Mooncakes

We just celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival last week, which is a national holiday dating back to ancient China, and is meant to worship the harvest full moon. Similar to American Thanksgiving, there’s generally a lot of eating and drinking with family. Typical customs during the modern holiday include moon-gazing and eating mooncakes.

fancy box of mooncakes

In my opinion, mooncakes are a bit like our fruitcakes: supposedly a beloved traditional treat, but actually not that incredibly addictively delicious. Like most Chinese desserts, they aren’t overly sweet. The outside is a dense eggy cake, often with fancy flowers and calligraphy imprinted on it. The filling is traditionally bean paste, but I’ve seen everything from meat- to ice cream- filled mooncakes.

mooncake surface view

cut open to reveal the filling

This year, Pat*’s boss gave him a box of lotus-yolk mooncakes, which he brought over to share with us. I’m not sure what I was expecting on the inside, but I guess I wasn’t thinking quite so literally.

egg yolk!

Yes, that is an egg yolk surrounded by lotus bean paste. I liked the bean paste, subtly sweet and a rich texture. The yolk, well... it wasn’t my favorite part.

中秋节快乐！(Happy Mid-Autumn Festival)

*Pat is Matt's dad, he also lives in Shanghai