Hon Thom Phu Quoc treats visitors to a menu that appears only twice a year for Mid-Autumn Festival

Celebrate mid-autumn festival at “Little Phu Quoc”

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Friday, September 25, making it easy for visitors to pair a weekend getaway with a trip to Hon Thom, a destination in the An Thoi archipelago south of Phu Quoc. 

The experience begins at An Thoi station, where the 7,899.9-meter Hon Thom cable car — recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest three-rope cable car in the world — carries visitors across the sea to “Little Phu Quoc.” Over roughly 15 minutes, passengers get a bird's-eye view of turquoise waters, anchored fishing boats, and small islands such as Hon Dua and Hon Roi.

A cluster of rides at Aquatopia Water Park, part of Sun World Hon Thom.

Once on the island, visitors can head to Aquatopia — a water park with more than 20 attractions ranging from a relaxed lazy river to thrill rides like "Serpent King's Battle" and "Flying Dragon Riding the Waves." Adventure-seekers can test their nerve at Exotica Village on "Wooden Serpent's Fury," Vietnam's first wooden roller coaster, standing 32.4 meters tall with nearly 900 meters of winding track.

For a slower pace, Trao Beach, with its white sand and clear water, is ideal for swimming, kayaking, parasailing, or donning a sea-walking helmet to explore the coral below. Each activity has its own rhythm, rounding out a full day on the island from morning to afternoon. 

After a day of fun, Mango Restaurant offers a chance to refuel with a Mid-Autumn buffet, running for just two days, September 24 and 25, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Alongside its regular menu, the restaurant is adding dishes that appear only during the full-moon festival.

Diners enjoying seafood at the Mango buffet restaurant.

The meal opens with Hon Thom's "signature" offering: fresh seafood. Steamed crab keeps its meat sweet and tender; oysters served with fresh lime are rich yet refreshing, brightened by a touch of citrus. Steamed mantis shrimp, green mussels, salmon, and tuna fillet round out the ocean-inspired spread.

From the clean flavors of the sea, the buffet moves to the grill station, featuring skewered grilled beef, grilled shrimp, honey-glazed grilled chicken, and hearty American-style pork ribs. Hot European and Asian dishes, Vietnamese specialties from all three regions, vegetarian options, a salad and gỏi corner, and a Vietnamese pastry stand with bánh xèo, bánh cuốn, bánh bèo, and bánh nậm add even more choices for every palate.

With just a buffet ticket, guests can enjoy the Mid-Autumn pastry counter at no extra cost.

The festival's "limited-time" spirit is most evident in the dessert section. Alongside golden-brown baked mooncakes and glossy white soft mooncakes, mooncake mousse stands out as a must-try, with its smooth texture and mellow richness, while jade rabbit-shaped jelly adds a charming, delicate touch. With just a buffet ticket, visitors can enjoy the Mid-Autumn pastry counter at no additional cost.

Hon Thom's one-of-a-kind “flower-embroidered” mooncakes

After a full day of activities, many visitors face a familiar question: what to bring home as a gift? Fresh seafood is delicious but not always practical to carry. A box of mooncakes made right on Hon Thom becomes a gift that's both compact and special enough for family, friends, or colleagues.

The “flower-embroidered” mooncake line will be sold at restaurants across Sun World Hon Thom.

This year's standout feature is a line of mooncakes with raised floral details, hand-shaped and applied to each cake individually rather than using the usual molded patterns. To achieve eye-catching shades of red, yellow, green, and purple, the kitchen team uses sugar-free candy combined with natural coloring from beetroot, turmeric, pandan leaves, pumpkin, and butterfly pea flower.

From boiling the sugar syrup and cooking the filling to shaping the dough and finishing each cake, every step is done by hand to preserve both form and flavor. The line offers a range of options, from taro with salted egg yolk and mung bean with salted egg yolk, to mixed filling with salted egg yolk, and lotus seed with red date or lotus with young coconut and green rice flakes — staying true to the traditional spirit of the Mid-Autumn gift while carrying Hon Thom's own signature touch.

Visitors can buy mooncakes as a gift for loved ones after their trip.

From a day of fun on the island to a buffet steeped in Mid-Autumn atmosphere and mooncakes crafted down to the smallest detail, Hon Thom offers a distinctive journey for late September. Visitors come to play, pause to indulge, and take home a taste of Hon Thom as a lasting memory of the trip.