Every year when the kids start school, I always think about the Mid-Autumn Festival. That’s because I celebrated my first Mid-Autumn Fest shortly after I began a new academic year in Hong Kong 22 year ago.
So today I took the kids shopping for mooncakes. They’re not cheap, so I settled on this one box. I like the Hong Kong scene on the lower right.
But even after 20-plus years, I still haven’t mastered the art of buying mooncakes. For one, I usually pick them based on the box. There’s also the bag that comes along with each purchase. I noticed a guy outside the story with a cool, cloth mooncake bag. Here’s the one that came with my tin. It’s made from paper.
And this is the one from last year. The thing about the bag is that you can’t see them until you’re at the register and have already paid for your mooncakes.
My one criterion for the cakes themselves is that they don’t contain egg yolks. Once upon a time I didn’t eat eggs (so it came as quite a surprise to find a whole yolk inside the small cake; many mooncakes contain two or more yolks), and now I don’t buy the yolk ones because number one son doesn’t eat eggs. So today I bought white lotus seed mooncakes.
I’ve also heard that the Made in Hong Kong mooncakes are superior. Maxim’s or Mei Sum (in Cantonese) or Mei Xin (in Mandarin) is a brand I recognize from Hong Kong. Thus my choice today. But is it the best?
No matter which brand I buy, my kids love them. Three year old Martin screamed “mooncakes” when we entered the store today, which prompted the owner to hand him a bite-sized mooncake for free.
As it turned out, this little one tasted similar to larger mooncakes we bought. Here’s a look into those larger ones.
The Mid-Autumn Festival will be held on September 30th this year. If only Chinatown sold the colorful Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns!
Laowais tend to hate the salted egg yolks, and in fact they seem to just hate mooncakes in general. Personally, I think mooncakes are great and my favourite flavour is red bean paste with egg yolk.
On the question of which brand has the best mooncakes, Hong Kong companies seem to have established a good reputation, but you might want to keep an eye out for Taiwanese ones too because the Taiwanese have come up with some interesting, unconventional flavours in recent years.
Thanks! When I posted this on Facebook, some asked about Taiwanese mooncakes. I haven’t seen them in Chicago, but I’ve only gone to a couple of groceries. Someone else wrote that the imported ones are full of preservatives and that the Made in the USA ones are the best. I looked at my Mei Xin mooncakes from Hong Kong and they didn’t have any preservatives that I could see.
I like the red bean ones, but the only vegetarian ones I’ve found here have white lotus seed paste. My 14 year old ate a whole mooncake in one setting the other day!
Whoa! An entire mooncake in one sitting? I’ve done that a few times in the past myself but these days I try to keep things in moderation. Mooncakes are the best when accompanied by a hot cup of tea, too.
Regarding Taiwanese mooncakes, see if you can find the brand I-MEI (義美) in a store near you. This company is quite well known for their cakes and desserts and they produce a good range of mooncakes. Here’s one of their ice cream mooncakes, for example:
http://www.imeifoods.com.tw/2011mooncake/moon_5.html
Yes! A big mooncake in one sitting. He ate it like it was doughnut. He is growing and comes home from school hungry even though he ate a good breakfast and lunch. Teenagers!
Thanks for the info about I-Mei. We have a Taiwanese food court nearby with a grocery next to it, so I’ll check that out. The ice cream ones look great!
Have you seen Goods of Desire’s humorous take on mooncakes? They’re made by Mei Xin: http://www.imeifoods.com.tw/2011mooncake/moon_5.html
Haha! I just Googled for those mooncakes… A bit risque they are!
Oh, God, it’s a month to Mid-Autumn Festival, and the buggers have been in the shops for a month already…
I am not a big fan of Moon Cakes in any of their various guises, either they’re hiding an egg (ew) or are full of salt (ew), or they’re horrifically sweet (ew).
Now there are chocolate ones, ice cream ones and all sorts of very non-conformist types (I’ve seen Spongebob moulds for them).
It’s all getting a bit out of hand – especially when the main purpose of them isn’t the enjoyment of the person receiving them, but to highlight the status and wealth of the giver.
All the ones we get given end up with Father In Law, as he’ll eat anything.
Fascinating! Back when I was in China, the Mid-Autumn Fest was so low-key, people didn’t go out of their way to eat mooncakes and they didn’t light lanterns. The mooncakes didn’t come in fancy tins, at least not in Hubei province. It’s wild how quickly things have changed.
This was very interesting, Susan. Now I want a mooncake too!
Thank you, Van! I hope you like sweets!