The Taste of Reunion

The August moon is round every year, yet somehow the moon of our childhood always seems to shine brighter and warmer.

The Mid-Autumn Festival of our childhood

Back then, the Mid-Autumn Festival (Tết Trung thu) was beautifully simple. It was nothing more than a floral mat hastily rolled out on the brick courtyard, where the whole family would gather around grandpa’s mildly astringent green tea and grandma’s sweet mixed-nut mooncake. Children would bustle about playfully, while the grown-ups smiled, sharing stories of the harvest and tales of the old days…

What does Mid-Autumn taste like?

People often say the taste of Mid-Autumn is the flavour of baked and snow-skin mooncakes. But only as we grow up do we realise that the sweetest flavour of the August full moon is actually the taste of “reunion” – đoàn viên, as we say in Vietnamese. It is the profound comfort of seeing our grandparents and parents still healthy and at peace, sitting together beneath the serene moonlight.

This Mid-Autumn, have you managed to put aside your work to come home, share a piece of cake and sip some tea with your family? 🍂🍵