From May to the beginning of August of the lunar calendar every year, Mr. Tran Van Ban (58 years old) in Tien Phong commune, Thuong Tin district, Hanoi stays up all night to prepare wooden moon cake molds for orders across the country.
Mr. Ban said that making wooden moon cake molds has been a traditional craft of the village for many generations. When he was 18 years old, Mr. Ban learned how to make moon cake molds from the elders in the village and has preserved it until now.
According to Mr. Ban, making a cake mold must go through many stages, from sawing wood, moisture-proofing, cutting the mold according to the pattern, planing smoothly, and soaking in grease for preservation. The mold must be made from rosewood or solid wood to keep the pattern when planing and carving.
Every Mid-Autumn Festival, Mr. Ban makes about 1,000 mooncake molds in various shapes, from traditional patterns such as roses, chrysanthemums, carp, lotus flowers... to other modern designs.
The price of a cake mold ranges from 300,000 VND to 2 million VND per mold, depending on the size. There are large, elaborate cake molds that cost up to tens of millions of VND.
"The craft of making wooden moon cake molds is gradually fading away because the market is flooded with cheap plastic molds with more diverse designs that are more popular. But there are still many customers who remember the old culture and look for wooden molds," Mr. Ban added.
Mr. Dang Minh Tien (Ha Dong, Hanoi), owner of a wooden furniture store, said that every year to prepare for the full moon festival in August, he orders hundreds of moon cake molds from Mr. Ban to meet customer demand.
According to Mr. Tien, every time the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the shop is crowded with people coming to buy wooden molds to make cakes with traditional patterns.
“Mooncakes made from wooden molds remind many people of beautiful memories of old mooncakes, with rich flavors associated with childhood,” said Mr. Tien.
As a loyal customer, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh (Hoan Kiem, Hanoi) said that her family has been making moon cakes for many years to use and give to relatives and friends, so the need for wooden cake molds is very necessary.
According to Ms. Thanh, she can use one cake mold for many years, but every year she buys a new mold to make moon cakes with many different designs.
“Compared to plastic molds, wooden molds ensure food hygiene and safety better. Mooncakes made from traditional molds will have a completely different aroma and flavor,” said Ms. Thanh.
