Ready-made offerings attract customers, many items increase in price on the occasion of the 15th day of the 7th lunar month

On this occasion, restaurants and home-made food businesses are busy as orders for offerings for the 15th day of the 7th lunar month are full. Photo: Thanh Phuc

With many years of experience making offerings, this occasionFull moon of JulyThis is the time when Ms. Nguyen Thu Ha's kitchen (Le Mao ward, Vinh city) is busiest. Before, she worked in a restaurant, then she quit and started a home-made food business. During Tet, the 15th day of the first lunar month, and the seventh lunar month, she accepts offerings, sticky rice dishes, and chicken offerings.

“This year, to be proactive about the offerings, from the beginning of July, I posted an announcement about the Full Moon offering service on the kitchen's Fanpage, personal Facebook, Zalo... so that customers can choose the service and choose the right dishes. Accordingly, from the 10th to the 15th of the 7th lunar month, my kitchen was full of offerings, the peak was on the 14th and 15th of July with 40 chicken sticky rice dishes and 20 offerings. The remaining days before that, there were about 5-7 orders/day,” said Ms. Ha.

The price of the chicken sticky rice offering ranges from 420,000 - 550,000 VND. Photo: Thanh Phuc

To serve customers attentively, she mobilized 2 more chefs specializing in cooking offerings to work with her during peak times; ordering roosters from the countryside and ethnic sticky rice in advance. She said that making offerings, whether simple or elaborate, requires quality, cleanliness, and ensuring food hygiene and safety to be the top priority in order to maintain prestige with customers. The price of each offering tray of sticky rice and chicken ranges from 420,000 - 550,000 VND (large or small); each offering tray of 6 dishes costs 1-1.2 million VND, a slight increase compared to last year.

Busy with work, no time to prepare the full moon offering tray or because of the convenience, beauty, and deliciousness, more and more families order pre-made offerings trays. Grasping this need of customers, many restaurants also accept the service of making full moon offering trays.

Vegetarian offerings for the Full Moon Festival are also chosen by many people. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Toai, owner of a restaurant specializing in chicken dishes on Dinh Le Street (Vinh City) said: "On the occasion of the Full Moon Festival in January and the Full Moon Festival in July, the restaurant has implemented additional services of making sticky rice, chicken offerings and offering trays delivered to your home. Therefore, customers who are interested can order online in advance, and the restaurant will finalize the order by the 13th of the lunar month. This year, the number of orders for offering trays until the Full Moon Festival is almost full."

In addition to the salty dishes, many vegetarian offerings and dishes are also popular. According to the concept, July is the month of wandering souls, the dead are pardoned, so no killing is allowed. Therefore, vegetarian dishes are quite "popular".

The owner of a vegetarian restaurant on Nguyen Sy Sach Street said that orders for dishes and vegetarian trays for the Full Moon Festival have increased compared to last year. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Thanh Thuong, owner of avegetarian restauranton Nguyen Sy Sach street said: “The vegetarian trays for the Full Moon offering have a diverse menu, from popular to high-end. A popular vegetarian tray costs 700,000 VND and includes 5-7 dishes; a 900,000 VND tray includes 9 dishes; the most high-end is a 1-1.2 million VND tray including 13 dishes. This year, the number of customers ordering vegetarian trays for the Full Moon offering has increased about 1.5 times compared to last year. The number of customers coming to eat vegetarian food at the restaurant has also increased slightly.”

In addition, some restaurants also accept orders for offerings including: thin porridge, white rice, soup, sticky rice, sweet soup, boiled sweet potatoes (or taro), popcorn, fruits, candies, betel and areca nuts, rice, salt... priced at 150,000 - 200,000 VND.

At traditional markets, some essential goods for the Full Moon festival have slightly increased in price. Photo: Thanh Phuc

At the traditional markets, the shopping atmosphere for the Full Moon Festival was quite lively. Accordingly, essential goods for the Full Moon Festival in July were all higher than last year. Specifically: Chung cakes increased by 5,000 - 10,000 VND/pair; Tet cakes increased by 7,000 VND/piece; peach dumplings cost 60,000 VND/set (increased by 10,000 VND/set); lotus jelly cakes cost 50,000 VND/piece (increased by 10,000 VND/piece), floating cakes and sweet cakes cost 10,000 VND/cup (increased by 3,000 VND/cup); ham and sausage increased by 15,000 - 20,000 VND/kg; sticky rice increased by 2,000 - 3,000 VND/kg...

Of which, roosters increased by 20,000 - 30,000 VND/kg, currently wild roosters, good appearance, golden legs, weighing about 1.5-1.7 kg cost 140,000 VND/kg; farm chickens cost 110,000 - 120,000 VND/kg. The price of chicken making service also increased by 5,000 - 10,000 VND/chicken. Pork prices also increased slightly, especially beautiful shoulder meat costs 170,000 - 180,000 VND/kg.

Prices of flowers and fruits increased by 5-10%, with fresh flowers and betel and areca nuts increasing sharply. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Fruit prices increased slightly, about 5-10% compared to normal days, especiallybetel and chrysanthemum incensePrices of all kinds have increased sharply. Accordingly, a plate of betel and areca nuts costs 15,000 - 20,000 VND; large chrysanthemums and cup chrysanthemums cost 13,000 - 15,000 VND/flower; lilies cost 120,000 VND/10 branches.

According to records, on the occasion of the 15th day of the 7th lunar month this year, the votive paper stalls are less bustling than before because people have reduced the burning of votive paper, only buying symbolic items and not buying in large quantities like before.