An ancient harvest festival celebrated by the Chinese on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most popular Chinese festivals. On this day, the moon is the fullest and roundest of the year. In our culture, the full moon symbolizes “tuan yuan” or reunion. As with many Chinese festivals, we gather together with our family on mid-Autumn festival and celebrate with delicious food such as moon cakes, sweet glutinous rice dumplings (tong yuan), star fruits, persimmon and pomelos.
If you joined our Central & Sheung Wan Foodie Tour last week, you would have had the chance to try the most popular kind of Mid-Autumn Festival food — moon cake. The most common and traditional type is one made with a thick lotus seed filling and an salted egg yolk in the center. The round yolk inside the Chinese pastry represents the big, round full moon that many admire on the day of the festival.
Different regions in China also celebrate the Festival with different kinds of moon cakes. Some of them are savory and include ingredients such as nuts, ham and pork. Other sweet ones are filled with egg custard, red bean paste or mung bean. ITo cater to a younger generation, many of whom find the traditional moon cakes too dense, many cake shops or bakeries use their creativity and introduced new types of moon cakes. Some of the more popular contemporary moon cakes include snowy moon cakes (ice-skin moon cakes), ice cream moon cakes, chocolate moon cakes and even coffee moon cakes.No matter what kind of moon cakes we eat, on the day of the full moon, we reunite with families and share a meal to celebrate.
Lanterns are another essential tradition of the mid-Autumn festival. After the feast, children often spend the night showing off their lit Chinese lanterns and play with siblings or cousins.
Hong Kong Foodie wishes you a wonderful Mid-Autumn Festival with satisfying bellies from a great feast and happy moments with your family.
