Florist Pick of the Day

Types of Mooncake

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:31:22 +0000

The Chinese mooncake may be a traditional Chinese pastry that is made in order to celebrate the Mid autumn festivals or also known as Moon cakes festival. But these days, western cafés and bakeries also impress with their dazzling mooncake creations. COVA Pasticceria is one of them.

Established in Milan circa 1817, COVA arrived at our sunny shores in 2008, bringing along its coffee, pastry and chocolate specialties. This Mid-Autumn Festival, the open concept café at Paragon has brought back its popular Torta Della Luna (literally ‘cake of the moon’ in Italian) collection.

These Italian-style snowskin mooncakes are available in four flavors (below, clockwise from top centre):

- Peanut and chocolate
- Sweet potato and pumpkin (new in 2010)
- Rose and vanilla
- Mocha (new in 2010)

All four mooncakes have a velvety snowskin with the same lovely patterns, topped with a slice of delicious milk chocolate. My favorite is no doubt the peanut and chocolate.

What is it about peanut and chocolate in the same sentence that spells awesomeness? The moment I saw this flavor I knew I was in trouble. This mooncake comprises chocolate sponge cake with a chocolate feuillentine (chocolate cream mixed with cereal) layer and a peanut butter cream layer. The addition of chopped peanuts gives a nice crunchy texture that literally makes me go nuts!

The newcomer mocha snowskin mooncake is made with COVA’s very own premium coffee and chocolate. As a coffee fanatic myself, I love, love, love this harmonious combination.

If you prefer strong flavors, you may find the new sweet potato and pumpkin mooncake a tad mild for your palate.

Another flavor that has returned this year is the pink rose and vanilla. Encased within the rose-scented snowskin is light vanilla sponge cake layered with chocolate and pastry cream. Pair this with rose tea and you’re all set!

The packaging is simple but elegant, with bright red ribbons and the logo in gold.

Source : http://sparklette.net/food/cova-pasticceria-mooncakes/

Mid Autum Festival : East Meet West

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:23:24 +0000

This Chinese equivalent to the West’s Harvest Moon Festival (also known as Mid autumn festivals) is one of the loveliest nights of the year. Part of the celebrations commemorate a 14th-Century uprising against the Mongols when rebels wrote the call to revolt on pieces of paper and embedded them in cakes which they smuggled to compatriots.

Today, during the festival, people eat special sweet cakes known as “Chinese mooncakes” made of ground lotus and sesame. Along with the cakes, shops sell coloured Chinese paper lanterns in the shapes of animals, and more recently, in the shapes of aeroplanes and space ships. On this family occasion parents allow children to stay up late, and take them to high vantage points to light their lanterns and watch the huge autumn moon rise before eating their moon cakes. Public parks are a blaze with many thousands of lanterns in all colours and sizes and shapes in welcoming the Moon cakes festival.

Source : http://kevdesign.com/midautumnfestival/eastmeetwest.htm

About Mooncakes Festival

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:26:47 +0000

Mid-Autumn Festival:
Based on Lunar calendar tradition, the seventh, eighth and ninth months is autumn. During fall, the skies are commonly clear and cloudless and the nights crisp and sharp. In these night sky conditions, the moon appears to be the brightest. The fifteenth of the eighth month is the middle of autumn, thus the festival celebrates the moon’s appearance as the brightest and most beautiful throughout the year.
The Festival This Year:
In 2008 the mooncakes festival fell on September 14, and was observed on the 15th, just a few weeks before the beginning of the October holidays starting October first, marking National Day, the date of the founding of the PRC on October 1, 1949.
Symbolism:
The full moon is traditionally a symbol for reunion, tuanyuan, as yuan means round. The Chinese people celebrate by coming together as families to eat with Chinese mooncake, drink and be merry.
Early Beginnings of the Mid-Autumn Festival:

Enjoying the moon is an ancient tradition in China going back nearly 1,400 years. Visit any historical palace or classical garden and you will very likely find a “Moon Viewing Pavilion” or two. It is lovely to think about actually, isn’t it? Taking time with your friends and family to sit outside under a starless sky, gazing at the round white orb shining brightly from the heavens above, is something we, in this century, ought to schedule in our daytimers.
Festival History:
While celebrating the moon during Mid autumn festivals appears to have occurred since Zhou Dynasty (ending in 221BC ) times, it was during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) that the festival was made official. Becoming grander over time, by Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) times, the mid-autumn festival was second only in importance to the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year).

Source : http://gochina.about.com/od/eventsfestivals/p/MoonFestival.htm