Homemade Moon Cakes for Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋節

Mid-Autumn Festival happens on September 8 this year, and I am so excited because I don't have work the next day. Yes, it's weird since in my circle of friends only I will be on a holiday. Haha. Kidding aside, I'm also excited since it's moon cake season once again. Hello, sweets and calories! :D

When it comes to baked goodies, sometimes homemade is best since it's made with love (and less preservatives). Here's my first box of moon cakes for the year! :D

單黃豆沙

Black Mongo w/ 1 Egg

The chewy crust is has a rich taste. Gotta love that glossy sheen - it looks perfect!

Sweet bean paste is a common filling for moon cakes, and this one is made from black beans. The filling is very moist and the sweetness is just right. An unexpected treat are the watermelon seeds that add texture to the otherwise soft pastry. The salted egg is a must, or else moon cakes would be so sad without them.

單黃蓮蓉

Lotus Cream w/ 1 Egg

Lotus seed paste is considered to be the more luxurious moon cake filling. This one's also good but I find it a bit sweeter than the former. Then again, I've always preferred black mongo moon cakes since I was a kid.

I'm a fan of these homemade moon cakes. They're freshly baked, delicious, and affordable. Since they contain no preservatives, they'd be good for around one week, longer if you store it inside the refrigerator. But of course, it's best to eat it while it's fresh! :D

In case you're planning to give moon cakes to your family and friends this Mid-Autumn Festival, you may want to give these ones a try! Pickup point is near Banawe, Quezon City but they deliver for bulk orders.

Happy eating (my favorite hobby)! :D

Love,

Helen

Mid-Autumn Festival + Story

This post might be a day late as the actual date of the Mid-Autumn Festival or Mooncake Festival was yesterday, but I'd still like to greet all of you! Happy Mooncake Festival! I have no work today and tomorrow because we follow Hong Kong's holiday schedule at work, so I'm just happy that I have luxury of time to write, read, rest, clean my makeup brushes, do my laundry, and shop for my daily necessities (which reminds me that I must go to the mall!).

Just because I feel like it, I'd like to share with you a little story.

My family and I played the dice game last Sunday in a Chinese association where everyone had the surname 林. (Yes, that is my Chinese surname.) Everyone in our family were all scattered to different tables so we had more chances of winning as they say (and no chance of just taking home to pot money and dividing it amongst ourselves - HAHA!). I remember earlier the day, when I told my younger sister how unlucky I was with playing those dice games, as I never got a winning combination (like 4-4-4-4-4-4 - which meant the ultimate jackpot). I asked her how she always gets lucky with dice games, as she had won several times already. Her advise was pretty simple. She told me to pray; everyone in the game might be praying for luck from their different gods, but she reminded me that we prayed to a God that listened and was alive.

Why didn't I think of that? I seemed to have boxed out simple stuff like this, thinking that it wasn't really important, and just saved my prayers for more serious matters or requests. And so this time, I did. Before the game, I asked for guidance. Just for fun, and just once, I'd like to have a 4-4-4-4-X-X (X = any number) combination. If I didn't win, it was okay with me as well.

After a few rounds of just getting a single or double 4 dice combination, which meant either P50.00 or P100.00 as prize, I rolled the dice and got a 1-2-3-4-5-6 combo, which meant instant P500.00!

I was secretly amused with how it turned out, then after several more rolls, I got a 4-4-4-4-5-2 combo! I'm not really familiar with the rules of the game, but based on the instruction sheet that we had that day, I could have won. That would have meant instant P1,000.00 and a box of mooncakes, but the old lady beside me insisted with her dear life that she and another girl won with their same 5-5-5-5-5-4 combo, and that they would like to split the prize, even telling us "See? Everybody (which is both of them) happy!" with their decision. So there's really no point in arguing with people like that.

I got the answers that I wanted that day, anyway. Lesson learned? Don't box out God in any situation. We'll just have to always remember that He's with us, whenever wherever. And if we just ask, He always delivers.

Before I end this post, I'd like to share with you a mooncake! I also got this after the event, together with the cutest mooncake box I have ever seen (pictured above).

This mooncake is filled with white lotus seed paste with egg yolk - also considered as the original and the most luxurious mooncake filling. (Since I'm trying to gain weight, I ate it all up in one go!)

Love,

Helen