Moon Cake Madness

The Mid-Autumn Festival took place this year on September 14. In China, this holiday is celebrated by, among other things, eating moon cakes. In my family, we usually get the square-ish Cantonese-style moon cakes, with the thin, golden, doughy crust densely packed with red bean paste or lotus bean paste, with a particular preference for white lotus bean paste. Embedded whole egg yolks (i.e. the "moon") optional. This year, however, my mom mailed me a trio of smaller Northern-style moon cakes with thick, flaky, white crust. One was sesame paste, one was a salty-sweet spice and sesame mixture, and one was date paste. These were not as decadent as the Cantonese-style, but quite yummy nonetheless, and certainly more manageable.

For an amusing look at the sociology and economics of moon cakes, see this Economist article.

In other news, today is apparently Poisoned Blackberries Day. While the holiday may have originated in British supersition, these days, it is mostly refered to by people wondering what exactly it is (as a quick Google search will reveal). Which makes it more of a meta-holiday in my book.