secret sauce.

3.4 Interesting combination: dry noodles and Pateso cake

A unique feature of My Tho Thanh Xuan noodles is dry noodles served with Pate chaud cake (Pateso). The rich, chewy noodles blend with the crispy crust and fragrant pate filling to create a flavor that is both strange and familiar, very Saigon, very “ordinary life”.

Few people know that although Pateso has a French name, it is a cake created by Vietnamese people, inspired by Pâte feuilletée cake, using thousand-layer dough and filling with minced meat pate, pork liver, pepper… The cake is best when eaten hot, true to the word “chaud” (hot) in French. At Thanh Xuan, cakes are handmade every day, only about 100 are sold, so anyone who comes late is “out of stock”.

3.5 Preserving Vietnamese soul in the heart of modern Saigon

In the midst of a time when luxury restaurants are popping up everywhere, the small noodle shop next to Cha Pagoda still retains its traditional flavor. Partly due to the seller’s willingness to preserve his identity. Ms. Tuoi, Mr. Thanh’s wife, is still used to wearing a rustic Ba Ba outfit and a simple hair tie like the old women and girls. She said: “I’m used to being busy with my grandmother’s clothes, but I’m not used to wearing Western clothes. Nowadays, it’s very difficult to find a tailor-made tailor shop for my grandmother’s style in Saigon.”

Although it no longer has its golden age of crowded customers like before, My Tho Thanh Xuan noodle soup still has a very unique place in the hearts of Saigon people. In the midst of modern life, many people prefer Japanese dishes, European dishes, luxurious cold bars… but there are still diners who choose to come back here to rediscover the rustic “Saigon quality”.

4 What do diners say about Thanh Xuan noodles?

The menu of Thanh Xuan noodle shop currently has prices ranging from 50,000 – 85,000 VND/bowl. A regular bowl with pork costs 50,000 VND, while seafood options such as shrimp and crab will cost slightly more, about 70,000 – 85,000 VND. Many diners think that the price is a bit “high” compared to a popular restaurant, but many people comment that this price is completely reasonable when located right in the center of District 1. In fact, in Saigon there are still many noodle shops that cost up to hundreds of thousands per bowl, so from an experience perspective, this price is still considered “stable”.

A long-time regular customer, Mr. Trung Huan (55 years old, District 5) shared:

“I’ve been to many places, but I’ve never seen a flavor as unique as the noodles in My Tho Thanh Xuan. I’ve been eating them for decades now, and every time I come back it’s the same as the first time because the flavor hasn’t changed at all. Here, from the service, the space, to the bowl of noodles, it all recalls the image of old Saigon, something that few places can preserve nowadays.”

My Tho Thanh Xuan noodle soup is not only a dish, but also a piece of old Saigon memories, with rich flavors for more than half a century and a simple, warm space in the heart of District 1. To make your culinary discovery journey more convenient, you can prepare a compact, multi-compartment, fashionable backpack from Vietnamtravelio to accompany you in style when going down the street.