April 5th, 2024.
The driver arrives at the station. Parks the bus, cleans the dashboard and heads to the restroom. It’s traveling day, today. From Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat in central Vietnam, a hill station established by the French during their colonization period in Vietnam to the escape Ho Chi Minh’s heat.
This morning, leaving the hotel, I tell the receptionist (his name pronounced “Hee”) how wonderful the room smelled. “Lemongrass?” I asked. “Yes, it’s good for the clients, for their health”, he says. “I have essential oils, lemongrass, and cinnamon”. He is quick to smile and kind in his words.
Today, I finally have Phở for breakfast at Phở Minh, a place that has eluded me two times. The first, I couldn’t find it. The second, I arrive right after serving hours, from 6am to 10am. What a wonderful schedule. Get there early, get your morning Phở. Any place that favors early birds is my kind of place.
This time, I arrive nice and early. The restaurant has served Phở since 194 and was awarded in 2023 with Michelin’s “Bib Gourmand”: Quality food at excellent prices. The broth is light and tasty, the meat, soft.
I ate at two other Michelin’s “Bib Gourmand” restaurants in Ho Chi Minh. All 3 places managed vastly different. One, a family run restaurant inside their house. Another, a restaurant from a small holding company with a fairly rustic feel. Other, a modernly designed, spacious restaurant with a carefully crafted experience.
What do all three places have in common? A consistency in quality and a track record to prove it. Some of them opened 50 plus years ago. There’s certain refinement that comes with decades of cooking and serving. Good quality ingredients cooked well. Not the cheapest, but affordable. Many of these restaurants are run by families, by people who constantly care about the service and food they serve. This level of intimacy with the food, with the business, is crucial to maintain the quality and consistency for decades.
What business do I want to leave my children, to keep nurturing and caring? This seems like an interesting question to ask for a lasting and fulfilling business.
As I board the bus, the driver hands me a bag and signal my shoes. No shoes inside. The bus, a KIA Limousine. Well-worn, but well maintained. Three rows of front to back bunk beds, complete with privacy curtains and light, air-con vents, and USB sockets. There’s also a 3.5 mm plug that connects… to what? My headphones are in the bus outer storage, so that’s a mystery for another trip.
