The oldest mooncake shops in Vietnam, some are up to 72 years old

Stopping to observe for a moment, Travellive reporter suddenly saw everyone heading towards Bao Phuong mooncake shop. Ms. Cuc (57 years old - Thuy Khue, Hanoi) shared: "Every year, the shop is crowded with people. Very crowded. They mainly come to buy cakes to give as gifts."

Bao Phuong Bakery (Hanoi)

On Thuy Khue Street, Hanoi, every Mid-Autumn Festival, long lines of people line up on this street to wait to buy Bao Phuong cakes. This is one of the oldest traditional bakeries in Hanoi, established in 1954, more than 60 years old.

In the memories of those born and raised in the 60s and 70s, traditional moon cakes only contained pumpkin jam, pork fat, lotus seeds, and lemon leaves nestled in a slightly dry crust baked from flour and sugar water. Bao Phuong cakes in the early stages also had the same flavor. Talking to Mr. Xuan Hieu (45 years old - currently a chef in Hanoi), he said: "I remember the Bao Phuong cakes when I was a child were a bit hard, the cakes were all pumpkin jam so they were very sweet."

In times of scarcity, the cake was made very sweet and very fatty to be enjoyed with strong black tea. That sharp contrast of flavors has become a part of the childhood of many children who are now adults.

Today's Bao Phuong cakes have been modified to reduce the amount of pumpkin jam and increase the amount of pork fat, Chinese sausage, roasted sesame, lotus seeds, and melon seeds, as well as adjusting the crust to be softer. But for many people, the traditional cake from the difficult years is the best moon cake. At Bao Phuong, moon cakes cost an average of about 70,000 VND/cake. Every time the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the shop only accepts cash payments and does not accept bank transfers because it is too crowded with people coming and going to buy and sell.

Nhu Lan Bakery (Ho Chi Minh City)

Nhu Lan Mooncakes located on Ham Nghi Street, District 1 was established in 1968 with more than 50 years of operation not only in the field of mooncakes but also "encroaching" into the market share of cakes, bread, cold cuts...

Before building the famous mooncake empire in this city, Aunt Gai (the founder of the Nhu Lan cake brand) only had a small cart selling bread. Her mooncakes have a very special and unique flavor.

Interviewing a long-time customer of Nhu Lan bakery, the reporter learned that each type of mooncake or sticky rice cake here is very special. He said: “The mixed-filling mooncake here has a very soft and fragrant filling from Chinese sausage, lotus seeds, melon seeds, lemon leaves, and roast chicken. The crust at Nhu Lan is more special than other places because she (Lan) uses egg yolks to make the crust softer and more fragrant.”

According to him, he gets to eat a lot of Nhu Lan moon cakes every year. He is very familiar with the unique wine flavor from the cake. He said: “The moon cakes here have two styles, although they have the same filling, they are two different flavors made from two types of wine: Mai Que Lo and Ap Xanh.”

According to Mr. Hoang (29 years old, office worker in Ho Chi Minh City), "Nhu Lan mooncakes have the fragrant smell of Mai Que Lo wine."

However, compared to the general mooncake market, Nhu Lan cakes are much more expensive with a listed price of 160,000 VND for a mixed cake with eggs. This price can be double that of other bakeries.

Dong Phuong Bakery (Hai Phong)

Hai Phong not only has crab noodles and spicy bread but also has a long-standing brand of mooncakes and mooncakes. Started in 1950, Dong Phuong bakery and jam shop sells mooncakes and jams and has now become the busiest bakery in the city during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Located on the bustling Cau Dat street, it is not easy for buyers to squeeze into the long line from the shop door to several hundred meters behind. What is it about this cake that makes people buy so much?

In conversations with people around, some said the shop had good business, others affirmed that the cakes must be delicious to be able to sell so well.

The characteristic of this cake is the very thin crust and soft, fatty filling. Unlike the two bakeries above, one follows the traditional style of cakes with the right sweetness and dryness, the other is free to indulge in the rich aroma of wine, Dong Phuong makes a simpler cake that meets all the criteria of being soft, sweet, salty, and fragrant with lemon leaves. Most of the mixed fillings here are made from char siu pork instead of Chinese sausage or pork fat. This Mid-Autumn Festival, cakes at Dong Phuong cost an average of about 80,000 VND/piece.

Hopefully with the above suggestions from Travellive, readers can choose for themselves a place to enjoy moon cakes in the traditional style. These are all long-standing bakeries and have a certain reputation in the market of moon cakes in Vietnam. Wishing readers a peaceful and happy new moon season.

Ha Chuu