The million-dollar offering tray for the God of Wealth is full of lobsters and giant crabs, and the sellers are "sold out"

On the 10th day of the first lunar month, the day of the God of Wealth, families always prepare a full offering of the "three offerings" (pork, boiled eggs, shrimp, crab) along with sticky rice, fruits, and sweets to pray for wealth and good fortune. Many restaurants and catering services have launched elaborately prepared offerings with varying prices for this occasion.

To prepare offerings for customers on the day of the God of Wealth festival, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hang (Ecopark urban area, Van Giang, Hung Yen ) and 4 employees had to wake up very early, at 2 am this morning.

Even so, Ms. Hang could only prepare about 30 orders and deliver them within the area near where she lives.

The offering tray, priced at nearly 1.4 million VND, includes large lobsters and crabs that Ms. Hang provides to customers. (Photo: T. H).

Ms. Hang said she had to turn down many customers, especially those in Hanoi, because she didn't have enough staff to prepare the offerings and faced difficulties with transportation over long distances. "I carefully select fresh ingredients for the offerings, and the sticky rice and cakes are all handmade, so I only dare to accept a limited number of orders," Ms. Hang said.

For orders within urban areas, customers must place their orders several days in advance. As soon as the offerings are ready, she will have her staff deliver them by electric vehicle to ensure the offerings are not disturbed and retain their freshness.

The offering tray for the God of Wealth costs 539,000 VND. (Photo: T. H).

According to Ms. Hang, the prices of the offering trays vary widely, from 500,000 VND upwards. “The most expensive tray costs nearly 1.4 million VND and includes gac fruit sticky rice, golden sticky rice, eggs, sea crab, lobster, and roasted pork. There are also more affordable trays ranging from 500,000 to 800,000 VND with tiger prawns, crab, eggs, etc.”

The price difference for each offering tray is due to the quantity and weight of the offerings. Besides that, I also prepare simpler offering trays with just roasted meat, sticky rice, or gold bars made from mung bean flour, steamed sticky rice, and areca flower tea…,” Ms. Hang said.

With many years of experience in the catering industry, Ms. Hang has noticed that in the last 4-5 years, people in the North have become increasingly interested in the God of Wealth Day. Many are therefore willing to spend millions of dong to buy delicious and visually appealing offerings for the ceremony. As a result, during these occasions, she often receives a constant stream of orders and is always in a state of "sold out."

The ritual of worshipping the God of Wealth is gaining increasing attention among the people. (Photo: T. H).

Having received orders to prepare 200 trays of offerings for the God of Wealth on the 10th day of the first lunar month this year, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy (Hanoi) and her family of four had to stay up all night to prepare.

Ms. Thuy said that several days ago she posted two sets of offerings for the God of Wealth on her personal page, priced at 555,000 VND and 675,000 VND, for customers to choose from. The 675,000 VND set includes Alaskan lobster, sticky rice, roasted pork, crab, boiled eggs, and steamed buns. For the cheaper set, Ms. Thuy replaced the lobster with 5 tiger prawns.

According to Ms. Thuy, the main ingredients for the offerings to the God of Wealth are fresh seafood. Therefore, she only accepts orders placed in advance to ensure the best possible preparation.

“As of the morning of the 9th day of the first lunar month, I had received 169 orders. By evening, I only received 20 more orders from the last remaining customers. This morning, many people still called to inquire about purchasing, but I had to refuse them all,” Ms. Thuy said.

According to Ms. Thuy, some customers wanted to order more expensive offering trays. However, Ms. Thuy only offered two basic sets at average prices to serve as many customers as possible and to make the offering process easier and more convenient.

Ms. Thuy said that food prices are still quite high these days. This requires vendors to plan ahead to ensure they can buy the freshest shrimp, crab, or meat.

After the offerings are prepared, Ms. Thuy arranges them beautifully and delivers them directly to customers. Upon receiving them, families simply need to remove the plastic wrap before offering them.

Ms. Thuy's offering to the God of Wealth, featuring Alaskan lobster, is a popular choice among many. (Photo: Thuy Nguyen).

Many suppliers of offerings for the God of Wealth this year also said that the prices of seafood such as shrimp and crab are slightly higher this year than in previous years. This has driven up the price of offerings. Therefore, most sellers only accept a moderate number of orders based on the amount of ingredients they have imported, and they have to refuse orders from customers who place orders at the last minute or on the same day.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/doi-song/mam-cung-than-tai-tien-trieu-ngap-tom-hum-cua-khung-nguoi-ban-chay-hang-20230131105744565.htm