Enjoy tea at the toad shop

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/Article & photo: Huu Duong/

Roadside iced tea or sidewalk iced tea are now familiar in the streets of Hanoi. However, few people know that more than 20 years ago, when sidewalk iced tea was not as popular as it is now, an address brought the culture of enjoying roadside tea shops into a unique place right at the alley of Thanh Xuan market.

These days, autumn is coming to the streets of Hanoi. The chilly air in the early morning makes people nostalgic. Every weekend morning, I go to a toad shop near my house, order a glass of iced tea, and sip while watching people pass by. Looking down at the glass, I suddenly see a memory coming back! In the nostalgic cup, the tea kept “swirling” and turning white, like a stream of memories taking me back to the past.

The fragrance of memory tea

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Friends who have known each other for more than 30 years are looking for the scent of tea and memories.

In the early 2000s, I learned about the “Old Man” tea shop in Thanh Xuan by chance. At that time, I was only a third-year student at a military university in Co Nhue. Except when I’m on duty, every weekend, I get to “take advantage of”; that is, being allowed to leave the barracks for a short time to attend to personal matters. Among the weekend destinations is my brother’s house on Nguyen Quy Duc Street, where the “Old Man” tea shop is located. I have enjoyed the tea flavors there many times, but it was not until later, when I wrote a small post on social networks, recounting my memories of “swirled tea”, that I learned that the tea shop was also called “Tea Uncle”. Lu”. But what does it matter? For us early 7x and 8xers, the “Old Man” tea shop is still the most well-known name.

“The Old Man’s” house is in the B6 Thanh Xuan dormitory, not far from Hanoi University, which at that time was also called Thanh Xuan University of Foreign Languages. The dormitory has an old staircase, and a tea shop is open right at the corner of that staircase. The restaurant is furnished. I don’t pay much attention to other things because it’s the same as other sidewalk tea shops, but there’s a blackboard that I pay the most attention to. A few verses on a small blackboard constantly change according to the types of tea served each day of the week. The unique thing about those verses is that no week is the same as any other week. Although I can no longer remember the exact “weekly calendar”, basically if Monday is wood tea, Tuesday is lotus tea, Wednesday is chrysanthemum tea, Thursday is jasmine tea… and Sunday is mixed tea. Tea flavors of the week and the day the shop owner personally pours tea and invites guests to leave comments.

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Mr. Lu was still healthy. Photo: Facebook Nguyen Truc Phong

There were so many poems written on the blackboard during the week that I can’t remember them, but there was a poem about spring by President Ho Chi Minh that the “Old Man” wrote and asked guests to recite on the occasion of spring’s return. I still remember it forever, perhaps because the romantic nature of the poem resonates with the aroma and flavor of the shop’s rich tea.

“Come back and see the apricot tree mountain.

One yellow flower, one spot of spring.”

(Translation: Returning by chance, I came across a mountain apricot tree.

Each yellow flower is a touch of spring)

In addition to poetry, the restaurant also offers fun riddles and solutions in a humorous way that every customer enjoys every time they try to answer and then hear the answer. The shop’s tea is fragrant, often drunk with roasted peanuts or peanut candy. Guests sit on the sidewalk with mats. Each tea pot is brewed full, and the tea in the pot expands to the top of the lid. In general, the tea is very thick; pour it out and sip at once until all the water is gone, then feel free to add new water. Guests came from many places, but everyone slowly took small sips, told each story, and listened to the scent of tea spreading to their noses and the taste of tea melting gently on their lips. The spirit is so refreshing; life slows down! By the time you want to drink iced tea, it’s time to end the game. But the tea is still very thick, poured into an ice cup, and turns white like milk. I know it has been called “swirl tea” since then, perhaps because when the tea is poured in, the water keeps swirling and becomes milky white. It’s unclear when the word “swirl tea” was born, but it must have been a long time ago, so much so that few young people still mention it now.

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A cup of “swirl tea” takes me back to memory.

Looking for nostalgia

With age and more experience, people become increasingly aware of a Western scholar’s rather strange definition of culture, with the general idea: “Culture is what remains after everything is lost.” I didn’t expect a small post on social networks about the “Old Man” tea shop to receive so many comments from friends. It turns out I’m not the only one who gets nostalgic!

The nostalgia of that day’s “swirl tea” made me look back at the old place a few times, and to my surprise, the old “Old Man” tea shop was still there, even though 20 years had passed. Still Monday wood tea, Tuesday lotus tea… Sunday five-scent tea. Even though I lived not far from the old restaurant, the nostalgic trip was less successful than I thought. After work one day of the week, I boarded the “Dream”, also 20 years old, to return to my old place. When we arrived, we only saw that the shop was deserted. In front of the door was a Wave Alpha car parked neatly. Inside was a table and a few wooden chairs that were still as old as ever, with a “Lu tea shop” sign above. Besides, there was no one in sight! Well, let’s go home, but don’t forget to text your friend from the “green-nosed” days nearby to check if the restaurant is still open and if it’s open at the old hours (from evening to 23rd). Hour).

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The weekly tea schedule is still the same as when Mr. Lu was alive; the only difference is that it is no longer written on the blackboard but is shown in calligraphy by Mr. Kieu Quoc Khanh.

The shop is still available! The gathering of three old friends who had joined the U50 group didn’t need to be mentioned. I know the old shopkeeper is no longer there, but his son and daughter-in-law still maintain their old ways. At 7 p.m., they still take out the chairs, boil water, rinse the kettle, prepare tea… The tea is still fragrant. It is as delicious as before, except there are no more roasted peanuts with basil; instead, there are sunflower plates. Memories remain in every story about this staircase, that blackboard frame, and that year’s poem. After breaking up, my friend’s Facebook reappeared with a cup of “swirled tea”. It turns out that memories still make us lose sleep like before!

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Mr. Lu’s son and daughter-in-law still maintain the “Old Man” tea shop.

It is true to say that when everything has passed, what remains is culture. The “Old Man” is no longer there, but the tea culture he left behind is still preserved. In Thanh Xuan district, on Nguyen Quy Duc Street, where the old staircase of the B6 dormitory complex still stands, there is still a “Tea Jar” run by his son, Kieu Quoc Khanh, and his wife every night as a place preserving memories for those who knew the “Old Man” tea shop back then and those who want to enjoy the authentic, flavorful, fragrant sidewalk tea shop of Hanoi today.