A Pia cake stall in the middle of the market street in 1930
More than 90 years ago, in the 1930s, when the Chinese left their homeland to Saigon - Cho Lon to make a living, Mr. Trieu Moc, a Teochew, also joined the flow of immigrants to Vietnam. He chose Cho Lon - the most bustling area of Saigon at that time to build his career.
His family has a tradition of making pia cakes, sesame candy, and peanut candy, so even in the new land, he still keeps the profession. In the beginning, the Trieu family's "business" was just a small pia cake stall. He often carried two baskets through the narrow market alleys, his cries blending with the noisy rhythm of life, the aroma of baked cakes mixed with the incense smoke from Chinese shrines. In 1948, he opened a small bakery in an alley on Binh Tay Street - which is still the only address of the shop to this day.
Trieu Minh Hiep bakery space has a blend of Chaozhou and Cho Lon culture.
From the street cake stall of the past, after 77 years, the Trieu family business has gone through four generations, maintaining the traditional way of making cakes by hand. Initially, only people from Chaozhou came to buy these candies on occasions such as weddings, holidays, New Year, offerings, and death anniversaries. The good news spread far and wide, and gradually, the flavor of Trieu Minh Hiep pia cakes became famous, attracting both Chinese and Vietnamese people in Saigon to love them and becoming a familiar gift every Mid-Autumn Festival.
The bakery scene from decades ago is recreated through drawings on the wall.
The secret to keeping the bakery alive
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, coincidentally, many families held weddings, orders increased, and the bakery became busier than usual. Despite the hardship, Mr. Trieu An - the current owner of the bakery, said that the staff still made the cakes by hand. The steps of mixing, rolling the dough, making the filling, and shaping were all done by hand, using only about 20% of the machines to preserve the traditional flavor as much as possible.
Mr. An carefully selects the ingredients for making the cakes, “all must be the best, no matter how expensive”. The flour is always imported from Japan to maintain its elasticity and aroma, and the sesame and peanuts must also be the best from famous growing regions.
After going through the stages of kneading the dough, rolling out the crust, wrapping the filling, placing it on a tray, and baking it in the oven for 30-45 minutes, the white, round cakes turn golden yellow, plump, and piping hot. “We make the cakes fresh every day, without using preservatives, so they can only be kept for about 10 days. You can fully enjoy the flavor by eating them right after they come out of the oven,” he said.
Entering the shop these days, people are easily attracted by the fragrant smell of baked dough spreading throughout the alley. Each tray of freshly baked cakes is neatly arranged on the table, the salty green bean cake with salted egg, the crispy mixed cake. Regular customers often buy a whole box of four cakes, priced from 219,000 to 279,000 VND, depending on the type of filling and the amount of salted egg. Many people also order them to be sent far away as a special Mid-Autumn gift for relatives in Hanoi, Da Nang, and even abroad. "The cakes do not use preservatives so they can only be used within 10 days. It is best to eat them right after buying them while they are still hot," Mr. An advised customers.
Mr. Trieu An - third generation bakery owner
For him, it is the consistency with the old recipe that keeps customers. “Making cakes the traditional way is much harder than the industrial chain, but we want customers to still taste the familiar taste of the old days,” he said.
The old Mid-Autumn Festival of Cho Lon
If Binh Tay alley is quiet during the day, then every moon season, the alley becomes much more bustling. The bakery is lit all night, the oven crackles softly, the smell of caramelized sugar is fragrant. Many customers come just to "smell the old Mid-Autumn scent". Ms. Mai, a regular customer, said that every year she stops by the shop to buy cakes to worship her ancestors. "The cakes here are not too sweet, the crust is thin, and you can eat until the last piece without getting bored. Every time we open the box of cakes, the whole family feels like they are back to their childhood," she said.
Many customers choose Trieu Minh Hiep pia cake as a gift for the Mid-Autumn Festival as a familiar gift of Cho Lon.
In addition, an interesting detail is that the cake box - something that few people pay attention to - has been the shop's identity for decades. While many brands are racing to design luxurious boxes, Mr. An's shop remains loyal to the hand-folded paper boxes printed in colorful colors. It was only last year, when the box factory closed because the senior workers quit, that the shop switched to industrially printed paper boxes. The box design has a distinctive pattern and the shop's name in Chinese. "We still choose paper because this type of paper absorbs moisture well, keeping the cake hot without the crust getting soggy. Using plastic or metal boxes can easily cause the cake to steam, losing its crispiness," he explained.
Mid-Autumn Festival is not only about eating mooncakes and drinking tea, but also an occasion for family gatherings. The Trieu family mooncake shop has therefore become a part of the memories of many Chinese people in Cho Lon. It is a place where generations meet, reminisce about old times and exchange boxes of warm mooncakes.
Customers line up to buy cakes in the shop on the weekend.
Keeping the fire burning for the fourth generation
Now, after three generations, the bakery is about to enter its fourth generation. Mr. An’s son, Trieu Hoc Can, has begun learning the trade, helping his father from kneading dough to tending the oven. “I want my son to understand that this is not just a bakery, but a family legacy. Each cake sold is a part of the customer’s memory,” Mr. An shared.
To keep up with the times, Mr. An opened an online sales channel, accepting orders online and delivering to your home. However, he still firmly maintained the original flavor and method. The only change is the more modern design of the box, printed with a characteristic pattern and the shop name in Chinese, but inside, the cake still has the familiar flavor.
Mr. Trieu Hoc Can - the fourth generation owner of the shop is preparing cakes to deliver to customers.
This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, the four-cake box is still the best-selling option. Customers line up early, and wholesalers order in large quantities as corporate gifts. Despite their busy schedules, the Trieu family still tries to get all orders delivered before the full moon night, so everyone has cakes to offer and share with their loved ones.
After more than 77 years, the small Pia cake shop in Binh Tay alley is not only a place to sell cakes, but also a place to preserve a part of Cho Lon's memories. Among the newly opened shops, this place still emits the fragrant smell of baked cakes every Mid-Autumn Festival, reminding people of the old moonlit nights, of the joy of gathering around a pot of tea and a warm cake.
