The year come and go. It’s time again to celebrate the Mooncake Festival, or formally known as Zhongqiu Jie (Mid-Autumn Festival).

What is this festival all about and how did it started? How do the Chinese here celebrate it? Some dailies have written and compiled some history, the significance and also the observation on how this festival is celebrated here in Malaysia.

Read: Moon Struck, A Full Moon on the Rise, Tales and Legends, Moonstruck Lady, Mooncake Festival 2009.

There are tons of versions on this folklore. But I feel, the essence of it is that it is celebrated together with the family to build a stronger bond, from adults to children. Undeniably though, I truly agree with one of the article above saying that "For the Chinese, it is another excuse to indulge in feasting and merry-making."!!!

Mooncakes (surprisingly also known as reunion cake) traditionally used to contain fillings of lotus paste with or without a salted egg yolk in the center to symbolize the full moon. But nowadays, with the modern era, there are a variety of flavours like five kernel (A filling consisting of 5 types of nuts and seeds,), green tea lotus paste, black sesame paste, six-grain paste and pandan lotus paste. Some unconventional ones include green tea with dragon fruit paste, nuts with roast chicken, durian lotus paste, red bean paste with chicken floss and sunflower seeds, pandan paste with egg cream and walnuts, coconut paste with pineapple. (I’m not making this up. It’s really something which is now on sale to the public in Malaysia). Recently, everyone is also more health conscious, and hence there’s a variety of low sugar paste fillings.

Too mind-blogging to consider? There’s even more now with the addition of ’snow-skin’ (non-baked, chilled mooncakes) versions, with fillings like mango paste, black sesame with tiramisu paste, green tea with white lotus paste and sake kuaci, chocolate whiskey, and even ice-cream and coffee versions!!

And now there’s even jelly mooncakes!!!

All these is enough to make the excuse of indulging in feasting these mooncakes forgive-able!!

Anyway this post is to wish all Chinese a Happy and Joyful Mid-Autumn Festival.

Here are some mooncakes which I managed to get my hands on.

 

Consumers nowadays prefer to buy smaller ones (like the mini mooncakes above). The one here has pandan lotus paste filling.

This baby mooncake, reputably to be the best in Shanghai, made by Sheraton Hotel, Shanghai. Looks normal, but it cost almost RM 30 per box!!! Each box is the size of a mini mooncake like the local ones here. Imagine the quality of ingredients used (and of course with the addition of "Shanghai’s living cost"..this baby is really an indulgence!!!). I really have to thank a dear family friend for sharing this with us.

Not forgetting, the moon biscuits (gong zai peng) which is usually filled with desiccated coconut or lotus paste. 

Have a feast of mooncakes and tea but remember to eat in moderation to avoid complications :)

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