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A Vietnamese entrepreneur who fell in love with Taiwanese wheel cakes while studying in Taiwan is selling the delicacies, rebranded as “Taiwanese UFO pancake.”

Tran Thi Thu Hang said her favorite snacks while studying in Taiwan were sweet potato balls and wheel cakes, which are inspired by the Japanese imagawayaki pastry.

Like its Japanese counterpart, wheel cake is a cylindrical confection with a texture similar to pancakes. Wheel cakes are offered with several fillings, with savory ones usually eaten as a snack between meals and sweet wheel cakes eaten as a dessert.

Studying at Feng Chia University in Taichung from 2015 to 2019, Tran often frequented the nearby Fengjia Night Market (逢甲夜市) to feast on her favorite snacks, especially wheel cakes.

“It’s hot, it’s spongy, it’s crispy and crumbly all in one,” Tran said. “Taking a bite with a mouthful of filling was a sensation I had never experienced before in Vietnam.”

Although she first worked at a private company after her return to Vietnam, Tran said she was unable to shake off a dream she had since her youth: to run her own business.

Eventually, Tran decided to focus on wheel cakes, as the pastry’s versatility gave her the flexibility needed to create enough flavors to cater to Vietnamese tastes.

Ten months after she started her company, Tran serves up to 15 flavors, including staples such as red bean, macha and custard, which she also enjoyed in Taiwan, but also spicy chicken, a taste she designed for Vietnamese customers.

Asked why she rebranded the Taiwanese pastry, Tran asked: “Don’t you think that wheel cakes look like UFOs?” referring to unidentified flying objects.

Customers flood her store out of either curiosity or love for the flavor, she said.

“After eating Taiwan UFO pancakes, my troubles seemed to be teleported to another universe,” one review of her products reads.

Tran said she runs the business on her own, so she only has time to ensure quality control, but none for promoting it.

Tran said she developed her customer-first work ethic during her years in Taiwan.

Meanwhile, her fans made up for her lack of advertising by taking it upon themselves to spread word about her food on social media, Tran said.

Gratitude for her time in Taiwan is the source of her business idea, she said, adding that she attends events held by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam and Taiwanese business organizations.

At such events, she sells her products, she said, adding that it helps her promote Taiwanese food in Vietnam.

“Vietnamese people only know that Taiwan has milk tea and pineapple cakes,” Tran said. “I want to make wheel cake big here and help people get to know Taiwan better.”

Staff Writer, with CNA

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