On the 5th of May, on the Duanwu Festival, go to District 6 to eat Fujian's Ba Trang cakes, which only come once a year.

Since April 25 (lunar calendar), Linh Lan bakery has been bustling with fire, busy preparing for the season of Ba Trang cakes - an indispensable dish every Doan Ngo Festival (5th-5th lunar calendar) of Chinese people in Vietnam.

Linh Lan bakery is busy preparing ingredients to wrap Ba Trang cakes on a day near the 2025 Doan Ngo Festival - Photo: LAN HUONG

Located deep in alley 145/7 Gia Phu street (District 6, Ho Chi Minh City), from 4am, Linh Lan bakery starts a busy working day amidst the smoke from the kitchen mixed with the faint scent of sticky rice, meat, salted eggs...

Ms. Ly Bao Linh - the shop owner - quickly wrapped the cake. In less than 1 minute, under her skillful and experienced hands, a beautiful banh u ba trang was formed.

'Making banh ba trang is very hard!'

Banh ba trang is a traditional Chinese cake, popular during the Dragon Boat Festival and Lunar New Year. In Teochew, "ba" means meat, "trang" means sticky rice cake.

Sharing with Tuoi Tre Online , Ms. Ly Bao Linh said that Linh Lan bakery has been around for more than 30 years. In the first years, her mother-in-law was the one who directly made and wrapped the cakes and then passed the profession on to her.

Ms. Bao Linh (pink shirt) and her family members wrap cakes - Photo: LAN HUONG

According to Ms. Linh, making Banh Ba Trang is both difficult and easy. The difficulty is when you first learn how to make the cake because each step requires meticulousness from choosing the ingredients to marinating and making the finished product.

"The most difficult part is arranging the leaves and wrapping the cake. Each cake must be wrapped tightly, not too loosely or too tightly so that when steamed, the cake cooks evenly without being crushed or falling apart.

At first I found it difficult, but as I got used to it, it became easier" - Ms. Bao Linh said.

Although it has a similar shape to Vietnamese banh ú tro or banh tro with a layer of dong leaves wrapped into a small cone, what makes banh ba trang different is the richly flavored filling.

Some ingredients in Phuc Kien's Ba Trang cake - Photo: LAN HUONG

The filling of the Banh Ba Trang is a blend of ingredients such as soft stir-fried pork belly, fatty salted eggs, dried shrimp, and fragrant lotus seeds... In addition to the usual ingredients, the Banh Ba Trang from Fujian also has fried onions, creating a unique flavor that cannot be confused with any other type of cake.

As for the cake crust, to keep its full softness and aroma, Ms. Linh revealed that the sticky rice must be carefully selected and soaked for 4-5 hours to soften the rice grains evenly, preparing for the cake wrapping stage.

After being steamed, the banh ba trang is hung up high to cool - Photo: LAN HUONG

Once completed, the cake must be continuously cooked over high heat for 5-6 hours to reach perfect doneness. In total, from start to the birth of the delicious Fujian Ba ​​Trang cake, it takes more than 10 hours.

"Making banh ba trang is very hard, but because I like it and love it, I still want to continue making it. During the Doan Ngo Festival, making a cake for everyone to bring home to worship, gather around and enjoy together is my happiness" - she confided.

Eating Fujian's Banh Ba Trang on the Dragon Boat Festival reminds me of my childhood

Despite being located in a small alley, Linh Lan bakery is still bustling with customers from early morning. Cars coming and going make the space more bustling than ever. According to Linh, there were times when cars lined up, stretching from the beginning of the alley to the end.

"In addition to buying directly, many people also order the bakery to make cakes in advance and then come to pick them up. I can't estimate how many cakes I sell each day because people come and go continuously.

This year, the bakery will start working from April 26 (lunar calendar) and will last until the evening of May 4 (lunar calendar), after finishing delivering orders to everyone" - she added.

How to wrap a banh ba trang - Video : LAN HUONG

Although it is a traditional Chinese dish, Phuc Kien's Ba Trang cake is also loved by many diners and sought after during the Duanwu Festival. After watching a clip on TikTok, Mr. Vu Dinh Quan (Go Vap District) went to Linh Lan bakery to try it.

"The first time I ate it, I wasn't used to the smell and taste of the cake, so I was instructed to try it with chili sauce, which made it easier to eat. What I liked most were the salted egg and pork belly, combined with the soft, chewy crust, which was very tasty and well-balanced," he shared.

Inside the salted egg cake grade 1 priced at 90,000 VND includes salted egg, pork belly, lotus seeds... - Photo: LAN HUONG

Ms. Phuong Thao (District 11) commented that the taste of Linh Lan cake is exactly the same as in her childhood memories: "I am Chinese, so every year I always eat Ba Trang cake on the occasion of Doan Ngo Festival. Some years, my mother makes it herself and I help wrap it, other years when I am too busy, I buy it to bring home to worship.

I usually buy at Linh Lan bakery because I've probably eaten it since I was little so I'm used to the taste. After many years, the taste has not changed. Every time I eat it, I feel like I'm back to my childhood when the whole family gathered together."

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tet-doan-ngo-mung-5-5-den-quan-6-an-banh-ba-trang-phuc-kien-moi-nam-chi-co-mot-mua-20250527131141692.htm