Mid-Autumn Festival is about get-together; or reunion makes the theme of this Chinese season that features the moon and Chinese people’s moon aesthetics.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, moon appreciation and mooncakes are the core activities that celebrate Chinese people’s moon wishes – reunion or together-ness. Chinese will meet up with family members, as part of the festival, appreciating the beauty of the moon and enjoying mooncakes, indulging in a moment of blissfulness. In short, mooncake carries the Chinese ancient pursuit of filial get-together.

The mooncake custom has a long history. It first emerged during the Tang dynasty, and reached its height at the imperial court of the Song dynasty, later making its way to the public mass. Mooncakes in the ancient past are of course different from today’s mooncakes in form and shape, but what remains unchanged is that mooncake stands for good wishes of reunion. Take you aback! Up to this day, mooncake has evolved into many different flavors and styles – traditional and innovative.

Mooncakes to be enjoyed with Chinese tea

Traditional mooncake

If based on places of origin, mooncakes can be categorized into Guangzhou style, Beijing style, Taiwanese style, Chaozhou style, and more, of which Guangzhou mooncakes top the list. Lotus Seed Paste Mooncake with Two Yolks proves to be the most popular! The unique sweet taste of lotus seed paste adds a loving edge to this reunion season. On surface, engraved with classical Chinese luck-wishing patterns. The inside egg yolks remind people of the moon high in the sky – glossy and enticing; when opening up a mooncake, the yolks often scent fragrance that spoils your appetite. Traditional and classical – timeless!

Classical lotus seed paste mooncakes with two yolks

Snow Skin Mooncake

Snow skin mooncake as we know it first appeared in 1989 Hong Kong, featuring the blend of Vietnam’s glutinous rice mooncake and Chaozhou mooncake. Its snowy white skin – exquisite – resembles a moon that emits the most beautiful whitish-misty beams. Icy is the feel of snow skin mooncakes touching the tongue; the little glittering ice crystals attached to the mooncake surface are just like a snow-covered moon as in fantasy. Fillings are diverse and rich: chocolate, green beans, red beans, cream, cookies, matcha, mango, and more. Despite icy cold, snow skin mooncakes will warm your Mid-Autumn Festival.

Classical snow skin mooncakes

Snow skin mooncakes in other different colors

Ice-cream mooncake

When Chinese mooncakes bump into Western ice-cream, “ice-cream mooncake” pops up to revolutionize people’s mooncake conception.

Ice-cream mooncake is elegant and exquisite, akin to nicely dressed Western cakes. Melt in your mouth, sweeten the flavor of the moon season; and get out of the box! But no matter how revolutionizing ice-cream mooncakes are, the moon-round shape remains to render the Chinese wishes of filial reunion.

Premium ice-cream mooncakes

Cake mooncake

On top of ice-cream mooncakes, there are “cake mooncakes.” That is, mooncake in the form and flavor of Western cake, or mooncake-shaped cake. Fans of dessert will fall in love with such mooncakes. Can you imagine? Soft as it feels, and topped with fresh, fined-textured cream or chocolate crunches or other cake sprinkles – giving you “Black Forest Mooncake” and “Tiramisu Mooncake.” Have a taste of cake mooncakes, and enjoy a different Moon Festival.

Different flavors of cake mooncakes

More read: Japanese tsukimi dango

Tsukimi dango

In the past, Japan often learnt from the Chinese culture; China’s Mid-Autumn Festival also makes its way to Japan’s core culture. During this moon season, the Japanese will also have the moon appreciation event, called tsukimi – see the moon; but instead of mooncakes, the Japanese will have some ball-shaped or moon-shaped dessert, carrying the name “tsukimi dango.”