A shop tucked away on Duong Tu Giang Street in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City is famous for selling the best sticky rice in the Cho Lon area.

Though just a simple sticky rice stall, owner Ngoc Yen’s special take on the dish has been a beloved fixture in the Cho Lon area, a vibrant Chinese-Vietnamese community spanning across Ho Chi Minh City’s District 5, District 6, District 8, District 10, and District 11, for nearly four decades.

Now named 'Ngoc Yen' after its owner, the shop was once known to locals simply by the name of its most popular dish: chè tô ca dé -- a bowl of sweet soup with 'ca dé,' which is a mixture of milk, eggs, coconut milk, durian, and flour.

Currently, the menu features just two dishes: chè ba màu (three-color sweet soup) and xôi xiêm (Siam sticky rice).

Priced at VND30,000 (US$1.2), Ngoc Yen’s xôi xiêm comprises sticky rice, ca dé, and coconut milk. 

As one holds the plate, the fragrant aroma of sticky rice, coconut milk, and durian is irresistible. 

A bite reveals three distinct layers, highlighted by the vibrant yellow of ca dé, making the dish visually appealing.

Unlike the ca dé found in xôi xiêm Chau Doc, a specialty in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang’s Chau Doc City, Ngoc Yen’s version is soft and spongy, reminiscent of a delicate flan made with chicken eggs, melting effortlessly on the tongue. 

The combination of coconut milk and durian not only enhances the dish’s taste but also imparts a rich, indulgent flavor.

The sticky rice itself is chewy but not overly sweet, and the coconut milk and ca dé make this desert rich but not overly sweet. 

Though Ngoc Yen’s chè ba màu may not be as popular as its xôi xiêm, guests still regularly flock to the stall for a bite of this unique three-color sweet soup which features a simple blend of red beans, yellow ca dé and mung beans, and white coconut water and jelly. 

While some might find the dish plain, it serves as a refreshing treat during a hot day and has a subtly sweet, harmonious taste similar to the Siam sticky rice, making it worth the trip to Cho Lon.

According to the Ngoc Yen, the stall owner, dishes such as chè ba màu and xôi xiêm were first made popular in Cho Lon about 40 years ago by Cambodians who had lived in the area, one of whom taught Yen’s mother-in-law how to make them.

Eventually, the Cambodians moved back to Cambodia and Yen’s mother-in-law opened her own stall. 

For the next several decades, the stall operated without marketing or even a signboard, relying solely on word of mouth by its loyal ethnic-Chinese locals.

Simple yet harmonious in both flavor and appearance, the Siam sticky rice at Ngoc Yen sweet soup shop is a testament to how unique dishes can travel thousands of miles and take root in cultures around the world.

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