During the days just after Tet, most of restaurants in Hanoi increase their prices, even up to 200% of normal.

Customers queuing to buy Trang Tien ice cream on the 4th day of lunar new year (February 3)

Despite these exorbitant prices, restaurants continue attracting many customers in the earliest days of the New Year, as people in Hanoi have become used to paying extra during this time.

From the 2nd to the 10th of the first month of the lunar New Year, almost every street in Hanoi has crab and snail noodle stalls, which are very attractive to customers who seem to be sick of high fat and protein foods from the holiday.

On normal days, a bowl of snail noodles costs between VND20,000 (USD1) and VND25,000, but on Tet and right after, the price normally goes up to around VND50,00 (over USD2).

A restaurant on Hoe Nhai Street pasted a notice that it had raised the price for a bowl of noodles to VND70,000 (USD3.3) for Tet. The owner explained that the salary paid to her staff is twice that of normal and that ingredients are also more expensive.

Mrs. Huong, of Tu Liem District, said that on the 3rd day of the lunar new year, she and her husband had to pay VND90,000 (USD4.2) for two bowls of snail noodles on Hang Giay Street. She said that the quality was not good, but the restaurant was still packed.

Not only restaurants but also some ice cream shops on Trang Tien in Hanoi have attracted a large number of customers during this period. Opening on the 3rd day of the lunar New Year, the shop at 35 Trang Tien Street is continuously crowded. Customers willingly wait in queues 20-metre long for their turn.

NLD/dtinews