Bustle

Before Tet, we visited the bakery of Ms. Huynh Ngoc Chinh's family (39 years old), who has been in Cho Lon for nearly 40 years, located at 106 Xom Dat (District 11, Ho Chi Minh City). Every morning, the bakery is bustling with customers coming in one after another to buy all kinds of traditional cakes...

Ms. Chinh said that her oven is famous all year round for its dumplings, willow leaf cakes, radish cakes, and fortune cakes. During Tet, customers' demand for willow leaf cakes, also known as longevity cakes or peach cakes, increases because this is a famous offering cake of the Teochew people in Cho Lon, and is very popular during major festivals and holidays of the year.

The owner said that this cake symbolizes longevity and prosperity, so it is an indispensable offering on the ancestral altar, along with Banh To. That is also the reason why this year, during Tet, Ms. Chinh said that her bakery produced 10 times more Banh Willow than usual, and the whole family of nearly ten people had to work from 6am to 1am the next day to serve on time.

Regarding price, the bakery still keeps the same price at 16,000 VND/willow leaf cake. She said the bakery will sell throughout Tet, only closing on the morning of the first day. Selling on Tet holidays, the price of cakes can increase by 1,000 - 2,000 VND, not too sudden.

“My family’s cakes have a unique flavor that other places don’t have, the important thing is the way we prepare and season them. Having been in business for decades, the bakery has a stable number of regular customers. This year, the economic situation is difficult, so sales are not as high as last year, but it is still the peak time of the year,” Chinh said.

Maintain family bakery

Mr. Chi (63 years old, living in District 11) said he has been a "regular customer" here for decades. Being of Chinese origin, on every important holiday or New Year, he comes here to buy Banh To, Banh La Willow, Banh Bao... to worship and serve guests.

“The cakes here are of good quality, the prices are reasonable, not too expensive, so I just buy them. My house is also near here. In general, I am used to buying here, eating at other places is not suitable. Near Tet, I stopped by to buy willow leaf cakes for offerings," the customer said.

At the age of 8, Chinh helped her parents sell cakes. Nearly 40 years ago, her parents opened this bakery. At first, it was just a small business, delivering cakes to a few acquaintances in Cho Lon because of the delicious way they made them. Gradually, more and more people ordered cakes, and they developed the bakery into what it is today.

“After 10th grade, I dropped out of school and came back to help my parents sell cakes. Now I have inherited the shop. My grandparents are old but still work hard every day at the bakery, selling cakes to customers. The bakery is the passion of my parents who raised 4 children in the family, and it is also my childhood and youth,” Chinh added.

As Tet is getting closer, Chinh's family's bakery is still the place where they bake cakes full of passion, bringing the beauty of traditional Chinese cuisine and culture in the heart of a modern city.