On the afternoon and evening of the 27th day of the lunar year, many families in Ho Chi Minh City gather around pots of banh tet and banh chung, keeping the fire burning so the cakes will be ready as the country prepares to welcome the new year in just two days.

From early morning on February 14, the 27th day of Tet, households across the city begin washing leaves, rinsing sticky rice, cooking mung beans and marinating pork to wrap banh chung and banh tet.

As night falls, countless alleys and sidewalks glow with firelight, smoke mingling with the fragrance of freshly harvested rice. In the first days of the Tet holiday, members of Huynh Van Phu’s family in Tan Son Nhat Ward sit close beside their simmering pot, staying awake through the night to tend the flames and keep pace with spring’s arrival.

Around 2am, as the water in the pot recedes, Phu carefully uses a bamboo pole to lift each steaming cylinder of banh tet, arranging them neatly on wooden boards to drain.

Not far away, on the sidewalk along Hoang Sa Street, Thai Quang Luan, 68, continues a custom he has kept for half a century. Since leaving his hometown of Hue for Ho Chi Minh City in 1977 to build a new life, he has carried the flavor of Tet from the former imperial capital into his small home by the canal.

This year, his 10 siblings once again gather to wrap about 15 banh tet and 15 pairs of banh chung, both to place on the ancestral altar and to preserve the precious moments of year-end reunion.

On Chanh Sat Street in Tan Binh Ward, for more than 20 years, Luong Ngoc Oanh, 73, has wrapped around 60 cakes every year-end to give to relatives.

This year, he and his son began cooking at noon and did not lift the cakes from the pot until 1am.

Nearby, the family of Ngo Thi Quynh Tram on Tran Van Du Street keeps two pots burning, preparing 10 vegetarian cakes and 10 savory ones. Her son volunteers to watch the fire, staying up late to guard the simmering pot.

Bananas used for the filling were soaked in sugar several days earlier so that when cooked, they release a syrupy sweetness that blends with sticky rice and coconut milk. “Homemade cakes always taste better because we choose the ingredients carefully and pour our hearts into them,” Tram shares.

In Gia Dinh Ward, the family of Tran Anh Tuan lights their stove from the afternoon of the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month. More than a dozen banh tet are cooked continuously for 30 to 40 hours. Throughout the night, he feeds the fire and turns the cakes. Once they are done, some are placed on the family altar, the rest shared with neighbors in the alley.

Across many corners of Ho Chi Minh City, pots of cakes glow red through the night, with only two days remaining before the Lunar New Year 2026 arrives.

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From early morning on the 27th day of Tet, many families in Ho Chi Minh City begin preparing ingredients to wrap banh chung and banh tet.
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As night falls, alleys and sidewalks glow with firelight as families stay up tending their pots.
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Around 2am, Huynh Van Phu lifts steaming banh tet from the pot to let them drain.
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On Hoang Sa Street, Thai Quang Luan maintains his half-century tradition of cooking Tet cakes.
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On Chanh Sat Street, Luong Ngoc Oanh prepares around 60 cakes to give to relatives each year.
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This year, he and his son cook from noon until 1am before lifting the cakes.
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On Tran Van Du Street, Ngo Thi Quynh Tram’s family keeps two pots burning for vegetarian and savory cakes.
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Bananas for the filling are soaked in sugar days in advance to create a rich, sweet flavor when cooked.
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In Gia Dinh Ward, Tran Anh Tuan’s family cooks more than a dozen banh tet for 30 to 40 hours.

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Pots of Tet cakes glow red through the night across many alleys of Ho Chi Minh City, as the Lunar New Year approaches.

Nguyen Hue