Raised and growing up in a rural area of Thai Nguyen, Thuc, 37, never imagined becoming a chef, but has dedicated himself to cooking for 19 years.

At 18, Thuc was introduced by his uncle to work as a kitchen assistant in a restaurant. He worked diligently and grew fond of cooking.

Seeing his knack for it, his family encouraged him to get formal training and pursue it professionally. He followed their advice. Luck struck, and the Thai Nguyen native got a chance to work in Hanoi, landing a job he liked.

After years of working as a kitchen assistant, he became head chef at various restaurants in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.

His most memorable moment, also the turning point to his current success, was the meeting with a special customer while working as head chef at a restaurant on Ma May Street (Hanoi).

“While working in the Old Quarter, I met a Vietnamese person living in Shenzhen (China). This customer, after eating the pho I cooked, couldn’t stop praising it. He returned to my restaurant many times after trying other places to find a taste he liked.”

The man was also in the food business and was looking for a chef. He said Thuc’s pho had an appealing flavor that met his criteria for chefs in Shenzhen. 

“He invited me to China and shared my recipe with his restaurant’s chefs for a year to master the dish,” Thuc recalled.

With generous pay, Thuc took the leap. In 2018, he resigned and moved to China.

During his time in China, he occasionally tried dishes made by Chinese chefs, including a dish that inspired him to create the current milkfish noodles in Vietnam. A Chinese chef cooked a kind of fish soup that was delicious, with a milky-white broth, very unique and special.

Realizing that in Vietnam there is a type of fish suitable for making broth like this, he returned to his hometown to open a fish noodle shop..

Two failures fuel success

Returning in early 2019, Thuc honed his skills, developed recipes, found a location, gathered capital, and opened a shop. He used wild fish, simmered for 12 hours, blended, and filtered to create a milky-white broth and create a new dish, calling it milkfish noodles.

However, he did not have much experience and customers were not used to eating noodles with the strange broth, so the business failed.

His first shop in An Khanh, Hoai Duc, Hanoi, opened in late 2019, and closed after a few months due to poor customs. He gathered more capital and opened a second shop in Van Khe (Ha Dong) in 2022, which also closed soon after.

“Failure is the mother of success,” Thuc used this saying as leverage to persevere. He analyzed his mistakes and opened another shop in October 2023 in Van Phuc (Ha Dong).

He then found a method that helped reduce the broth’s fishy smell. And he also learned how to choose the right retail premises for his eatery.

“I required fish suppliers to use the same water the fish live in for storage and transport to my shop. This ensures that fish stay in their natural environment, preserving quality,” he explained.

“Instead of a location in an alley, I decided to open a shop on a spacious, convenient spot with many residents to attract customers. It cost more, but I took the risk,” he said.

He ensures that all ingredients at his restaurant are fresh and high-quality, and he visits suppliers, inspects sources, and secures quality commitments.

Among greens, he chose rau ngot, or star gooseberry leaves, for its sweet, light flavor, complementing the noodles and suiting many tastes. After three months, his Van Phuc shop was packed with customers.

Service attitude is also his priority. Customers get free iced tea served at their table and free candy after eating to avoid any fishy aftertaste.

“My noodle seasoning is simple - just seasoning powder, sugar, and fish sauce. I believe too many spices take away the dish’s rustic charm,” Thuc said.

Tu Linh