Band 7+: Describe a food that people eat on special occasions/events. You should say: what the food is, when people eat it, how it is made, and explain why it is special.

I would like to talk about a traditional food that people often eat on special occasions. It is Manchung, which is a traditional Vietnamese cake made from sticky rice, mung beans, and pork. People, family members, often gather together before Tet holiday a few days. They make this cake together and often buy ingredients and then those ingredients will be wrapped all in banana leaves, which is a common leaf in my country. And then these ingredients are tied carefully with bamboo strings. The most time consuming part is boiling the cake because it often takes many hours, several hours to cook the cake. What makes this tradition more special is that it allows family members to spend quality time with each other. While making this cake, people often sit around and chat about what happened during the year and sometimes tell stories from childhood. Although making this cake is quite tiring, it can create a really warm and memorable atmosphere. In terms of the taste of the cake, it has a very rich and slightly savory flavor and the sticky rice is really soft and chewy. People often eat this cake with pickled onions because it helps balance out the richness of the cake. I think this traditional cake is more than a traditional food, but it also represents family gathering togetherness. It also makes my cultural identity stand out.