When darkness falls and families and shops close their doors, turn off lights and go to bed, a new working day for Nguyen Thi Ngang, or Grandmother Sau, begins.

In the quiet night, under the flickering electric light, Ngang places her slippers on the ground, sits on them and waits for the first customers. 

This image has become familiar to many people and workers on Nguyen Chi Thanh street, Tan An ward, Thu Dau Mot City. For more than 30 years, at 3 am, Ngang leaves for the spot, which takes nearly 30 minutes, and sells banh my xiu mai, or pork meatball bread.

“In general, I get there on foot. Walking is physical exercise. I’ve gotten used to this work. But if I feel not really healthy, my son will carry me and my bread to that place,” she said, smiling gently.

Ngang’s bread stall is known among the majority of workers in the area. Sold at just VND5,000 for each loaf, the bread is believed to be the cheapest in Vietnam. The bread is the favorite dish for many factory workers who have to work late at night, and many poor people in the last three decades.

“VND5,000 is the newest price level. Tens of years ago, each loaf of bread was priced at VND500 only, and then rose to VND2,000,” she said.

“I am old and I don’t care much about profit. I just feel happy that I can help poor people eat their fill,” she said.

Grandmother Sau’s bread stall is simple with just a pot of hot pork meatballs, pork skin, raw vegetables and sauce. All the items are put into a basket, and all the materials are made by the woman herself. A large basket of bread loaves sits next to the pot.

Each loaf of bread sold by the grandmother has 2-3 pork meatballs, some pork skin, cucumber, and chili, drizzled with tasty meatball sauce. 

“It takes a lot of time to make pork meatballs, so I have to begin my work at noon. The meat gets well done in the evening, but I keep it in pot to be sure that it is always warm,” she said.

“In the past, I walked to the market near my house to select materials. But now, as I suffer from backache, this work is undertaken by my son,” she said.

After the pork is brought home, she has to clean the meat, chop it into small pieces, season with rich spices, and shape into bite-sized balls. 

“The key secret of my recipe is the broth from meatballs. I use pork fat to make the broth, so the broth is fatty and delicious. After that, I drizzle the broth over the bread and cucumber,” she explained. 

As pork skin easily gets rotten, she has to process the skin at night, just before she leaves home. 

The pork skin is soaked in water, cleaned, preliminarily treated, and boiled. After that, the skin is cut into small slices, seasoned with spices, and mixed well. She also uses some half fat and half lean meat to make it tastier. After several hours, the skin is absorbed with spices and is ready to serve to clients. 

Sau’s business has been running well. Every day, she makes two pots of pork meatballs and sells 100-150 loaves of bread. 

“Those who want to eat their fill order big loaves of bread worth VND10,000 or VND15,000. Those who don’t have much money can order the loaf of bread worth VND2,000 only,” she said.

Asked about the profit, she said she can earn VND100,000 a day only, but she feels happy as she can help many people "struggle with hunger".

Most of her clients are loyal diners. They are either poor laborers, factory workers in the area, or locals who get up early in the morning and go out for physical exercise.

Tung, 53, is one of the loyal clients. He buys a loaf of bread every morning when he passes by. 

“I have been eating grandmother Sau’s for decades. Each serving is enough to fill up my stomach. The broth is really good, not too greasy,” Tuan said.

Vo Nhu Khanh