Morgue sticky rice has been famous for more than 50 years in Cho Lon, crowded with buyers

1 Introducing morgue sticky rice

Address: 407 Tran Phu Street, Ward 7, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City

Tran Phu is a rare street in Ho Chi Minh City that has 2 funeral homes. On this street, there are mostly households selling funeral services, selling votive papers, selling coffins, etc. However, among those somewhat creepy shops, there is a long-standing sticky rice cart that has existed for more than 50 years. , attracting many diners, especially at night.

The owner and staff at the morgue sticky rice restaurant always work tirelessly, some scoop up the steaming sticky rice, some spread the sticky rice evenly on banana leaves, their hands quickly sprinkle spices then wrap it up and give it to the diners. .

2 The unique name of the morgue sticky rice cart

According to Vietnamtravelio, the owner of this sticky rice cart is Mr. Luu Bao Minh, 49 years old. Mr. Minh took over his mother’s business of selling sticky rice, keeping the family tradition and also developing morgue sticky rice to become more and more famous. Mr. Minh’s mother started selling sticky rice in the 1970s – 1980s, at first it was just a small cart, then the current shop opened. Mr. Minh also did not expect that despite being located on a street that only sells funeral services, there are few people selling food, especially at night, that his sticky rice shop would become more and more popular.

According to him, because customers see that the sticky rice shop is located right on a road with many funeral homes, everyone naturally calls it “morgue sticky rice”. Gradually, everyone got used to this name, even the uniqueness and horror made many people curious, traveling from far away to buy sticky rice from the morgue to taste it once.

Even though the name has been changed many times, regular customers have remembered the name of this restaurant as morgue sticky rice. Slowly forming a familiar name not only to Saigon residents but also to tourists. Many people who travel to Saigon choose to come here to enjoy salty sticky rice with the standard Saigon flavor. That’s why the morgue’s sticky rice room becomes more crowded at night. There were three people packing sticky rice but it seemed like they still couldn’t keep up with the purchasing power of customers.

See more: Visit 10 famous delicious sticky rice restaurants in Saigon

3 The taste of morgue sticky rice

What is very unique is that Mr. Minh’s sticky rice cart only sells one type of sticky rice, which is salty sticky rice. Just one dish that customers have eaten for many years without getting bored is enough for you to know the quality of each piece of sticky rice here, right?

The salty sticky rice dish here is served with many different ingredients such as crushed peanuts, onion fat, sausage, fried onions, cotton floss and especially the “divine soy sauce” according to the family recipe. Each ingredient is extremely carefully prepared by the shop owner to ensure stable quality, not disappointing patrons.

Mr. Minh shared that because he has been selling for a long time, he does not calculate how many kilograms of rice he sells each day. He only estimates selling about 3-4 pots. When the sticky rice in the pot dries up, he will add more to sell. Mortuary sticky rice is sold until late at night and runs out every day. On stormy days in Saigon, the restaurant owner will proactively cook less sticky rice because sales are slow and customers are sparse.

Mr. Minh said that because his family had no means before, his mother had to use charcoal to cook sticky rice and banana leaves to wrap and sell to customers. Until now, he found that banana leaves are both rustic and safe, and do not produce substances harmful to health, so he still decided to use banana leaves to wrap sticky rice to sell to customers.

The banana leaves were ordered by Mr. Minh from an acquaintance in the West. After receiving the leaves, he will let the shop staff wipe them clean and break them into bite-sized pieces to wrap the sticky rice. According to Mr. Minh, banana leaves must be imported every day, making sure the leaves are just wilted, because if they are too wilted, they will not look good, and if they are too fresh, they will tear easily when wrapping hot sticky rice.

Every day, Mr. Minh’s family has to wake up early in the morning to prepare ingredients for the morgue sticky rice shop. The sticky rice has been imported from an acquaintance for decades, ensuring the sticky rice is clean, has even grains, and is very sticky and fragrant when cooked. As for the side dishes such as onion fat, fried onions, roasted peanuts or cotton floss, all are handmade by the family and sold out every day.

When buying peanuts, you must choose large, quality beans, bring them home, roast them, and then pound them finely. Scallions and fried onions are mixed together. Wherever the onion fat is sold, it must be mixed with it. Absolutely do not mix it in advance to avoid losing its characteristic delicious flavor.

Sausages were imported by Mr. Minh from a long-time acquaintance in Soc Trang, from a facility with a long tradition, ensuring deliciousness and satisfaction for most diners. The sausages will be cut into thin, round, bite-sized pieces and spread evenly on the sticky rice. Floss made from shredded pork, moderately salty, not sweet like some industrial floss today.

After the ingredients have been spread evenly on the sticky rice, the shop owner will add enough soy sauce to gradually absorb it, rich but not too salty. Many diners who come to the morgue’s sticky rice praise the flavor of this soy sauce. According to Mr. Minh, the recipe was passed down by his mother, combined with many years of experience to help him choose a quality soy sauce that suits the taste, so it is so popular with diners.

4 The attraction of morgue sticky rice

According to diners, Minh’s restaurant’s salty sticky rice dish is popular with many people, first of all because of the way it is wrapped in banana leaves, which is both rustic and simple, safe and clean. Another special thing is that the owner wraps the sticky rice into long rolls that look like banh tet. Wherever customers eat, they just need to tear the banana leaf there, no need to use a plastic spoon. Explaining this way of eating, Mr. Minh said he wrapped it like that because he was afraid that the plastic spoon coming into contact with hot sticky rice would not be good for everyone’s health.

At any time when you go to the morgue sticky rice shop, you will see a pot of sticky rice placed on the gas stove, always steaming with smoke. The ingredients are also neatly arranged by the shop owner, eye-catching and attractive. Besides, the owner and staff are very friendly and enthusiastic, even when crowded, they always try not to make customers wait long.

There are quite a few people who come to the morgue sticky rice shop because they are curious about the unique name. Some people praise the sticky rice as delicious and suitable for taste. There are also people who don’t like the taste here, feeling that the portion of sticky rice is too small. The price of each piece of sticky rice ranges from 20,000 to 30,000 VND, which is not high compared to the general level in Ho Chi Minh City, so it is understandable whether there are compliments or criticisms.

Mortuary sticky rice is open for sale from 3 pm until late at night, the most crowded is from about 7 – 8 pm onwards. Sold in the Cho Lon area, the sticky rice also has a Chinese flavor, quite different from other sticky rice shops in Saigon. If you have the opportunity, please come and enjoy it yourself to have the most accurate and fair assessment.

Above is information about the unique mortuary sticky rice restaurant. Don’t forget to follow the Vietnamtravelio travel guide to discover more quality restaurants in all parts of the country.