Just one woman helped Nga at her stall. She’d do the menial tasks: clear the decks, wash the plates, and sling the leftover noodles and fish sauce into the gutter. If Nga had to shoot down the alley to grab a new fix of meat from the grill and the helper was busy, a regular customer would take over the helm, dish out the food, and handle the cash. I got talking to one woman who took over the helm one day. I asked her what her job was. “I’m an accountant. I work in a small office just around the corner. I’ve been coming here for years.”
