Mooncake: Why I Love Being Chinese

Posted on 04. Oct, 2009 by sophia.chang in Arts and Culture, Arts and culture, Business and Economics, Sandeep Junnarkar

Who remembered the Mid-Autumn Festival was on October 3?

Nobody. Mid-Autumn Festival, like every Chinese holiday, changes every year because it’s on the lunar calendar.

But what remains consistent is the search for the best of this holiday’s delicious, ubiquitous, edible symbol: mooncake.

Mooncake is big business, one we could approach from many angles:

The Wall Street Journal gives a history of mooncake.

Voyager8 breaks down the business model in his post “The Mooncake Economy”.

Of course, the debate rages on over the age-old question – egg or no egg?

Michelle, a cooking blogger, decidedly hates the egg (but only in mooncake). There’s even a facebook group for egg-hating mooncake-lovers. Connie Hua of Lower Merion High School posted on the group wall,

OMG, this group is like the story of my life.
The moon festival was yesterday, and I spent half the time picking out the egg from the mooncake with toothpicks.

mooncake USB flashdrive from USB Brando

And if that doesn’t satisfy your appetite for all things mooncake, you can pick up a Mooncake USB flash drive for $28.

But the most important thing celebrants want to know is: what is the best mooncake and where can I get it?

Gordon Mark and Chichi Wang have answered all our prayers with their guide over at Serious Eats.

They explain the difference between traditional and lotus seed paste mooncakes, as well as a review of different brands available at the stores in New York City.

a variety pack awaits me

As for me? My mooncake will arrive later this week, hand carried by my significant other all the way across the country. Holidays are for food and family, after all.

And for the record, I’ve grown to love the egg in the mooncake.