For Vietnamese people, the Tết feast represents the most complete repository of cultural memory, customs and life philosophy. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam's traditional Lunar New Year (Tết) is recognised not only by spring colours, red calligraphy and family reunions, but also by the Tết feast that takes centre stage in the opening days of the year.

For Vietnamese people, the Tết feast represents the most complete repository of cultural memory, customs and life philosophy. In today’s fast-moving society, preserving and reinterpreting the traditional Tết meal is not simply about maintaining recipes, but about safeguarding a slower rhythm of life, a moment for reflection and a return to one’s roots. Within this shared spirit, however, the Tết feasts of the North, Central and South each display their own distinctive character.

The Northern Tết feast

The Tết feast of northern Vietnamese places strong emphasis on presentation, and therefore typically features a full spread of savoury dishes, stir-fries and soups. — VNA/VNS Photo

Among the three regions, the Northern Tết feast is widely regarded as the most traditional. It places strong emphasis on careful presentation and the meticulous preparation of long-established dishes. At its heart is bánh chưng, the square sticky rice cake that is indispensable on both ancestral altars and family dining tables. More than a dish, bánh chưng is seen as the essence of Tết, symbolising the harmony between heaven and earth shaped through human craftsmanship.

The Central Tết feast

Some must-have dishes on the Central Tết feast, rich in the distinctive flavours of Vietnamese cuisine. — VNA/VNS Photo

In central Việt Nam, no Tết table is complete without bánh tét (cylindrical sticky rice cakes), fermented pork rolls and pork marinated in vinegar. In Huế, the former imperial capital, the festive spread typically includes pork bologna, chilled meat jelly, shredded chicken with laksa leaves, Huế-style pork rolls and boiled pork, often accompanied by stewed pork leg soup. Beef and pork preserved in fish sauce are also common features.

The Central region is especially known for its wrapping-and-rolling style of dining, in which slices of meat are combined with fresh herbs and dipped in sauce, making rice paper and aromatic greens indispensable components of the Tết meal.

Handed down through generations, these culinary traditions do more than satisfy the palate. They reinforce family bonds, honour ancestral ties and serve as a cultural bridge connecting individuals to their homeland and the wider nation.

The Southern Tết feast

The traditional practice of making bánh tét during Tết among people in southern Việt Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo

In contrast to the North’s winter chill, the South welcomes Tết under warm sunshine. Blessed with abundant produce and shaped by waves of migration, Southern Tết feasts are generous and diverse, with less emphasis on ritual formality. While bánh chưng symbolises Northern Tết, bánh tét is indispensable in the South. Southern varieties come in a range of colours and flavours, with sticky rice combined with coconut milk, black beans, magenta plant leaves or pandan to create distinctive versions.

No Southern Tết table is complete without a pot of braised pork with eggs. Other familiar dishes include shredded pork skin rolls, caramelised pork offal, stuffed pig’s trotters, fresh sausages, shredded chicken salad with pickled onions, and dried shrimp served with pickled scallions.

Despite regional differences in ingredients and presentation, Tết feasts across the country share a common meaning: honouring ancestors, remembering one’s roots, and expressing hopes for family reunions and a new year of prosperity, peace and well-being.

The Tết feast in contemporary life

The Tết Sum Vầy (Tết reunion) workshop in Hà Nội. — Photo courtesy of the organisers

In the past, preparing the Tết feast was a slow and deliberate process, from waiting for the new rice harvest and selecting dong leaves to soaking beans and tending pots of bánh chưng simmering overnight. These seasonal rituals shaped a familiar rhythm of life, in which Tết unfolded as a period of patient preparation marked by care and togetherness. Today, as work pressures compress the holiday, the traditional Tết feast has become even more meaningful, valued less for abundance than for preserving the spirit of reunion and cultural continuity.

That spirit was recently reflected in the Tết Sum Vầy (Tết Reunion) workshop in Hà Nội. More than a culinary event, it offered an immersive cultural space where customs, beliefs and shared memories converged. Each dish carried symbolic meaning, conveying wishes for peace, fulfilment and connection in the year ahead.

What distinguished the Tết Sum Vầy experience was not only its careful recreation of Tết feasts from the North, Central and South, but also its ability to bring these regional traditions together in the heart of the capital. Amid Hà Nội’s modern pace, diners could savour the flavours of all three regions in a single setting, embarking on a culinary journey across Việt Nam. Each dish served as a “regional ambassador”, reflecting local customs and ways of life.

The opportunity to experience regional Tết cuisine in Hà Nội highlights a positive contemporary trend of integrating cultural heritage into urban life in vivid and accessible ways. Rather than remaining confined to memory or textbooks, traditional Tết feasts are being revitalised through lived experiences, enabling people to better understand and appreciate values shaped over generations.

The Tết Sum Vầy feast opened with familiar Northern dishes such as bánh chưng, bamboo shoot soup and steamed chicken, simple yet indispensable elements of a Northern Tết meal. These were complemented by refined Central Vietnamese flavours, characterised by balance and subtlety, reflecting a region shaped by sun and wind yet rich in cultural depth.

Southern cuisine was represented by stuffed bitter melon soup, a light and refreshing dish. In folk belief, bitter melon symbolises the hardships of the old year giving way to a smoother, more hopeful beginning. Its gentle bitterness, balanced with sweet minced pork filling, mirrors the open and optimistic spirit of the South at the start of Spring.

As the savoury courses concluded, the feast ended with candied fruits from all three regions, accompanied by Huế royal tea. This quiet finale allowed the essence of Tết to linger. Together, the dishes formed a complete festive table, where each flavour evoked memory and each aftertaste carried meaning, leaving not only culinary satisfaction but also a renewed sense of connection.

Preserving Việt Nam’s culinary traditions is an ongoing endeavour. Each dish embodies not only taste but also collective memory and cultural values nurtured across generations. Sustaining this heritage ensures that Vietnamese cuisine continues to be cherished, renewed and shared with care and respect. — VNA/VNS