Trang Tien Ice Cream

(Cinet)- A small ice cream shop in Ha Noi draws hordes of locals and visitors every day in summer and winter.

Trang Tien ice cream, which has been established since 1958, has been well known in Vietnam for its very special flavour that fascinates almost everyone.

When the Trang Tien Ice Cream Shop first opened in 1958, there were only two flavors of “ice cream on a stick.”

After the war ended in 1975, there are more flavors, including chocolate, green bean, green rice and the shop started selling ice cream cones and ice cream served in cups as well as popsicle ice-creams.

In hot summer days, the shop can sell 10,000 to 20,000 popsicle ice-creams a day.

A quick peek inside the shop illustrates its popularity. Each day there is a crowd of people at the refrigerators choosing their purchases. But regular shoppers know they have to place their orders quickly with the waiting staff, who can be grumpy with slow orderers.

Once an order is successfully placed, customers usually rush outside to enjoy their ice cream in front of the shop.

Despite the shop’s many refrigerators, it is often hot – even in winter - because of the crush of people inside.

In spite of the invasion of many foreign ice-cream brands, Hanoians remain loyal to “quality” ice cream.

Tràng Tiền Shop only uses natural ingredients to make a “fresh-tasting” product.

The shop’s green rice ice cream combines the light fragrance of green rice mixed with the rich taste of coconut milk.

What sets the Trang Tien ice cream apart from other brands is its soft and chewy texture, with tiny grains of green beans or green rice sprinkled through the ice cream.

Buying ice cream at the shop has become a tradition for generations of Hanoians, who say the shop reminds them of the post-war period when shopping was hard work, requiring hours of waiting.

People from across Viet Nam still flock to the original shop at No. 35 Trang Tien Street in Ha Noi for the special icy taste that has become a symbol of the old capital city.