Photo provided to Hangzhoufeel
Festival
By Miao Simin
The approach of the Mid-Autumn Festival marks a time for family reunions and the sharing of mooncakes.
As early as the Song Dynasty, the great poet Su Shi praised mooncakes with the phrase, “Eating the cake is like chewing the moon, there is butter and maltose within.” Today, mooncake production has evolved in terms of ingredients, preparation methods, and shapes, resulting in a more diverse variety.
In many of Hangzhou’s time-honored pastry shops, such as Caizhi Zhai (采芝斋), Jiuzhi Zhai (九芝斋), and Zhiwei Guan (知味观), traditional-flavored mooncakes are already on the shelves, with the mustard tuber and pork mooncake being one of the bestsellers. Crispy on the outside, salty and fresh on the inside, and priced at an average of 5 RMB each, it is considered the most popular mooncake among Hangzhou residents.
Other specialty mooncakes include pork mooncake, bamboo shoot mooncake, and more. Vegetarian mooncakes sold at Fajing Temple are also popular, including flavors such as salt and pepper, bean paste, lotus paste, and black sesame. Vegetarian mooncakes sold in bulk are priced at 7 RMB each, while a package of eight sells for 50 RMB.
This year, mooncakes have been innovated based on traditional flavors. Many mooncake makers have started using xylitol instead of white sugar. For instance, coarse cereal mooncakes use grains like taro, yam, and purple potato as ingredients instead of seasoning powders. These low-sugar, low-fat, healthy mooncakes have become popular among young people in Hangzhou.
Huqingyutang (胡庆余堂), a time-honored pharmacy, even offers medicated mooncakes filled with ingredients like Chinese yam and osmanthus sauce, Chinese wolfberry and Job’s tears, and Poria cocos and walnuts. A box of eight mooncakes is priced at approximately 278 RMB. All medicated mooncakes include traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients, emphasizing the concept of food and medicine being rooted together.