Chocoholic: Mooncake Edition

Hi guys! Chocoholic, Penn Appetit’s resident sweet tooth, is back and ready to share more about chocolates, pastries, desserts, and other sweet goodness.

After spending this past summer in China and trying out a plethora of local foods and sweets (including visiting a local pastry factory!!!), I was inspired to take this column to another level by introducing sweets from around the world that some of you may have never heard of but definitely should try. Since the Mid-Autumn Festival is right around the corner, it is only proper to start this series with a guide to mooncakes.

In case you are not familiar with the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is a harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people. This year, the Chinatown in Philadelphia celebrates this festival on September 19, but the actual date of the festival is on September 27, which coincides with the weekend of the Papal visit. This festival is most famous for being the time of the year to eat mooncakes. In the United States, the most common type of mooncake is the Cantonese style with its chewy crust. However, there are other types of mooncakes from different regions of China, such as Beijing style, Suzhou style, Chaozhou style, Taiwanese style, etc.

Five Major Styles of Moon Cakes in China: Cantonese, Chaoshan, Suzhou, Beijing, and Yunnan. PC: Baidu Wikipedia
Five Major Styles of Moon Cakes in China: Cantonese, Chaozhou, Suzhou, Beijing, and Yunnan.
PC: Baidu Wikipedia

While most places only sell mooncakes around the time leading to the Mid-Autumn Festival, i.e. in September and October, some places sell mooncakes year-round to satisfy the cravings of mooncake fans, such as Bread Top House (1041 Race St.) and Hong Kong Bakery (917 Race St.) in Philadelphia’s very own Chinatown. Hong Kong Bakery usually sells green tea and mung bean mooncakes, while Bread Top House offers a bigger variety of fillings, such as wintermelon, pineapple (yes!!!), lotus seed paste, mung bean, and red bean.

If you’re thinking that six flavors is a lot of variety already, you may want to brace yourself for what is to come. There are actually way more flavors available during mooncake season (or year-round if you visit China), including savory, sweet and savory, and even spicy fillings! The following is only a short list of the endless possibility:
1. Five kernels (almonds, walnuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds): slightly sweet and the seeds give a crunchy texture that sets this filling apart
2. HAM!
3. Chinese chestnut
4. Spiced salt
5. Jujube (a type of date)
6. Pork floss (fine shredded pork)
7. Durian
8. Prunes
9. Rose
10. Ginkgo
11. Osmanthus (a type of flower that is known to be slightly sweet and fragrant)
12. Hawthorne (a type of fruit that is sweet and sour)
13. Any of the filling above with an EGG YOLK in the center!
14. Any of the filling above with TWO EGG YOLKS!
And the list goes on. Some bakeries that sell mooncakes during moon cake season include KC Pastries and Asia Bakery in Chinatown.

Philadelphia Chinatown Find: Cantonese-Style Moon Cakes from KC Pastries. Square: Five Kernels. Round: White Lotus Seed Paste. Cut: Green Tea with Egg Yolk.
Philadelphia Chinatown Find: Cantonese-Style Moon Cakes

In recent years, people got really creative with mooncakes and try to modernize this traditional pastry. The most common modern twist is the snow skin mooncake, which basically has a glutinous rice (mochi) exterior instead of the regular crust. This type of mooncake comes frozen, but you only need to let it thaw in room temperature for about 15 minutes prior to enjoying this goodness. The fillings for snow skin mooncakes include:
1. Green tea
2. Mung bean
3. Taro
4. Mango
5. Strawberry
6. Durian
7. Black sesame
8. Mocha
9. Coconut
You can find snow skin moon cakes locally at Saint Honore Pastries and Heng Fa Food Market in Chinatown during moon cake season.

Snow Skin Mooncakes PC: Baidu Wikipedia
Snow Skin Mooncakes
PC: Baidu Wikipedia

Some other unorthodox mooncakes that I unfortunately could not find in Philadelphia include ice cream mooncakes, jelly mooncakes, seafood mooncakes, etc.

Haagen-Dazs’ Ice Cream Mooncakes
PC: superadrianme.com

If you’re looking to pair your favorite mooncake with a beverage, the best pairing is with another Chinese product: oolong tea. In particular, the Iron Goddess of Mercy tea (tieguanyin) is the best accompaniment to traditional mooncakes. But if you’re eating a snow skin mooncake, then the best pairing would be a glass of iced oolong tea.

With so many options, it is easy to be overwhelmed, but my favorite fillings so far are five kernel, pineapple, and mocha. Are you ready to take on the challenge of trying out as many mooncake flavors as possible?

-Tina Kartika

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