Story

Khai Tâm

KHAI TÂM · VEGETARIAN · TRẦN QUANG DIỆU

Khai Tâm is a small vegetarian shop in the Trần Quang Diệu apartment block — a black signboard in gold script, a dark-red awning, yellow wooden tables out on the pavement, and a kitchen cooking vegetarian dishes the traditional way.

The shop is unmistakable from outside: the black signboard with 'Ẩm thực chay Khai Tâm' in gold script, address and phone printed in gold beneath it, a dark-red awning carrying the same name, green shutters on either side. Inside: yellow wooden tables, wall fans, an altar shelf with plants, and lotus paintings.

The kitchen cooks vegetarian versions of traditional dishes: noodle soups, fried noodles, fried rice and spring rolls. The standing signboard lists four noodle soups — bánh canh, bún Huế, mì Quảng, hủ tiếu. The shop's blue menu book prints three prices: claypot fried rice 39,000₫, Quảng noodle 40,000₫, curry 45,000₫.

A small, tidy shop, right for a budget vegetarian meal in the heart of District 3. Order on the phone number printed in the menu book: 0931 417 442.

The standing signboard: Bánh canh, Bún Huế, Mì Quảng, Hủ tiếu
The standing signboard: Bánh canh, Bún Huế, Mì Quảng, Hủ tiếu

The name

Khai Tâm

The name suggests an open heart — fitting for a small, gentle vegetarian shop cooking home-style food in an apartment block.

The signboard

Black and gold

The black-and-gold signboard is the shop's mark — Lot A/014 and the number 0931 417 442 printed in gold right under the name.

The menu book

Blue cover, printed prices

The shop's blue menu book prints three prices and notes plainly: prices exclude holiday surcharges.

Menu-book page: claypot fried rice, 39,000₫
Menu-book page: claypot fried rice, 39,000₫
Menu-book page: curry, 45,000₫
Menu-book page: curry, 45,000₫
Menu-book page: Quảng noodle, 40,000₫
Menu-book page: Quảng noodle, 40,000₫
VIENKO