Vietnamese community in Russia makes chung cake for Tet

Despite the cold weather in the early morning, many Vietnamese were present at the Embassy to prepare to make chung cake. All preparations to make the cakes were made the night before. In Russia, almost all ingredients to make chung cake are available except for dong leaves and bamboo string which must be brought from Vietnam.

Yen, a member of staff at the embassy, said that these dong leaves were brought from her hometown of Hung Yen in Vietnam. She noted that these la nep are more fragrant than wild dong leaves, making the chung cake more delicious and beautiful.

All staff at the embassy and Vietnamese people in the host country gathered together to prepare to make the cakes in a joyful atmosphere.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo DucManh and his wife also enthusiastically joined the making of chung cake with others.

Holding the wrapped cake by himself, the Ambassador said that “This is the second year that the Embassy has held chung cake making on the Tet festival. This is a very good traditional custom of Vietnam on the occasion of the Lunar New Year. Thanks to such activities, we still feel very close to the motherland as if we are celebrating Tet with the entire country.”

For many people, this is the first time that they have made a chung cake by themselves. Thus, they are very excited to witness the first output.

The chung cake making is expected to help overseas Vietnamese to enjoy a heartwarming Tet atmosphere in a land far away from the homeland, helping the Vietnamese to increase solidarity and strengthen the relationship between representative agencies and Vietnamese expatriates.