That is the story of the start-up of Mr. Huynh Anh Khoa (25 years old, living in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City) receiving millions of hearts on social networks in recent days. As a result, his tofu shop became so popular that the owner “couldn’t even imagine”.
Redo life
Leaving school early, at the age of 16, Mr. Khoa got wet feet from his hometown of Dak Nong to Ho Chi Minh City to start a business. The young man that day did all kinds of freelance jobs to have money to support himself, from plaster ceiling, mechanic to shipper, working in the restaurant kitchen…
(CLIP): The insolvent gamer started a business with tofu sandwiched with laksa leaves.
Khoa spent 2 years pursuing a career as a professional gamer.
At the age of 20, he dreamed of becoming a professional gamer. For 2 years, he lived and died with online games, but he did not put much emphasis on competing for money, but to satisfy his passion. Then, one day, he realized he couldn’t stick with this job forever.
“There was a time when I lived loosely, loosely, had to borrow a lot of money and then could not pay. At that time, I was insolvent, my family was not well off, so I didn’t know what to do. Those were tough days in my life,” he recalls.
Determined to start a business with tofu sandwiched with laksa leaves.
The dish he modified is loved by young people.
Thanks to the encouragement of his family and relatives, the young man was determined to revive his spirit and “remade his life” with the intention of trying his hand at a business. Many years ago, Mr. Khoa used to visit An Giang to eat this dish of tofu with laksa leaves. Seeing that the dish was simple but very interesting, many young people were also very curious about this strange dish, so he decided to try it.
Mr. Khoa rented a space on Hoang Sa Street (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City), opened a small tofu truck for sale. The first month was not easy, especially on rainy days, he only sold more than a dozen pieces. Knowing “thousands of difficult beginnings”, he did not give up and still tried to persevere.
Along with the business, Mr. Khoa also started sharing his entrepreneurial journey on social networks to save memories as well as “promote” a little about his food, he suddenly received a lot of attention. Khoa himself never thought that his story would receive such support from everyone.
Hot steamed tofu.
“It is the words of encouragement from all of you that motivate me to try. Something I couldn’t imagine happened when then, thanks to the spread of social networks, many people came to support my shop,” he said happily.
In the past few days, customers came to support so much that he did not have time to rest. In order to serve customers well, he also had to hire 2 more assistants to work. For him, this is a great happiness in the early days of his start-up.
Variations of dishes
According to Mr. Khoa, tofu with laksa leaves is a new dish for many people in Ho Chi Minh City when there are not many places to sell. In the West, the dish is prepared in the traditional way when a piece of steamed tofu is still hot, cut in half and then added laksa leaves, salt, pepper, chili and a little sour and sour kumquat and clamped.
The dish is not fussy, but the flavors of sour, spicy, salty, sweet … are harmoniously combined to bring a burst of flavor on the tip of the tongue. Bringing the dish sold in Ho Chi Minh City, besides the traditional tofu made in the above way sold by Mr. Khoa for 8,000 VND, the guy also changed it to add cotton rub, quail eggs, cinnamon rolls to the tofu piece. . This mixed part was sold by him for 14,000 VND and received the support of customers.
The dish is simple but has a strange taste, suitable for many people.
Ms. Thuy Quyen (24 years old, living in Phu Nhuan district) bought 4 pieces of mixed tofu at Mr. Khoa’s place and said that she knew about the shop through social networks. Because she was inspired by the owner’s entrepreneurial journey, the girl decided to go to the place to buy support.
“The tofu you make is delicious, the dish that reminds me of my childhood in the countryside was also made for me by my mother. In Saigon, I made it myself, or it was more difficult to find and buy it. I will definitely continue to support him for a long time and hope that he will start a successful business,” the guest said.
Every day, Mr. Khoa sells from 16:30 to 21:30. But in the past few days, many customers have supported, he sold out at 19:30. The young man said that he will not stop trying every day to have more improvements in the dish, to meet the diverse needs and support of the guests.