At the rustic stall of Ms. Rofiah – a Cham woman who has been involved in baking for more than twenty years – this rustic dish is not only about flavor, but also about cultural memories cherished from the life of the Cham people along the Chau Giang River.
The bakery is filled with smoke every morning, where Ms. Rofiah starts a new day with the sweet aroma of palm sugar.
“The first time I enjoyed this cake right where it was born, I could fully feel its special flavor,” Nguyen Thanh Nhat, a student at An Giang University, shared during his visit to Cham village. Nhat is a person who loves to experience local culture. Although he had seen grilled palm cake many times in fairs or tourism promotion events, it was only when he returned to Chau Phong that he could truly touch the “soul” of the dish.
Ha Co grilled palm cake, as the name suggests, is a unique variation of the traditional palm cake, associated with the life of the Cham people in An Giang. While palm cake, popular in the West, is often steamed, the Ha Co version has a very unique flavor thanks to the technique of grilling on a charcoal stove - a method that is both rustic and elaborate.
Rice flour, palm sugar, coconut milk – simple ingredients crystallize the flavor of an entire land
Palm cake is baked just right, golden brown, soft and spongy, and smells of Chau Giang sunshine.
Ms. Rofiah prepared the ingredients early: rice flour was fermented with palm sugar, mixed with coconut milk and juice from fresh palm fruit – the “golden juice” specialty only found in this land. The baking pan was preheated with charcoal, when pouring the flour in, she covered the pan with a heated lid, helping the cake to cook evenly on both sides. Just a few minutes later, the pan lid was opened, the aroma of palm sugar mixed with the smell of charcoal smoke spread – a smell that, as Nhat said, “just smelling it warms the heart”.
Small charcoal ovens – the secret to preserving the traditional flavor of the Cham people
The villagers call this cake “Ha Co” – a term of endearment used to refer to older women. And Ms. Rofiah is one of the people who has kept that fire burning for the past two decades. The small stall consists of only a few charcoal stoves and baking pans, but every morning it is bustling with chatter, the sound of cakes sizzling on the pan, and her smiling eyes as she recounts the story of how she used to travel everywhere to promote her hometown cake.
“She said that every time she goes to a tourism event, the happiest thing for her is when visitors get to personally pour the cake, watch the fire, and feel the difficulty of baking the cake so that the bottom doesn’t burn but the cake is still golden,” Nhat said. For Ms. Rofiah, the cake is not just something to eat but also a “life experience” – where people can touch the Cham culture in a close and warm way.
On normal days, the cake is a “breakfast gift”, a way for tourists to remember a land with the rich sweetness of palm sugar, with the moderate softness and the unmistakable aroma from the charcoal stove.
In Cham villages, grilled palm sugar cakes are not simply a snack. They are an indispensable dish during festivals and weddings. They carry the flavor of reunion, of family love, of the hospitality typical of the Cham people. On normal days, the cakes are a “breakfast gift”, a way for visitors to remember a land with the rich sweetness of palm sugar, with the moderate softness and the unmistakable aroma from the charcoal stove.
According to Nhat, the most special feature of Ha Co grilled palm sugar cake is the difference in the way it is made. “The ingredients are the same as rice flour and palm sugar like other cakes in An Giang, but using a charcoal stove to bake has created a very unique flavor. When the cake is freshly baked, it is still warm in your hand, the crust is dry, the inside is spongy and smooth, the taste is slightly sweet and fragrant. That is when the cake is at its best.”
Sitting by the bakery, listening to stories about palm trees and Ramadan seasons – simple yet profound slices of life
A peaceful morning in Chau Phong, when Cham women with headscarves walk slowly through ancient mosques, the smell of baked palm cakes permeates through every ray of sunlight and wind, like a part of the breath of the village. For those who have visited, that golden cake is not just a dish – but a soft memory brought back from the borderland.
