Buying mooncakes in Bolsa this year: three neighborhood bakeries in Westminster — and why the box your relatives bring from Vietnam can get held at the airport

What's happening

The 15th day of the eighth lunar month lands on Friday, September 25, 2026. In Vietnamese it's Tết Trung Thu, the Mid-Autumn Festival. Kids parade with lanterns. Adults exchange boxes of mooncakes — bánh trung thu — with grandparents, in-laws, teachers and bosses.

In Vietnam, the 2026 season started early and prices are up. Vietnam.vn reports ingredient costs rose about 40 percent and many brands raised retail prices about 15 percent. Imported cakes sold here may follow.

You don't need imported cakes, though. At least three bakeries in Westminster make mooncakes on site every year. This story gathers their addresses, hours and what they make. Then it gets into the part that trips up families every year: what U.S. customs allows in a box from Vietnam.

Three mooncake bakeries in Westminster

Prices vary a lot depending on the cake and where it was made. A single cake costs less than a box of four. Salted-egg and durian fillings usually run higher than mung bean. Bakery-made and imported cakes sit at different price points. This story doesn't list prices by shop; ask when you call to order. Hours and phone numbers below come from each bakery's public listings, checked September 21, 2026. Call before you go.

Đông Hưng Viên Bakery
8536 Westminster Blvd, Westminster
(714) 891-⁠4404
Open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Handmade daily; vegetarian mooncakes available.

Kim Ninh Bakery
8441 Westminster Blvd, Westminster
(714) 248-⁠9826
Tuesday–Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Monday.
Family-run since 2010. Baked and snow-skin cakes. Fillings include mixed (thập cẩm), taro, durian, lotus seed, red bean, mung bean and coconut. Tends to sell out early, so pre-order.

Van's Bakery
8926 Bolsa Ave, Westminster
(714) 901-⁠1936
Monday–Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday–Sunday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Baked and snow-skin cakes, with or without salted egg yolk.

Bolsa Bridge does not accept free cakes and does not trade coverage for advertising. If a bakery's hours or phone number change, let us know.

Baked or snow-skin? Who's it for?

There are two kinds of mooncake.

Bánh nướng, the baked kind, has a golden wheat-flour crust stamped with a pattern. The filling is usually mixed (thập cẩm) or mung bean, often with a salted egg yolk in the center. The mixed filling includes nuts, candied winter melon, and Chinese sausage or ham depending on the bakery.

Bánh dẻo, the snow-skin kind, has a soft white glutinous-rice skin. It isn't baked and is eaten cool.

A simple way to choose: for elders, go with mixed filling and salted egg — the familiar taste. For kids and younger relatives, mung bean, taro, durian or snow-skin. All of them are very sweet. Anyone with diabetes or on a restricted diet should check with their doctor first.

The box from Vietnam: what customs allows

Knowing a good cake is one thing. Getting it through U.S. customs is another.

APHIS, the animal and plant inspection agency inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has a specific rule for mooncakes, updated January 13, 2026. According to APHIS:

• Cakes with no meat and no egg may enter.
• Cakes with egg or egg yolk must appear thoroughly cooked throughout. If not, they're not allowed in.
• Cakes containing meat are not allowed — that includes Chinese sausage or ham inside a mixed filling.
• Travelers must declare all food they carry. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will inspect it.

The reason: APHIS bars eggs and egg products from countries affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza or virulent Newcastle disease. Vietnam is on the list of regions APHIS considers affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza, as of the agency's September 18, 2026 update.

Some concrete examples. A box of mixed-filling cakes whose label lists "lạp xưởng" (Chinese sausage) or ham will be held. A box of egg-free mung bean cakes gets through, as long as you declare it. Salted-egg cakes sit in the middle: the filling is baked, but an inspector judges it by eye. Keep the box with its original label and the receipt to show the country of origin.

What if you don't declare and get caught? The cakes are seized. According to CBP, the civil penalty for a first failure to declare agricultural items is $300; a second violation goes up to $500.

Order early, store it right

• Call ahead. Small bakeries bake in batches and often sell out days before the festival.
• Ask about shelf life. Snow-skin cakes usually need to be eaten sooner than baked ones.
• Keep them cool. Refrigerate once the box is open.
• Give early. Your recipient can then set the family table on the night of the full moon, September 25.

Bigger than a box of cakes

Every Mid-Autumn season, the community's mooncake money flows two ways. One is imported cakes, with prices rising alongside Vietnam's. The other is three bakeries on Westminster Boulevard and Bolsa Avenue that have made them by hand for years. Which way you go is up to you. But every box should make it through customs — and reach the person it's meant for before the full moon.

Translation assisted by AI and reviewed by an editor.