Hanoi (VNA) - In the final days of the lunar year, as life gently slows to make space for the familiar longing for Tet (Lunar New Year festival), the Spring Fair 2026 emerges as a meeting place between cherished memories and the present moment.
More than a shopping venue ahead of the upcoming Tet, the fair recreates the familiar spirit of Vietnamese spring, where regional colours, traditional customs and, above all, the flavours of Tet come together.
Among bustling visitors enjoying the festive atmosphere, displays of traditional Tet dishes and ceremonial food trays from across the country stand out vividly. Each dish carries stories of land and seasons, family traditions and hopes for reunion, peace and prosperity in the year ahead.
Food has long occupied a central place in Vietnamese Tet culture, symbolising abundance, harmony and gratitude. At the Spring Fair 2026, traditional Tet delicacies are presented in a modern setting while retaining their familiar essence, allowing visitors to experience both nostalgia and renewal.
Northern cuisine leaves a strong impression with its balance and refinement. In the cool early-spring weather, a classic northern Tet tray features green chung cake, red sticky rice with gac (Momordica cochinchinensis) fruit, pork rolls, fried spring rolls, boiled chicken, caramelised fish, pickled onions, bamboo shoot soup and glass noodles with chicken. The careful balance between meat and vegetables, dry and broth-based dishes reflects the traditional concept of harmony between yin and yang.
For Nguyen Ngoc Hoan, a native of northern Bac Ninh province who now lives in Ho Chi Minh City, the fair evokes deep memories of his hometown Tet. He recalls the scent of dong leaves, the overnight boiling of bánh chưng by the family hearth, and a simple yet abundant feast that defined his childhood.
Visiting the fair, Hoan says he has rediscovered the flavours and emotions of Tet, and plans to purchase traditional dishes for both his family in the south and his elderly parents in the north.
Southern Tet cuisine, showcased across various booths, brings a more open and generous spirit. With rich local produce, dishes such as tet (Vietnamese cylindrical sticky rice cake), braised pork in coconut juice, spring rolls, bitter melon soup stuffed with meat, dried shrimp with pickled scallions, and seafood specialties form an essential part of the southern Tet table. Their sweet and slightly bitter flavours symbolise leaving behind hardship and welcoming good fortune.
Beyond the lowlands, the fair also highlights Tet cuisine from northern mountainous regions. Visitors have a chance to explore distinctive dishes such as black chung cale, five-colour sticky rice, smoked meats, dried buffalo, forest bamboo shoot soup and traditional corn wine. These foods reflect resilience, self-sufficiency and deep spiritual meaning, with five-colour sticky rice symbolising harmony between heaven, earth and humanity.
By combining culinary showcases with hands-on experiences such as wrapping chung cake and exploring traditional market spaces, The Spring Fair 2026 turns food into a living expression of culture. In doing so, the event reaffirms that trade and tradition can go hand in hand, keeping the enduring flavours of Vietnamese Tet alive in modern life./.
