STORY
Half a year selling, half a year resting
Com tam So 1 has stood in alley 150 Nguyen Trai since 1963. Ba Lan — the second generation — starts her day at 2:30 AM, preparing everything by hand with nearly ten helpers. Each year the shop sells only about 6 months (September to March); the rest of the time she is abroad visiting her children.
1963
60+ years
Food guides date the shop to 1963 — 60+ years in the Nguyen Trai alley, across two generations.
BA LAN
The second generation
Ba Lan carries on her mother's work — the fire is lit at 2:30 AM; she scoops the rice, pours the fish sauce, and chats with regulars herself.
6 + 6
Half a year selling, half a year resting
The sign hung in May 2025: “closed from May 19, back in September”. Regulars just click their tongues — and wait for the season.
“Here the bì is hand-shredded every day — light on toasted rice powder, generous with pork.”— A diner on Foody