Hey Guys,
Eggy here! I’m still blogging from the other side, from right here in Singapore!
I hope everyone’s been well!
Today, I’m going to be sharing with you about the Moon Cake Festival also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, that is one of the many festivals we celebrate here in Singapore.
This year, it will fall on September 15, 2016, the eighth lunar month.
Families and friends enjoy exchanging mooncakes on this special day as it signifies an expression of well wishes for a better life filled with unity.
So…
You must be wondering, what does the moon and cake have to do with each other?
A Moon cake is a sweet, baked round pastry made of wheat-flour and contains various fillings ranging from the traditional red bean and lotus seed paste, or Nowadays, Bakers are constantly innovating and creating more modern flavours where moon cakes can now come in flavors like Matcha green tea and even Tiramisu! Just Imagine that!
One thing that makes this baked creation differ form others is how an egg yolk is incorporated in the filling before it is baked. The Chinese believe that the roundness of the mooncakes represent unity and togetherness which are very important values in our Chinese culture. Therefore, mooncakes are generally in the round shape and also tend to have the round egg yolk incorporated in the filling.
Notice the packaging and how it looks very presentable already for patrons to make their purchases and share them with their friends and family!
Mooncakes even come in the form of what we call, “snow skin”, where the mooncake creation is bake-free! Instead, it has to be kept in the fridge. This mooncake is usually filled with fruitier flavors but it can also contain the traditional flavors of red bean.
Snow skin has more of a chewy, gummy like texture while the traditional moon cake has more of a soft-baked biscuit texture to it.
Look at how they have to be kept cool in a huge fridge!
During the time building up before the night of the September 15th, Singapore starts having these food fairs selling Mooncakes which will attract hungry people of all ages because of all the testers they put out! The fair will have endless lanes of mooncake stalls, each offering you samples as you squeeze your way through the crowd.
Even more presentable packaging! Also, Did you know RED is the colour of luck in Chinese Culture?
Diet. starts. Tomorrow.
If you’re in London or Guildford, I’ve actually seen it sold in Chinatown, London and Asian shops in Guildford so definitely check that our and try some for yourself! It might be a teeny bit more expensive than in Asia but hey, get some more well wishes for yourself and share them with your family and friends this year!
One more thing that families do when they get-together on the night of mid-autumn festival is carrying lanterns: traditional ones where you can light your own candle and place it in your lantern or modern ones which come battery-operated where all you have to do is switch it on and light + music will come with your lantern!
This picture shows you some of the celebration activities as well as food we have during this festive period!
With the mooncake fairs, there will be stalls selling lanterns as well, coming in all shapes, sizes and colours! They also have design of the zodiac animals, allowing children the opportunity to learn more about the Chinese culture and sport their zodiac animal!
Lanterns everywhere! Look at the fish! P.S did you know that in Chinese culture, fishes symbolize good luck !
So that’s it from me 😉
Wishing you guys a wonderful Mid- Autumn festival and I hope you learnt more about this festival from my blog cause I sure did!
Thanks for reading,
E g g y
