Anything but the standard moon cake

Mid Autumn Moon Festival

The Moon Festival is one of the three main Chinese celebrations and is centered around the traditional harvest time; the autumn equinox. Of course there is a story to go with it and as best as I’ve been able to piece it together Da Vinci code style, from print ads and confection tins, there was a beautiful maiden with long eyebrows and a bindi. She was to be married to the emperor but she loved another man and when she thought she might be pregnant, she ran away to the moon with a white rabbit. After she killed the rabbit and figured out that she wasn’t pregnant, she was sad because she couldn’t come back down again but lucky for her, it was the Easter bunny she brought along with her and it was resurrected and laid delicious moon cakes for them to eat. Every year, people celebrate in Hong Kong parks by lighting elaborate lanterns, eating moon cakes and setting wax fires that destroy public property.

Actually, the point of this is to talk about the moon cakes that are given out as gifts every year for the moon festival. These are a traditional southern Chinese delicacy which has spread throughout the rest of China. For those who are unfamiliar with moon cakes, they are the epitome of Chinese cuisine. A divine flaky crust wrapped around a moist and perfectly sweet filling of red bean or lotus seed paste. Nestled in it is a salted duck egg yolk. What? Salty with sweet you say? Have you ever had dark chocolate with a sprinkling of fleur de mer (sea salt)? It brings out the flavors like nothing you would ever expect and you can taste every sudden nuance that would have been covered by the sugar. It’s no wonder these treats command such high prices.

I’m just kidding. They are amongst the vilest concoctions ever created. I honestly can say that I don’t know anyone who actually likes them. Like Christmas cakes on crack, these things are ridiculously expensive and everyone is trying to get into the action because it’s so lucrative. To give credit where it’s due, most places sell moon cakes that taste nothing like the traditional cakes but do share the look. Maxim’s is selling Thai, Japanese, Italian and modern Chinese inspired versions with TV ads which borderline on racist. The Thai one is particularly appalling. Starbucks has a coffee flavored chocolate version and Hagaan Daas has an ice cream version. Beyond the high financial cost, the landfills are paying a price too. There is on average, seven pieces of packaging per cake, and local environmental groups are pleading with producers and consumers to turn to simple packaging.

A neighbor just gave my family a tin of moon cakes tonight. I know those damn things are expensive so really, we should give something back. Do I go out and buy a tin for her too? Do I continue this cycle of inedible cakes? Is this how blood feuds start?