Saigon’s ‘Bê Đê’ sweet soup attracts more customers as the night deepens

Most dishes here are quite exotic, refreshing, suitable for the hot weather, and the place is always bustling with customers.

Saigon’s ‘Bê Đê’ sweet soup attracts more customers as the night deepens

Located on Bui Huu Nghia Street, District 5, Saigon, the sweet soup shop named Thanh Tam is also known as ‘Bê Đê’ sweet soup, as it is a familiar meeting point for many people of the third gender in Saigon. The sweet soup, cooked by long-time Chinese residents in the neighborhood, offers some unique dishes for Vietnamese people.

The diverse menu features dozens of Chinese sweet soup varieties that may dazzle first-time visitors. Among them, the tea-soaked chicken egg is favored by the Chinese community for its excellent cooling effect. The dish lives up to its name, consisting only of boiled eggs in jasmine tea and herbal ingredients, cooked until the egg whites turn brown or black, a process that takes considerable time. The taste is mild, with the egg yolks being slightly chewy. Sipping on the cold herbal tea also helps with digestion. This dish can be a bit heavy, and just a bowl is enough to fill you up.

Additionally, many health-beneficial sweet soups are available, such as papaya sweet soup with Chinese medicinal herbs to promote digestion, black sesame sweet soup for skin beauty, and sweet soup with lotus seed and quail eggs to detoxify. The dishes here do not use coconut milk like the sweet soups in the Southern region of Vietnam; instead, they use unsweetened fresh milk as a substitute. Therefore, if you are allergic to milk, it is advisable to inform the owner beforehand.

In addition to the tea-soaked chicken egg, tofu and grass jelly are also two distinctive items at Thanh Tam sweet soup shop. The tofu is made from soybeans, but it's firmer and denser than the typical Vietnamese tofu, offering various flavors such as strawberry, pineapple, or mixed fruits, making it quite interesting to eat. As for grass jelly, it looks similar to agar but has a completely different taste, with a tangy and slightly bitter flavor that may be challenging for those not accustomed to Chinese cuisine. However, once you get used to it, you might become addicted and convinced by its benefits such as cooling the liver, improving skin health, and detoxification if consumed regularly.

The shop is located at 98 Bui Huu Nghia Street, right on the front in District 5, Saigon. Despite not having air conditioning, the spacious and airy ambiance provides a comfortable feeling. As the night falls, more customers visit the shop for a late-night snack. Prices range from 18,000 to 44,000 VND depending on the dish. The sweet soups are usually served in glass or ceramic bowls, appearing small but are actually sufficient for one person.

By Vi Yen/Star

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Reference: Travel guide from Mytour