In the morning, as Thien Hau Pagoda in District 5, HCM City opens to visitors, Phung Dinh Huy, 79, pushes his vending cart to the sidewalk on the other side of the street, beginning to receive customers.

The heavy cart, taller than Huy, strains his already weak legs. There is a small glass cabinet on the cart, filled with chive cakes. Next to the cabinet is an old aluminum pan.

Huy has sold banh he here for nearly 30 years, but it was not his main trade. Previously, he was a blacksmith. 

To raise his three children, Huy took on all sorts of jobs. Meanwhile, his wife sold snacks on the sidewalk to supplement their income.

Noticing the busy sidewalk opposite Thien Hau Pagoda and Mach Kien Hung School, she set up a stall there to sell banh tet (sticky rice cakes). But she had no luck with that dish.

Struggling with slow sales, she switched to selling banh he. Made from rice flour, the cakes became popular among students and pagoda visitors. From then on, she stuck with this traditional dish.

Huy worked as a blacksmith until old age, when no one would hire him anymore. He then joined his wife to sell banh he on the sidewalk as he fell sad staying alone at home.

“After quitting blacksmithing, I started selling chive cakes with my wife. Time flies and 30 years have elapsed,” he said.

“She passed away over a year ago. She went first, but I keep selling chive cakes. This work doesn’t bring much income but isn’t too heavy, suiting my health conditions now,” he explained.

To save time and effort, Huy buys pre-cooked cakes from a familiar bakery and fries them on his round pan when customers order. He can add a fried egg as ordered by customers.

Each fried cake sells for VND9,000, served with sweet fish sauce and shredded carrots. The cake is rich, with a crispy shell and fragrant fried flour, matching perfectly with the sauce.

However, the dish is an acquired taste. Previously, Huy sold about 70 cakes daily. On rainy days, he sits idly as there are fewer customers.

“Business is always tough. On good days, I sold 70-80 cakes. After someone filmed and posted his clip on social media, more people have come to support me. Now I sell about 100 cakes a day.”

Huy lives with his third child in a house inherited from his parents. “As she passed, I felt such emptiness. Now, in quiet moments alone, I miss her,” he said.

Ha Nguyen