Tiệm bánh kẹo người Hoa - Triệu Minh Hiệp

foodholicvn

It's said that the Chinese community has been living in Saigon for a long time, including Uncle Moc from Teochew who chose Cholon as the place to develop his family's mooncake business. The mooncake of the Chinese varies by region; the one we often eat originated from Guangdong but has been adapted considerably, while the Teochew mooncake is a multi-layered cake with bean or taro filling and salted egg, simple but if you eat it in the right place, I guarantee you'll love it just like I do. Uncle Moc's bakery, now in its third generation, is managed by his descendants. It is described as a workshop but it's just a small house with some machinery to combine handcrafting to produce these freshly made cakes. On the wall of the workshop, there's a big newspaper article; Uncle mentioned that once a team from Singapore came to interview him, constantly praising the taro multi-layered cake of his, saying they have it in Sing but can't maintain the delicious scent like this one.

A box of four cakes packed in a hard red paper box with images of dragons, phoenixes, plum blossoms, and lanterns gives me a bit of nostalgia. The cakes are freshly made, so they're still warm through the box layer. Uncle Moc advises to eat it right away to experience the best taste, saying it'll lose a lot of its deliciousness by the time you get home. Following his advice, I broke a cake covered in white sesame, the crispy crust crumbled to reveal the brownish taro filling with golden salted egg. Taking a light bite, the crust broke easily, followed by the warm filling with a comfortable sweetness, and a hint of something slightly salty making it hard to stop eating. When I asked about the taste, Uncle chuckled: 'It's a family secret recipe, can't just tell anyone. It's best enjoyed with a pot of hot tea!'

Besides the multi-layered cakes, Uncle also sells peanut candy, the same box of candy he gave me last Tet, which is super delicious. Next to Uncle's house, there's another Teochew pastry shop specializing in mung bean cakes with red bean filling and black sesame seed cakes, but unfortunately, both were still being baked so I had to go back empty-handed, promising to return next time to fully enjoy them.

The cakes here don't contain preservatives, so they can only last up to 10 days, thus preserving the traditional flavor and ensuring safety.