Although the holiday ended on February 15, many restaurants on Nguyen Trai Street in Thanh Xuan District were still closed on February 16.

A local office worker, Nguyen Thuy Ha, said that she returned to work on February 15 but had to bring lunch to the office as few restaurants have reopened.

"Some restaurants that have opened are always crowded and the prices are higher compared to before the holiday," she said.

Vu Minh Trung in Dong Da District also said that he had to pay VND70,000 on February 16 for a lunch that used to cost VND50,000 before Tet.

Pham Thi Lan, owner of a restaurant on Nguyen Ngoc Vu Street said that they have to wait until February 19 to reopen as none of their staff were ready to work at the moment.

"Most of our staff are students who work part-time and they have yet to return to Hanoi," Lan said.

Meanwhile, the manager of a Pho restaurant in Thanh Xuan District said that they have had to raise their prices due to rising ingredient and labour costs.

"We stayed open through Tet holiday but had to pay our three employees double their normal salaries," she said.

Many restaurants on Nguyen Trai Street have put up signs saying that they would reopen from February 18.