The coin pancake craze

By Ngoc Ngan, Quynh Nguyen October 22, 2023 | 04:30 pm GMT+7

Bao Nghi and her boyfriend traveled 20 km from rural Hoc Mon District to Ho Chi Minh City’s District 4 to wait in line for “coin pancakes,” a new foodie trend.

A female customer at a coin pancake stall on Vinh Hoi Street, District 4, HCMC, Oct. 9, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Ngan

The 23-year-old Saigonese is one of many avid cheese lovers who became intrigued by the pancakes via images and videos of them all over social media over the past few weeks, enticed by their golden crust and stretchy filling. "The way the cheese stretches when the pancake is split looked really appetizing," Nghi said. So, on Oct. 9, Nghi lined up behind seven people at a coin pancake stall on Vinh Hoi Street. The stall has three grills capable of making 12 pancakes in each 5–7-minute batch. A few customers immediately ate while sitting on their motorbikes to enjoy the flavors at their freshest. If a coin pancake stays out too long, the cheese filling hardens. Vu Thi Hien, the 35-year-old owner of the stall, said that she noticed the trend on social media in August. Seeing an opportunity, she learned the recipe from a Korean chef. She started selling them last month from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. Her stall soon became popular among young customers. Every day Hien sells 1,000-1,400 pancakes, her peak being 2,000 pancakes one day at the beginning of October.

A batch of Hien’s pancakes with stretchy cheese on the grill, Oct. 9, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Ngan

There are three fillings to choose from: cheese with salted egg yolk, melted cheese, and stretchy cheese, priced at VND25,000 (US$1) each. She even receives customers from faraway districts such as Cu Chi, Hoc Mon, and Binh Chanh, who do not hesitate to travel 30km to get to her. A few customers from Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces even buy 100-200 pancakes at a time to share with their relatives and friends. Hien’s customers are usually 15 to 30 years old, with students being her largest demographic. The coin pancake phenomenon began in HCMC about a month ago, with 10-15 carts found on Phan Van Tri Street (Go Vap District), Vinh Hoi Street (District 4), and Ho Tung Mau Street (District 1). Some large supermarkets such as E-mart have also begun selling the product. Xuan Trang brings her 9-year-old daughter to try the new trendy food at a stall in District 4 twice a week. After her daughter’s friend gave her some to try at school she liked it so much that she begged her mom to buy some for her. As their house is only 800m away from the stall, Trang usually waits for it to get less crowded. The 37-year-old woman said that the pancake is soft and not too sweet. However, she makes sure to not let her child eat too much to avoid the bad effects of eating too much cheese. The coin pancake craze appears to have become popular in Hanoi first at the beginning of September. Many young Hanoians shared that they had to wait in line for two to three hours in front of stalls on Hoi Vu Street in Hoan Kiem District, or those scattered in front of shopping malls in Tay Ho District. On Oct. 10, Thanh Lan, a 22-year-old Hanoian living in Thanh Xuan District, came to Hoi Vu Street looking for coin pancakes at her friends’ recommendation. After an hour’s wait, she purchased a pancake for VND35,000. "Even though it was midday in the middle of the week, I still had to wait in line. But it was worth it. The pancake was crispy on the outside and the filling was rich. It suited my tastes, so I’ll be coming back," Lan said. Thanh Nga, the 28-year-old owner of a coin pancake stall on Hoi Vu Street, revealed that ever since she opened in September, she’s sold 1,500-1,800 pancakes every day. There had been times when her spot became so crowded that the line stretched a few hundred meters long. Employees then had to give each customer a note telling them what time to come back. "There were days when I had to give out 400 paper time tickets just two hours after opening. And then at 12 p.m. I had to apologize to the people still waiting because I ran out of ingredients," she said. A month after she opened, new pancake stalls began cropping up all over the city. The amount of pancakes that Nga sold every day began to decrease. Currently, she sells 1,200-1,400 pancakes each day. But even so, it is not strange to see lines of people in front of her stall from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Customers line up to buy coin pancakes on Hanoi’s Hoi Vu Street, Hang Bong Ward, Sept. 27, 2023. Photo by Thanh Nga

Aside from Hanoi, Nga also opened up locations in Da Nang, Vung Tau, Tay Ninh, and HCMC. Although those locations are not as popular on social media, every location is still able to sell on average 800 pancakes every day. Le Anh Tu, a master’s graduate from the Faculty of Public Relations and Communications of HCMC’s Van Lang University, stated that the fact so many people are willing to wait to try a new product is normal and reflects the common consumer behavior of curiosity about something they have not seen before. On the other hand, the boom of stores and mobile carts selling the cakes, and the appearance of groups sharing their coin pancake experiences on social media showed the advantage of savvy business proprietors taking the opportunity to lure customers online. "But to develop in the long run and maintain popularity, they will have to understand what they’re selling, never stop innovating, and maintain their quality. If not, the coin pancake will become nothing more than an imported trend, famous for one second and gone the next," Tu said.

Source: VNExpress.