Traditionally, moon cakes are infused with embedded egg yolks and lotus seed – not exactly a light snack. But this is Hong Kong where nothing is spared a modern makeover. The city serves up an exciting jumble of creative moon cakes in a variety of flavours during the Mid-Autumn Festival (there are even low-sugar options), taking your taste buds on a dizzying tour of snowskin, iced, ice cream, mung bean paste, cheese, chocolate, foie gras, sesame tofu, sweet potato, silky smooth milk tea, black truffle, mango, strawberry and caviar. Enjoy the ride!
You might even notice moon cakes that are shaped to look like they are “mooning” you. The date of Mid-Autumn Festival is often used as a euphemism for “rear end” by Cantonese speakers, providing the inspiration for these, ahem, cheeky versions.
Snowy moon cakes
By the 1980s, there was a growing trend of healthy eating in Hong Kong and people began to seek alternatives to the traditional rich and sweet moon cakes that have been enjoyed by Chinese people for centuries. This is when a recipe for a whole new style of moon cakes emerged in the city – a lighter glutinous rice version of the pastry, called ‘snow skin’. The innovation proved a hit far beyond Hong Kong and has ensured that moon cakes continue to be enjoyed as the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival treat in a world of increasingly sophisticated tastes.
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