Several elderly people have become famous among foreign tourists for their special takes on local cuisine and hospitality industry services.
Vietnam is scoring high among food travelers who love the country's noodles, breads and cakes.
Nguyen Thi Loc, 80, of Hoi An City, central Quang Nam Province, is popular for her bánh mì or Vietnamese traditional bread.
Loc make bread for foreign tourists
Loc’s store is small but her reputation is huge as “Madam Khanh – The Banh mi Queen”.
There are many compliments from foreign tourists stuck to her kitchen’s wall, one praising her for “the most delicious and cheapest food in the world”.
Comments by food tourists
Loc’s bread ranks seventh in the TripAdvisor’s list
Nguyen Xuan Ra, 91, is another star. Born in central Danang city, he moved to HCM City to live with his uncle when he was 12.
He worked as a waiter in a French restaurant to earn money for his studies and learned how to make a special cocktail there.
He joined the army before becoming principal of a machinery college in HCM City after the national liberation.
Ra has since become an expert cocktail maker and lectures at hospitality universities and colleges, while conducting cocktail training courses for domestic and foreign hotels, resorts and bars.
After 30 years of working in the cocktail sector, he has compiled 21 books on making wine and drinks and is known as the “Witch of Cocktails”.
Ra showing off his wine
To mark Ha Long Bay being ranked among the world’s seven natural wonders, Ra invented two cocktails - “Ky quan Ha Long”, or “Ha Long wonder”, and “Ha Long Ngay nay”, or “Ha Long today”.
Nguyen Thi Dau, 70, set up her trademark Nhu Lan Bakery in HCM City 40 years ago and her breads, with a crisp crust and soft centre, are less salty than French baguettes and appeal to locals with their traditional taste.
Dau, owner of Nhu Lan Bakery
Do Anh Thu, 65, is director of Sans Souci Cyclo Tourism Co., Ltd in Hanoi. When he was young, he worked as a teacher and graduated from the University of Education in 1981.
But he couldn't earn enough money to support his family, and began working as a cyclo driver in the evening, before taking up the job fulltime in 1994.
Director of Sans Souci Cyclo Tourism Co Ltd
He began building a fleet of cyclos, starting with 5 and his company, Sans Souci Cyclo Tourism Co Ltd, now has 100 on the roads.
