Vietnamese woman sells banh mi from her HDB flat, waiting time up to 1 hour during peak periods

Frustrated by rising rental costs and disagreements with the landlord, Hue Thi Banh decided to take her hawker business selling Vietnamese cuisine at home instead.

It turned out to be the right move.

The 47-year-old mother of two, who married a Singaporean and settled here in 2009, had previously worked in local Vietnamese restaurants for about a decade before striking it out on her own, according to Shin Min Daily News.

Hue, who's now a Singapore citizen, opened her own stall in Teck Whye selling the popular Vietnamese baguette sandwiches known as banh mi. 

But things didn't work out as planned.

After the rent on their stall doubled, with Hue and the landlord unable to see eye-to-eye, the couple decided to move the business back home instead.

"After closing the stall, I asked my husband to find out more about how to operate a home-based business," Hue told the Chinese daily. "We then spent more than $3,000 buying all the equipment."

That's how Hue Banh Mi, which now operates out of the family's four-room HDB flat at 807C, Choa Chua Kang Avenue 1, was born.

"The plan was that if the business didn't take off, we'd sell off all the equipment. We didn't expect that after over a year, the business is doing quite okay. On weekends we are able to sell up to 60 sandwiches a day," said Hue.

She noted that business had also picked up following a video by a customer, which went viral on TikTok.

The clip by TikTok user ninjabread, published in September, showed how her craving for Vietnamese food unexpectedly landed her "in a stranger's house".

It also humorously depicted her awkwardness at having to wait in the family's living room for her food. The video has since racked up more than 40,000 likes on TikTok.

According to Hue, customers now come from as far as Orchard and Tampines to show their support.

The menu currently extends beyond baguette sandwiches, including items such as Vietnamese summer rolls and beef stew.

Hue accepts take-away orders at the door, but customers can also pre-order their meals through WhatsApp for collection or order it for delivery through Grab.

She advises customers to order in advance, however, as waiting times for walk-in orders can take as long as up to one hour during peak periods.

During a recent visit, a Shin Min reporter observed at least seven customers arriving within an hour to pick up their meals.

One of them, a couple, told Shin Min that they'd driven for 50 minutes just to try the food.

Landing on the right flavour

Hue shared with the Chinese publication that before starting her business, she'd been worried about whether the sandwiches would appeal to local tastes.

After going through several rounds of experimentation, Hue finally landed on a recipe that she believes preserves the traditional taste of Vietnamese banh mi but is also suitable for local palates.

She revealed that preparing the many different ingredients for the banh mi, such as the pickles and sauce, is a painstaking process that keeps her up until 3am at times.

"Most importantly, the ingredients have to be good, otherwise customers won't return," she said.

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candicecai@asiaone.com