Like in China, Singapore, Malaysia, and a couple of other asian countries, now is the time for the Mid-autumn Festival preparation; the associated legends that go around it vary from place to place, and Vietnam’s version is about Thằng Cuội, where the banyan trees were sacred, people were forbidden to urinate at the foot of the tree.

The official date for the festival falls September 14th this year; but the delicious mooncakes - a.k.a. bánh trung thu - that are used for the occasion are already for sale! Hold your breath, I’ll be posting a picture of one of those cakes sometime before that!