Buzz
Just invest 85,000 VND and young individuals in Hanoi will learn how to make various types of mooncakes, from traditional to creatively shaped ones, with countless layers.
As the mid-autumn festival draws near, a handmade shop on Chua Boc street (Dong Da district, Hanoi) offers a mooncake crafting service. The 'tuition fee' for each session is 85,000 VND, attracting many young people. Visitors here learn to make cakes and can take them home.
With a 'tuition fee' of 85,000 VND, guests can make 4 baked cakes, or 3 medium thousand-layer mooncakes, or 6 small sticky rice cakes. Additionally, visitors can also make sponge cakes, cookies... using various molds.
The cake ingredients are quite intricate. Vy Tuan Anh - the shop owner - said that to achieve beautiful colors, sugar water needs to be prepared over 6 months in advance. Moreover, flour, colorings, and cake fillings must be meticulously prepared.
Coloring flour is also imported from the US, costing over 85,000 VND per small box. Tuan Anh stated that to provide detailed guidance to customers, the entire team of 8 members had to spend 2 weeks learning cake making from a master craftsman on Hang Duong street.
Baking classes during the mid-autumn season in Hanoi draw many customers, especially young individuals. Despite being open for only 6 months, this bakery is always bustling with customers. 'As Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, on weekends or full moon days, we have over 40 guests/day,' Tuấn Anh said. Customers usually come in pairs or groups to learn baking, then enjoy the treats together or take them home as gifts.
With detailed baking recipes, customers can choose from various sizes and designs for birthdays or gifts. Prices are calculated per portion or quantity of different cakes. Large sticky rice cakes are priced at 40,000 VND/piece, while small ones are 16,000 VND/piece. Customers receive meticulous and detailed instructions during their classes.
Customers get to make and bake the cakes themselves and admire the cakes they've made with their own hands when they come out of the oven.
The mooncakes are as visually appealing and enticing as those from professional bakeries.
Each cake comes in a different shape according to the preferences of the dough sculptor.
Thousand-layer mooncakes are one of the most popular choices. They are called 'thousand-layer' because although they use the same recipe as regular baked cakes, they are rolled into layers that intertwine with each other. When baked and separated, the cake will have its crust divided into layers, one layer at a time.
Many young people enjoy taking photos to showcase their homemade cakes on their social media accounts. The achievement of two portions of thousand-layer mooncakes and homemade sticky rice cakes by a customer costs 170,000 VND.
Ngoc Bao, a student at a university in Hanoi, said that on a free weekend, she and her best friend decided to learn some 'homemaking skills'. This time, Bao learned how to make sticky rice cakes and thousand-layer mooncakes. 'Next week, I will definitely come back to learn how to make zodiac-themed mooncakes as gifts for my family,' Bao shared.
Zodiac-themed mooncakes priced at 16,000 VND/piece are among the most popular choices in this class.
Source: Zing
***
Reference: Mytour Travel Guide
TravelWithEase.comJuly 23, 2014
