{"id":993,"date":"2013-08-27T08:35:06","date_gmt":"2013-08-27T01:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/?p=993"},"modified":"2019-07-03T11:57:15","modified_gmt":"2019-07-03T04:57:15","slug":"meet-the-lady-who-sells-banh-mi-in-ho-chi-minh-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/meet-the-lady-who-sells-banh-mi-in-ho-chi-minh-city\/","title":{"rendered":"FACES OF VIETNAM Edition 1 -Banh Mi Vendor in Saigon"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_75 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/meet-the-lady-who-sells-banh-mi-in-ho-chi-minh-city\/#Makes_your_Banh_Mi_Sandwich\" >Makes your Banh Mi Sandwich!<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/meet-the-lady-who-sells-banh-mi-in-ho-chi-minh-city\/#Life_of_a_lady_who_sells_Banh_Mi_in_Ho_Chi_Minh_city\" >Life of a lady who sells Banh Mi in Ho Chi Minh city<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Makes_your_Banh_Mi_Sandwich\"><\/span><strong>Makes your Banh Mi Sandwich!<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>The Vietnamese people are rich with entrepreneurial spirit.\u00a0 Opening a small business or providing a service is one of the most common ways that people here make money and it also gives rise to some of the most unique jobs in the world!\u00a0 From cyclo drivers to yoke-carrying food sellers to fruit stand operators to motorcycle taxi drivers, in Vietnam you see it all!\u00a0 They are the workhorse of the Vietnamese economy because not only do they help raise Vietnam\u2019s median household income, they also promote tourism in the country.\u00a0 Many of these workers have very little formal education and yet they have an immense amount of drive and passion for what they do.\u00a0 They are the people you see every day on the street earning a living, feeding themselves and their families, and enjoying their lives along the way.\u00a0 We went out to interview some people with really unique and interesting jobs to learn about their daily routine.\u00a0 Little did we know how rewarding and humbling an experience it would be.\u00a0 Over the next few weeks, we will bring you stories of these incredibly interesting people and give you a glimpse into their life and work in Vietnam.<\/p>\n<p>This week, we spoke with Tuyet Anh.\u00a0 She runs a Banh Mi stand next to an elementary school in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City.\u00a0 She looks really young for a 52 year old, but maybe it\u2019s because she\u2019s always so well put together.\u00a0 On the particular day we spoke to her, she looked positively radiant, as if she had just woken up to start her day.\u00a0 We were surprised to learn that she had been awake since 3 am!\u00a0 This is usually the time she wakes up to prepare all the meats and fillings for the day.\u00a0 Each morning, she slices vegetables, pickles some of them, chops herbs, slices meat, etc.\u00a0 All of this before 6 am when she starts the stand!\u00a0 If you are unfamiliar with all the fixings of a Banh Mi sandwich, we suggest you read our <a title=\"Breaking Down the Banh Mi (Vietnamese Sandwich)\" href=\"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/2013\/04\/26\/breaking-down-the-banh-mi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener \u201ddofollow&quot;\">Banh Mi blog<\/a>.\u00a0 It\u2019s not an easy feat to prepare all of these items at 3 am and still be cheery and upbeat come noontime.\u00a0 She usually keeps the stand open until about 1 pm.\u00a0 The school kids get out of class at around noon and very soon after that her stand is surrounded by hoards of young children drooling over the smell of fried eggs and fresh bread!<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Life_of_a_lady_who_sells_Banh_Mi_in_Ho_Chi_Minh_city\"><\/span>Life of a lady who sells Banh Mi in Ho Chi Minh city<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>XO:<\/strong>\u00a0 Ms. Anh, what inspired you to start a Banh Mi stand?<br \/>\n<strong>Ms. Anh:<\/strong>\u00a0 My husband died two years ago.\u00a0 He drank too much alcohol.\u00a0 He was very ill for a long time so he could not work.\u00a0 He was a policeman.\u00a0 I started selling Banh Mi 9 years ago for more money because at that time my daughter was not married yet.\u00a0 My mother used to sell Banh Mi when I was younger so it was easy for me to choose this business.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nXO:\u00a0<\/strong> And who do you support?<br \/>\n<strong>Ms. Anh:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, my daughter is married but I live with her and my son-in-law so I help out a bit with the house.\u00a0 I live here actually [points to the home next to the stand].\u00a0 I also support my mother.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nXO:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s a lot of people that you support on one income!\u00a0 How much do you earn?<br \/>\n<strong>Ms. Anh:<\/strong>\u00a0 I make 2 million VND a week on average.\u00a0 Sometimes, it\u2019s less and sometimes it\u2019s more.\u00a0 I don\u2019t spend very much.\u00a0 But vegetables and meat and bread are expensive.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nXO:<\/strong>\u00a0 Tell us about how much you sell each sandwich for and what your specialty is.<br \/>\n<strong>Ms. Anh:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019re eating the special sandwich! \u00a0[It\u2019s true&#8230; we chowed down on her delicious Banh Mi sandwich as we were speaking with her!] \u00a0Normal sandwiches are 15000 VND and this one [referring to the special sandwich] is 20000 VND.\u00a0 It has all the fillings and the special homemade sauce.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nXO:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes this sauce is delicious!\u00a0 What is in it?<br \/>\n<strong>Ms. Anh:<\/strong>\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 You want to sell sandwiches too?<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nXO:<\/strong>\u00a0 \ud83d\ude00 How much did you start selling sandwiches for when you first opened up shop?<br \/>\n<strong>Ms. Anh:<\/strong>\u00a0 4000 VND!\u00a0 Each year I increase by 1- or 2000!<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nXO:<\/strong>\u00a0 We hear that you are only open Monday to Friday now.\u00a0 Business is good?<br \/>\n<strong>Ms. Anh:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes I get lots of customers who come back and they like my sandwiches.\u00a0 They work only Monday to Friday so many people don\u2019t eat Banh Mi on the weekend.\u00a0 I make enough money so I enjoy my free time.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nXO:\u00a0<\/strong> So what do you do on your free time? Do you go out for dinner often?<br \/>\n<strong>Ms. Anh:<\/strong>\u00a0 Sometimes.\u00a0 I like Chinese food a lot.\u00a0 My sisters and I will go out for Chinese food in District 5.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nXO:<\/strong>\u00a0 What about traveling?\u00a0 Do you go away for the weekend ever or take a trip somewhere?<br \/>\n<strong>Ms. Anh:<\/strong>\u00a0 No I have too many responsibilities and not enough money.\u00a0 My friends always say they want me to go with them and they offer to pay, but no.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nXO:\u00a0<\/strong> Ms. Anh, can we take a picture of you?<br \/>\n<strong>Ms. Anh:\u00a0<\/strong> Okay only if you make me look beautiful in the photo!<\/p>\n<p>You can find Ms. Tuyet Anh and her stand near the corner of Nguyen Du and Dang Tran Con in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City.\u00a0 She is there from 6 AM until about 1 PM (or until she runs out of bread) from Monday to Friday.\u00a0 Ask for the special sauce on your sandwich, and tell her you saw her photo on the <a title=\"XO Tours Blog\" href=\"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener \u201ddofollow&quot;\">XO Tours blog<\/a> and that she looked beautiful. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1001\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1001\" style=\"width: 369px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1001 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/tuyet-anh-banh-mi.jpg\" alt=\"Tuyet Anh who sells banh mi in Ho Chi Minh city\" width=\"369\" height=\"558\" srcset=\"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/tuyet-anh-banh-mi.jpg 369w, https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/tuyet-anh-banh-mi-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/tuyet-anh-banh-mi-99x150.jpg 99w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 369px) 100vw, 369px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1001\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tuyet Anh who sells banh mi in Ho Chi Minh city<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Stay tuned for more Vietnam travel tips and tidbits on Vietnamese culture. \u00a0If you would like to learn more about Vietnamese culture, join us on our <a title=\"Our Tours\" href=\"https:\/\/xotours.vn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener \u201ddofollow&quot;\">Sights Tour<\/a>!<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Makes your Banh Mi Sandwich! The Vietnamese people are rich with entrepreneurial spirit.\u00a0 Opening a small business or providing a service is one of the most common ways that people here make money and it also gives rise to some of the most unique jobs in the world!\u00a0 From cyclo drivers to yoke-carrying food sellers [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Faces of Vietnam Edition 1 - A lady who sells Banh Mi in Ho Chi Minh city","_seopress_titles_desc":"We made a short interview to catch a glimpse into the daily life of a lady who sells banh mi in Ho Chi Minh City at a street stall.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[432],"tags":[21,139,140,144,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-993","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-life","8":"tag-street-food","9":"tag-banh-mi","10":"tag-banh-mi-fillings","11":"tag-vietnamese-culture-2","12":"tag-wage-in-vietnam"},"acf":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=993"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5302,"href":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993\/revisions\/5302"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xotours.vn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}