The Full Moon Festival is less than one month away, with moon cakes of all shapes, sizes, prices, and brands readily available. However, sales seem to be much slower this year round.

There are a wide variety of mooncakes. However, most Hanoian customers prefer to choose traditional flavours, particularly those made by well-known local brands. Mooncake stalls – featuring key brands like Kinh Do, Huu Nghi, and Thu Huong – have been setting up on street pavements. They offer mooncakes of various shapes and sizes. A standard box ranges between 8-10 US dollars. High-end package can price up to 140 dollars. However, the shops remain a little less busy this year. There are some foreign mooncakes of different flavours that are now available online. They are offered at only one or two cents each.  The origin of these cheap mooncakes remains mysterious. Customers are advised to buy branded cakes rather than cheap or eye-catching but poor-quality ones. –VNA