Why are customers lining up for this 3-generation Teochew pastry shop in Ho Chi Minh City?

Queuing up for pastries fresh from the oven

The small alley on Pham Dinh Ho Street in Binh Trung Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, has been busier than usual in recent days as the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches.

People have been lining up almost to the entrance of the alley, waiting to buy hot, freshly baked 'pia' cakes, a flaky pastry filled with mung bean paste and salted egg yolk. 

The area around the shop has been bustling since early morning.

Despite the long wait, customers remain cheerful, thanks in part to the shop owner’s warm hospitality. 

He personally cuts up the cakes and brings trays of samples to customers waiting in line.

What sets the shop apart is not only its long-standing traditional flavor, but also the warmth of the people behind it. 

Seeing customers waiting for a long time, the owner carries trays of freshly baked pia cakes, cut into small pieces, out to the line and offers them to people one by one.

“Have a piece while you wait. Sorry to keep you waiting, the cakes just came out of the oven and are still hot. Just give them a little bit longer,” the owner calls out, his booming voice seemingly making the long wait feel a little shorter. 

Quality over quantity

Speaking briefly to Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper while swiftly packing the pastries into boxes, shop owner Trieu An said the bakery does not chase volume but instead focuses on careful, handmade production to preserve its traditional flavor.

“We only sell as much as we can make. Our bakery produces only about 300 to 400 cakes a day. The rule is to sell everything the same day, we never keep any cakes overnight," Trieu An said.

“Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, so more people are coming to buy cakes for the festival and as gifts. We have had to speed up production to keep up with this morning’s batch,” he said with a smile.

The bakery is especially busy in the two weeks leading up to the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, likely in part because of the way its pastries are made. 

The cakes have a shelf life of only 10 days, so many customers wait until closer to the Mid-Autumn Festival to buy them, ensuring the pastries are still fresh when they are eaten or given as gifts.

Having grown accustomed to the three-generation-old family recipe, many customers are willing to spend time waiting in line. 

Some buy just a few boxes as gifts, while others leave carrying large boxes, their faces lighting up after making their purchases.

Holding a piece of pastry she had just sampled, Thanh Lan, a resident of Cho Lon Ward, smiled and said: “My family has preferred the pia cakes from this shop for years. The wait was a little long, but the cakes are delicious.”